Basic Quiz – 16 September 2026 | Polity

Answer: (b) 1, 3 and 4 only

Explanation:

Statements 1, 3 and 4 are correct.

Article 343 provides for Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language of the Union and prescribes the international form of Indian numerals for the Union’s official purposes.

Statement 2 is incorrect. The Constitution does not designate Hindi, or any other language, as India’s national language.

Statement 4 is correct. Section 3 of the Official Languages Act, 1963 provides for the continued use of English in addition to Hindi for specified Union purposes after the original fifteen-year constitutional period.

Statement 5 is incorrect. English is not one of the 22 languages in the Eighth Schedule.

Thus, the crucial distinction is:

Official language of the Union: Hindi in Devanagari script
Continued Union use: English as provided by law
National language: No language has been constitutionally designated as such

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

In Reference by the Lord Advocate (2022), the UK Supreme Court unanimously held that the proposed Scottish Independence Referendum Bill would relate to reserved matters, particularly the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England and the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was therefore outside the Scottish Parliament’s legislative competence.

A particularly important point is that the proposed referendum’s advisory character did not remove it from the reserved-matters framework. The Court recognised that even a referendum without automatic legal consequences could have significant practical and political effects.

Answer: (d) All five

Explanation:

All five have a relevant constitutional role, although they operate through different mechanisms.

• Article 371A contains special provisions relating to Nagaland, including safeguards concerning specified customary, religious, social and land-related matters.
• The Fifth Schedule provides a constitutional framework for the administration and control of Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes in States other than the States to which the Sixth Schedule applies.
• The Sixth Schedule establishes autonomous institutional arrangements for specified tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.
• Article 263 provides for the establishment of an Inter-State Council for specified purposes relating to inter-State disputes, common interests and coordination.
• Article 280 provides for the Finance Commission, which makes recommendations concerning specified aspects of financial relations between the Union and the States.

The UPSC trap is that asymmetry, intergovernmental coordination and fiscal federalism are different constitutional techniques, but all can contribute to managing India’s federal diversity.

Answer: (c)

Explanation:

Statement I is correct. Article 343(2) provided for the continued use of English for official purposes of the Union for fifteen years from the commencement of the Constitution.

Statement II is incorrect. Article 343(3) expressly empowers Parliament to provide by law for the use of English even after the fifteen-year period.

Accordingly, Section 3 of the Official Languages Act, 1963 provides for the continued use of English, in addition to Hindi, for specified official purposes of the Union and for the transaction of business in Parliament.

Answer: (c) Only three

Explanation:

Pairs 1, 2 and 3 are correctly matched.

• Article 343 provides that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script. Importantly, the Constitution describes Hindi as the official language of the Union, not as the national language of India.
• Article 348 deals, among other things, with the language to be used in proceedings of the Supreme Court and High Courts and the authoritative texts of specified legislative instruments.
• Article 350A concerns facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage for children belonging to linguistic minority groups.
• Pair 4 is incorrect. The Special Officer for linguistic minorities is provided under Article 350B. Article 351 imposes a duty upon the Union to promote the spread and development of Hindi.