Indian Constitution Static GK 2026 – Important Articles, All 12 Schedules, 25 Parts, Amendments and Borrowed Features (Static GK Capsule)

If you prepare for only one Static GK topic, make it this one. Questions from the Indian Constitution turn up in SSC CGL, CHSL, MTS and CPO, RRB NTPC and Group D, every State PSC prelims, police and defence exams, and the General Awareness section of banking exams — year after year, in almost the same shape. This capsule puts the whole thing on one page: how the Constitution was made, its Parts and Schedules, the Articles that are actually asked, the Amendments worth memorising, and the features India borrowed from other countries.

How the Constitution Was Made — The Dates That Get Asked

Memory hook: “Adopted 26/11, enforced 26/1” — the numbers simply swap places. 26 January was chosen because the Congress had declared Purna Swaraj on that date in 1930.

The Preamble — Every Word Is a Question

The Preamble describes India as a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic and promises its citizens Justice, Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Three points that examiners love:

• The Preamble has been amended only once — by the 42nd Amendment, 1976, which added the words Socialist, Secular and Integrity.
• The source of authority is “We, the People of India” — the Constitution is given by the people to themselves.
• The date written in the Preamble is 26 November 1949, not 26 January 1950.

The 25 Parts of the Constitution

All 12 Schedules — Learn These Cold

Memory hook for the last four: 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 go Ninth Schedule (protection), Tenth (defection), Eleventh (Panchayat, 29), Twelfth (Municipality, 18). The two local-body schedules always come as a pair with the 73rd and 74th Amendments.

Most Important Articles — Fundamental Rights (Part III)

The Five Writs (Articles 32 and 226)

The classic trap: the Supreme Court under Article 32 can issue writs only for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights, while a High Court under Article 226 can issue them for Fundamental Rights and for any other legal right. So the High Court’s writ power is wider than the Supreme Court’s.

Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties

Important Articles — Union, Parliament and Judiciary

Important Articles — States, Local Bodies and Emergencies

The 352 / 356 / 360 sequence is the single most repeated Emergency question. Remember the order as National, President’s Rule, Financial — and that Article 360 has never been invoked.

Amendments You Must Know

Several further amendment Bills have been introduced in Parliament since, but a Bill is not an Amendment Act until it is passed and receives the President’s assent. In an exam, count only the enacted ones.

Borrowed Features — Which Country Gave India What

One-Line Facts That Keep Coming Back

• Dr. B. R. Ambedkar is called the Father of the Indian Constitution; he chaired the 7-member Drafting Committee.
• Basic Structure doctrine was laid down in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973) — Parliament can amend the Constitution but cannot destroy its basic structure.
• The 42nd Amendment is called the Mini Constitution; the Ninth Schedule was created by the 1st Amendment.
• Single citizenship for the whole of India — borrowed from the UK.
• The Union List, State List and Concurrent List are in the Seventh Schedule; residuary powers rest with the Union.
• India is described in Article 1 as a “Union of States”, not a federation — the States have no right to secede.
• The Constitution is partly rigid and partly flexible, and is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country.
• Fundamental Rights are enforceable in court; Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties are not.
• Only Article 20 and Article 21 cannot be suspended even during a National Emergency (44th Amendment).

Practice Questions

Q1. The Constitution of India was adopted on:
(a) 26 January 1950 (b) 26 November 1949 (c) 15 August 1947 (d) 9 December 1946
Answer: (b) 26 November 1949. It came into force on 26 January 1950 — adoption and commencement are two different dates.

Q2. The Anti-Defection Law is contained in which Schedule?
(a) Ninth (b) Tenth (c) Eleventh (d) Twelfth
Answer: (b) Tenth Schedule, added by the 52nd Amendment, 1985.

Q3. Which Article did Dr. Ambedkar call the “heart and soul of the Constitution”?
(a) Article 14 (b) Article 21 (c) Article 32 (d) Article 368
Answer: (c) Article 32 — the Right to Constitutional Remedies.

Q4. Directive Principles of State Policy have been borrowed from the constitution of:
(a) USA (b) Ireland (c) Canada (d) Australia
Answer: (b) Ireland. Fundamental Rights came from the USA — that is the pair examiners swap.

Q5. The Constitution presently has:
(a) 395 Articles, 22 Parts, 8 Schedules (b) 448 Articles, 25 Parts, 12 Schedules (c) 448 Articles, 22 Parts, 8 Schedules (d) 395 Articles, 25 Parts, 12 Schedules
Answer: (b). Option (a) is the original 1950 figure — read the question carefully, because both numbers are correct in their own context.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Adopted vs came into force. 26 November 1949 is adoption; 26 January 1950 is commencement.
• Original vs present figures. 395 Articles / 22 Parts / 8 Schedules was 1950; today it is 448 / 25 / 12.
• Fundamental Rights from the USA, Directive Principles from Ireland — never the other way round.
• Fundamental Duties came from the erstwhile USSR and were added by the 42nd Amendment, not by the original Constitution.
• Article 32 is a Fundamental Right; Article 226 is not. The High Court’s writ power is wider, but it is not itself a Fundamental Right.
• A Bill is not an Amendment. Only Acts that have received the President’s assent are counted — the 106th (2023) is the latest enacted one.
• Right to Property is not a Fundamental Right since the 44th Amendment, 1978. It survives as a legal right under Article 300A.

Sources: the Constitution of India as published by the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the official list of Constitution Amendment Acts. Static GK rarely changes, but Article and amendment counts do move when Parliament acts — cross-check the latest amendment before an exam. Last reviewed on the publication date of this post.