While studying for my civil service exam, I employed a range of techniques for this. Let me list them for you.
- Familiarity: Nothing can beat this. I have read D D Basu atleast 10 times. Same goes for Laxmikanth. This means my internal mindmap is strong with proper linkages. You say Habeas Corpus and I can immediately backlink to Constitutional remedies and from there to Article 32. The connection is mostly made this way. I can also remember the page in the book and the location where this is mentioned which means my memory is pretty strongly formed.
- Inter article play: Article 123 is President’s ordinance making power. Article 213 is governors’. Article 312 is creation of All India Services. Article 111 is options President has when a bill is presented for his assent (President has three options represented in my mind as 1-1-1). 352, 356,360,365 are regarding emergency and in that 356 and 365 are usually used together. There are many more such connections in my mind. You need to find your own.
- Indexed count: I can simply count up from a particular article I know to reach the one I need to. I Know Article 14 is equality before the law and I know all the fundamental rights in between, I can simply count to reach Article 21, i.e Right to life. This is a relatively slow method, but over time, the spacing between the base index of counting (in this case Article 14) comes down.
- Multiple Encounters: In the course of my reading I daily encounter many of these articles from various sources. Article 370 (Kashmir Special Status), Article 21 (Right to Life), Article 48 ( in news related to cow protection) , Article 21A (Right to Education), Schedule 5/Schedule 6 (Scheduled Areas) , 8th schedule (Languages), Article 44 (Uniform Civil Code) etc are constantly in public discourse, it is hard to actually not remember them.
- Plain old cramming: However brilliant you say you are, or even if you claim that you never learn things by heart, certain things are better off learned that way. This is like learning the multiplication tables. It helps you in making larger arguments.
- Keeping notes: Can’t stress this enough. Keep short notes of things you read. These are there so that you can revisit them whenever you are in doubt. Every Single time you refer them, the memory gets stronger. It’s best to have a note taking system with excellent indexing capabilities, which will make sure you can dig through your notes at ease. I prefer Evernote (The workspace for your life’s work).
- Love: Yes, plain old love for the subject. I’m no law student, but I’m pretty confident I can hold my ground in an argument which involves constitutional law. This is because my love for the subject ensures that I’m informed about the latest developments, major cases, precedents, public debates etc.
In short, Don’t rote learn the subject. Immerse yourself in it. Learn it so that you know how the system works, from wherein power flows and how it’s self regulated. You can have a lot of fun in the process and forget that you actually put effort into learning it.
PS: However much you study, there is a very good chance you will keep forgetting the exact article number in many cases. Don’t beat yourself about it. The important thing is to know the provision exists. You can always refresh your memory about the article. Remember, ours is the longest written constitution.