RAS question
Article 341 relates to:
Correct answer: (D) Specification of Scheduled Castes by the President.
Article 341 of the Constitution relates to the President's specification of Scheduled Castes for a State or Union territory.
Explanation
Article 341 is about Scheduled Castes, not commissions or Scheduled Tribes. Clause (1) says the President may, for a State or Union territory, issue a public notification specifying the castes, races, tribes, or groups within them that will be deemed Scheduled Castes for that State or Union territory. Where a State is involved, this is done after consultation with the Governor. Clause (2) adds an important constitutional control: once the President has issued the notification, Parliament may by law include groups in, or exclude groups from, that Scheduled Castes list. A later executive notification cannot by itself vary the list. That is why option D captures the substance of Article 341.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 341 does not set up or describe a Backward Classes Commission; it deals with notifying which groups count as Scheduled Castes.
- (B) Specification of Scheduled Tribes is covered separately by Article 342, while Article 341 is confined to Scheduled Castes.
- (C) The National Commission for Scheduled Castes is a different constitutional subject, whereas Article 341 concerns the Scheduled Castes list notified by the President.
Concept
This tests the constitutional mechanism for identifying Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, a recurring RAS area because Article 341 and Article 342 look similar but apply to different lists. It also checks the division between presidential notification and Parliament's power to change the list by law.