Under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, a national emergency can be proclaimed if the security of India or any part of its territory is threatened by which of the following? 1. War 2. External aggression 3. Armed rebellion 4. Internal disturbance. Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Difficulty: Medium

Correct Answer: 1, 2 and 3

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Article 352 of the Constitution of India deals with proclamation of national emergency. The grounds on which such an emergency can be declared have evolved over time through constitutional amendments. Originally, the Constitution permitted emergency on grounds of war, external aggression, or internal disturbance. Later, the expression internal disturbance was replaced by armed rebellion to narrow the scope. This question asks candidates to identify the correct grounds for national emergency under the present wording of Article 352.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • The question explicitly refers to Article 352 and national emergency.
  • Four possible situations are listed: war, external aggression, armed rebellion, and internal disturbance.
  • We must select the correct combination under the currently applicable constitutional text.
  • We assume the effect of the Forty Fourth Amendment, which altered the terminology.


Concept / Approach:
Under the original Constitution, Article 352 allowed a proclamation of emergency if the security of India was threatened by war, external aggression, or internal disturbance. The Forty Fourth Amendment replaced internal disturbance with the more specific term armed rebellion, to prevent misuse of emergency powers in relatively ordinary law and order situations. Under the present provisions, emergency can be declared only when there is war, external aggression, or armed rebellion threatening the security of India or any part of it. Internal disturbance alone is no longer recognised as an independent ground in the constitutional text.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall the current text of Article 352 after the Forty Fourth Amendment of the Constitution. Step 2: Note that it mentions war, external aggression, and armed rebellion as the relevant grounds. Step 3: Recognise that internal disturbance was part of the earlier text and is often mentioned in historical discussion but is not part of the present wording. Step 4: Identify that items 1, 2, and 3 in the list correspond to war, external aggression, and armed rebellion. Step 5: See that item 4, internal disturbance, does not appear in the present amended text. Step 6: Therefore, conclude that the correct combination is 1, 2, and 3 only. Step 7: Choose the option listing 1, 2, and 3 as the answer.


Verification / Alternative check:
To verify, you can recall the reasons for the Forty Fourth Amendment, which sought to reduce the possibility of emergency being declared in relatively mild internal situations. The amendment replaced the vague term internal disturbance with the more concrete phrase armed rebellion. Standard polity texts emphasise this change when discussing the emergency provisions. They clearly state that the present grounds for national emergency are war, external aggression, or armed rebellion, confirming that internal disturbance as such is not a present ground.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
The option listing 2, 3, and 4 incorrectly treats internal disturbance as a current ground and also leaves out war, which is clearly included in the article. The option listing 1 and 2 only ignores armed rebellion, which is now an explicit ground. The option listing 1, 3, and 4 again brings in internal disturbance and omits external aggression, both of which do not match the constitutional formulation. Each of these incorrect options either omits a valid ground or includes an expression that belongs only to the historical, not the current, text.


Common Pitfalls:
Many candidates remember internal disturbance from older discussions of emergency powers and do not fully appreciate that the term was replaced by armed rebellion. Confusion also arises from the fact that internal disturbance may still appear in some commentary when describing pre amendment practice. To avoid such confusion, it is important to focus on the current constitutional text and to learn the list of grounds as it now stands, namely war, external aggression, and armed rebellion.


Final Answer:
Under the present wording of Article 352, a national emergency can be proclaimed if the security of India is threatened by war, external aggression, or armed rebellion, that is, items 1, 2, and 3.

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