Fundamental Duties (Article 51A)
Rights come with duties. Part IVA of the Constitution has a single article, Article 51A, the Fundamental Duties. It begins: "It shall be the duty of every citizen of India". In this lesson you will learn how many duties there are and why the answer changed, what each duty asks of a citizen, and how the duties differ from the Directive Principles.
Guess first
Part IV gave the State its directions. Part IVA turns to someone else. Guess who.
Guess first: Article 51A lists the Fundamental Duties of whom?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Article 51A begins: "It shall be the duty of every citizen of India". The duties are for citizens.
Option B: Article 37 makes applying the Directive Principles in making laws "the duty of the State"; Article 51A is about citizens.
Option C: "Any person" is the word of Article 14, equality before law.
Option D: All minorities are the subject of Article 30, on educational institutions.
Hint: Read the first words of Article 51A.
An everyday picture
Think of the rules of a cricket team that every player signs.
Article 51A works like a team's code that every player signs:
Respect the game's rules clause (a)
abide by the Constitution and respect the National Flag and the National Anthem
Play for the team clauses (c) and (d)
protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India; defend the country
Look after the ground clauses (g) and (i)
protect the natural environment; safeguard public property
Keep improving clauses (h) and (j)
develop the scientific temper; strive towards excellence
Help the juniors clause (k)
a parent or guardian provides opportunities for education to a child of six to fourteen years
The picture has one limit: a team can drop a player who breaks its code. NCERT notes that "the Constitution does not say anything about enforcing these duties".
See it: how many duties, and why the number changed
flowchart LR A["42nd Amendment Act, 1976: Part IVA inserted, duties (a) to (j)"] --> B["86th Amendment Act, 2002: clause (k) added"] B --> C["Today: clauses (a) to (k)"]
NCERT counts the first list: in 1976, "ten duties were enumerated". Clause (k) was inserted by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002, with effect from 1 April 2010. So the stored text of the Constitution, as on 10 September 2026, lists eleven duties, (a) to (k).
| Clause | Every citizen of India shall... |
|---|---|
| (a) | abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem |
| (b) | cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom |
| (c) | uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India |
| (d) | defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so |
| (e) | promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood; renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women |
| (f) | value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture |
| (g) | protect and improve the natural environment, and have compassion for living creatures |
| (h) | develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform |
| (i) | safeguard public property and abjure violence |
| (j) | strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity |
| (k) | as a parent or guardian, provide opportunities for education to a child or ward between six and fourteen years |
Green, Head, Infrastructure: (g) the natural environment, (h) the scientific temper, (i) public property.
Find the rule
Three quick checks on Article 51A.
How many Fundamental Duties does Article 51A list in the text as on 10 September 2026?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Article 51A runs from clause (a) to clause (k): eleven duties. Clause (k) was added by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002.
Option B: 10 is the count of 1976, when the 42nd Amendment inserted clauses (a) to (j); NCERT says "ten duties were enumerated".
Option C: 12 is one more than the clauses (a) to (k).
Option D: 6 is the number of groups of Fundamental Rights in Part III, not of duties.
Hint: Count the clause letters from (a) to (k).
Clause (k) of Article 51A asks a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to a child of six to fourteen years. Which Amendment Act inserted it?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
The footnote to clause (k) reads "Ins. by the Constitution (Eighty-sixth Amendment) Act, 2002", with effect from 1 April 2010.
Option A: The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976 inserted Part IVA with clauses (a) to (j), not clause (k).
Option B: The 44th Amendment Act, 1978 omitted Article 31; it did not touch Article 51A.
Option D: The 52nd Amendment Act, 1985 added the Tenth Schedule.
Hint: The same Amendment Act inserted Article 21A, the right to education.
Which of these is NOT a Fundamental Duty in Article 51A?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
"Uniform civil code for the citizens" is Article 44, a Directive Principle in Part IV. The other three are clauses (h), (i) and (g) of Article 51A.
Option A: The scientific temper is clause (h) of Article 51A.
Option B: Safeguarding public property is clause (i) of Article 51A.
Option D: Protecting and improving the natural environment is clause (g) of Article 51A.
Hint: One of these is a task for the State, not a duty of each citizen.
Name it: duties of citizens
The rule: Article 51A, the only article of Part IVA, lists the duties of "every citizen of India": ten from the 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, and clause (k) from the 86th Amendment Act, 2002. Directive Principles are a duty of the State (Article 37); Fundamental Duties are duties of citizens.
Article 48A asks the State to protect the environment; clause (g) of Article 51A asks every citizen "to protect and improve the natural environment". Article 21A gives children of six to fourteen years the right to education; clause (k) asks their parents or guardians to provide the opportunities.
Worked, half-done, solo
Question
Asha picks up litter by a lake, Ravi scratches a bus seat, and Meena tests a rumour before she shares it. Which clauses of Article 51A do these touch?
Solution
- Asha and the lake
Clause (g): "to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life".
- Ravi and the bus
Clause (i): "to safeguard public property and to abjure violence". A bus is public property.
- Meena and the rumour
Clause (h): "to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform".
Answer: Asha follows clause (g), Ravi breaks clause (i), and Meena follows clause (h).
Watch out: these are duties of citizens; NCERT notes the Constitution says nothing about enforcing them.
Now finish one that is half done.
Half done: Article 48A asks the State to protect the environment. The same aim is also a duty of every citizen: "to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life". Which article holds that duty?
Show answer
Correct answer: B
The words come from clause (g) of Article 51A, the Fundamental Duties of every citizen.
Option A: Article 48A is the Directive Principle that asks the State, not each citizen, to protect the environment.
Option C: Article 47 is about nutrition, the standard of living and public health.
Option D: Article 21 protects life and personal liberty.
Hint: Duties of citizens are all in one article of Part IVA.
And one on your own.
In which Part of the Constitution are the Fundamental Duties?
Show answer
Correct answer: C
The contents read "PART IVA FUNDAMENTAL DUTIES 51A. Fundamental duties." Part IVA has this one article.
Option A: Part IV is the Directive Principles of State Policy.
Option B: Part III is the Fundamental Rights.
Option D: Part V is The Union.
Hint: It sits between Part IV and Part V, so it has a letter after its number.
The traps
- 10 or 11: ten duties were inserted in 1976; clause (k) made it eleven, by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002.
- Article 51 or Article 51A: Article 51 is international peace and security (Part IV); the duties are Article 51A (Part IVA).
- Whose duty: Directive Principles are the State's duty (Article 37); Fundamental Duties are for every citizen of India.
- Enforcement: NCERT notes that the Constitution does not say anything about enforcing these duties.
Ravi wrote: "A court must punish anyone who breaks a Fundamental Duty, because Article 51A says so." What does NCERT say about enforcing the Fundamental Duties?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
NCERT: "However, the Constitution does not say anything about enforcing these duties."
Option B: The words "shall not be enforceable by any court" are Article 37, about the Directive Principles of Part IV.
Option C: The right to move the Supreme Court is Article 32, for the Fundamental Rights.
Option D: The words "shall not be suspended" are Article 32(4), about the right to move the Supreme Court.
Hint: NCERT's line about the duties starts with "However".
Mixed check
Article 51A lists the duties of every citizen. Which article makes applying the Directive Principles in making laws "the duty of the State"?
Show answer
Correct answer: A
Article 37: the principles of Part IV are "fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws".
Option B: Article 51A is the duties of citizens, not of the State.
Option C: Article 36 is the definition at the start of Part IV.
Option D: Article 32 is the right to move the Supreme Court.
Hint: It is the article that also says Part IV is not enforceable by any court.
Quick reference
Fundamental Duties: Part IVA, Article 51A
- Article 51A
- whose duties every citizen of India
- 42nd Amendment Act, 1976
- inserted Part IVA ten duties, clauses (a) to (j)
- 86th Amendment Act, 2002
- inserted clause (k) parents or guardians: education for a child of six to fourteen years
- As on 10 September 2026
- how many eleven, clauses (a) to (k)
- Clause (a)
- the Constitution respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem
- Clause (g)
- environment protect and improve the natural environment
- Clause (h)
- mind the scientific temper, humanism, the spirit of inquiry and reform
- Clause (i)
- property safeguard public property and abjure violence
- Enforcement
- NCERT the Constitution says nothing about enforcing them
Why it works: rights tell the State what it owes a citizen; duties tell the citizen what he owes the country.
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