RAS question
The 86th Amendment Act, 2002 is related to:
Correct answer: (D) Right to Education as a Fundamental Right.
The Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002 made free and compulsory education for children aged 6-14 a Fundamental Right by inserting Article 21A.
Explanation
The 86th Amendment is about the constitutional status of elementary education. The PIB release states that the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002 came into force on 13 December 2002 and inserted Article 21A in Part III of the Constitution, making free and compulsory education a Fundamental Right for all children in the 6-14 age group. Connected changes were also made: Article 45 was modified as a Directive Principle on early childhood care, and Article 51A(k) was added as the eleventh Fundamental Duty. So the amendment is not merely an education-policy measure; it shifts education for 6-14-year-olds into the enforceable Fundamental Rights chapter.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Anti-defection is not the 86th Amendment issue; anti-defection relates to the 52nd Amendment instead.
- (B) OBC reservation is not what the 86th Amendment inserted; it falls under Article 16(4).
- (C) GST implementation belongs to a different constitutional amendment, the 101st Amendment.
Concept
This tests the Fundamental Rights and constitutional amendments part of Indian Polity. It recurs in RAS because exam questions often ask candidates to match landmark amendments with the Articles or rights they created.