Republic Day Quiz: 30 Questions on India's Constitution
Test yourself with this Republic Day quiz: 30 questions on India's Constitution, the Constituent Assembly and 26 January, with every answer included.
Republic Day in India falls on 26 January, the day the Constitution of India came into force in 1950. This quiz gives you 30 questions on that Constitution: how it was written, what it says and how the day is celebrated. Answers sit in bold right after each question, so you can test yourself or read it out at a family gathering.
## Why does India celebrate Republic Day on 26 January?
India became independent on 15 August 1947, but for more than two years it was still a dominion, with the British monarch as head of state. That changed on 26 January 1950, when the new Constitution took effect and India became a republic with an elected President.
The date was chosen with care. On 26 January 1930, the Indian National Congress had marked Purna Swaraj (complete self-rule) day, following a resolution passed at its Lahore session in December 1929. Bringing the Constitution into force on the same date linked the new republic to that pledge.
The Constitution itself was adopted a little earlier, on 26 November 1949. Since 2015 that date has been observed as Constitution Day, also called Samvidhan Divas. You can read the full text of the Constitution on the [Legislative Department website](https://www.legislative.gov.in/), and the [National Portal of India](https://www.india.gov.in/) has more background on national symbols and government.
## Round 1: How the Constitution was made
**1. On what date did the Constitution of India come into force?**
**Answer: 26 January 1950.**
**2. On what date did the Constituent Assembly adopt the Constitution?**
**Answer: 26 November 1949.**
**3. When did the Constituent Assembly hold its first meeting?**
**Answer: 9 December 1946.**
**4. Who was the temporary chairman of the Constituent Assembly at its first session?**
**Answer: Dr Sachchidananda Sinha, the oldest member.**
**5. Who was elected the permanent President of the Constituent Assembly?**
**Answer: Dr Rajendra Prasad.**
**6. Who chaired the Drafting Committee?**
**Answer: Dr B. R. Ambedkar.**
**7. Who moved the Objectives Resolution, which later shaped the Preamble?**
**Answer: Jawaharlal Nehru, on 13 December 1946.**
**8. Who served as the Constitutional Adviser to the Assembly and prepared the first draft?**
**Answer: Sir B. N. Rau.**
**9. How long did the Assembly take to complete the Constitution?**
**Answer: About 2 years, 11 months and 18 days.**
**10. On what date did members sign the final copies of the Constitution?**
**Answer: 24 January 1950.**
## Round 2: What the Constitution says
**11. What are the opening words of the Preamble?**
**Answer: "We, the people of India".**
**12. Which three words were added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment in 1976?**
**Answer: Socialist, secular and integrity.**
**13. What does Article 1 say about the name of the country?**
**Answer: "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States."**
**14. Which Part of the Constitution contains the Fundamental Rights?**
**Answer: Part III.**
**15. Which Part contains the Directive Principles of State Policy?**
**Answer: Part IV.**
**16. Fundamental Duties were added in 1976. Which Article lists them?**
**Answer: Article 51A, in Part IVA.**
**17. Which Article abolishes untouchability?**
**Answer: Article 17.**
**18. Which Article protects life and personal liberty?**
**Answer: Article 21.**
**19. Dr Ambedkar called one Article "the very soul of the Constitution and the very heart of it". Which one?**
**Answer: Article 32, the right to constitutional remedies.**
**20. Which Schedule divides powers into the Union, State and Concurrent Lists?**
**Answer: The Seventh Schedule.**
## Round 3: Amendments, offices and the big day
**21. Which landmark 1973 Supreme Court case set out the "basic structure" doctrine?**
**Answer: Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala.**
**22. Which amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18?**
**Answer: The 61st Amendment, passed in 1988.**
**23. The right to property was removed from the list of Fundamental Rights by which amendment?**
**Answer: The 44th Amendment, 1978. It now sits in Article 300A as a constitutional right.**
**24. What is the minimum age to become President of India?**
**Answer: 35 years.**
**25. Who administers the oath of office to the President?**
**Answer: The Chief Justice of India.**
**26. Who is the Supreme Commander of India's armed forces?**
**Answer: The President of India.**
**27. On what date did the Constituent Assembly adopt Jana Gana Mana as the national anthem?**
**Answer: 24 January 1950.**
**28. Who was the chief guest at the first Republic Day celebrations in 1950?**
**Answer: President Sukarno of Indonesia.**
**29. Which ceremony formally closes the Republic Day celebrations on 29 January?**
**Answer: Beating Retreat, held at Vijay Chowk in New Delhi.**
**30. What is the avenue in New Delhi where the parade takes place now called?**
**Answer: Kartavya Path. It was known as Rajpath until 2022.**
## How did you score?
Give yourself one point per correct answer.
| Score | What it says about you |
|---|---|
| 26 to 30 | You could teach a civics class. |
| 18 to 25 | Strong. You know the big picture and most of the detail. |
| 10 to 17 | A good base. Round 3 is usually where people slip. |
| 0 to 9 | Now you know more than you did ten minutes ago. Try again next week. |
If Round 2 tripped you up, it helps to remember the structure in order: Preamble, then Part III (rights), Part IV (directive principles), then Part IVA (duties). Rights are things the state must respect. Directive principles are goals the state should work towards, but courts cannot enforce them directly. Duties are what the Constitution asks of citizens.
## A few facts the questions did not cover
Some details about the Constitution make good follow-up talking points:
- **It was written by hand.** The original English version was hand-lettered by the calligrapher Prem Behari Narain Raizada. Artists from Santiniketan, led by Nandalal Bose, decorated its pages.
- **Two languages.** The original copies were prepared in English and Hindi.
- **Kept with care.** The original copies are preserved in special cases in the Parliament Library in New Delhi.
- **Borrowed ideas.** The framers studied other constitutions. The parliamentary system follows the British model, the idea of Fundamental Rights draws on the United States Bill of Rights, and the Directive Principles were inspired by the Irish Constitution.
- **It is long.** At adoption it had 395 Articles, 22 Parts and 8 Schedules. Many amendments since then have added Articles and Schedules, which is why it is often described as the longest written national constitution in the world.
The [Wikipedia article on the Constitution of India](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India) is a handy starting point if you want the full amendment history, and the [article on Republic Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Day_(India)) covers how the parade and celebrations have changed over the years.
## Using this quiz at home or in a community group
Republic Day quizzes work well at diaspora events, in Sunday schools and in classrooms abroad. A few ideas:
- **Split by round.** Play one round per table, then swap. Ten questions keeps things moving.
- **Pair children with grandparents.** Older relatives often remember the Rajpath parades on Doordarshan, and that turns a quiz into a conversation.
- **Make it visual.** Print the Preamble and ask teams to find the three words added in 1976.
For more rounds, try our [India general knowledge quiz](/blog/india-general-knowledge-quiz) with 50 mixed questions, or the [Indian festivals quiz](/blog/indian-festivals-quiz) if your group prefers food and celebrations to Articles and amendments.
If this has you wanting more, the [Bharat Ko Janiye Quiz](https://bkjquiz.com/?utm_source=dgamaf53&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_id=d53) is the official quiz of India's Ministry of External Affairs. It is free to join and open to everyone worldwide, so you do not have to be Indian to take part. The [MEA website](https://www.mea.gov.in/) carries news on its outreach to Indians abroad.
## Where can you find more India quizzes online?
Quizzes are one of the easiest ways to keep a link with India when you live far away, and there are more of them than most people realise. Our guide to [online India quiz competitions you can enter from abroad](/blog/online-india-quiz-competition) lists options open to people outside India. Once you have tried those, come back to this page each January and see if your score has gone up. The Constitution has been amended many times since 1950, so there is always a new detail to learn.
GamesNFans