INDIAN CONSTITUTION

Directive Principles of State Policy

– lecture – Part 1

By amit Varidhi kilhor

Indian Constitution - Polity

PART- IV
(Articles 36-51)
Directive Principles
of State Policy
• Directive Principles of State Policy are
enumerated in Part IV of the Constitution
from Articles 36 to 51
• . The framers of the Constitution borrowed
this idea from the Irish Constitution of 1937,
which had copied it from the Spanish
Constitution. Dr B R Ambedkar described
these principles as ‘novel features’ of the
Indian Constitution. The Directive Principles
along with the Fundamental Rights contain
the philosophy of the Constitution and is
the soul of the Constitution. Granville Austin
has described the Directive Principles and
the Fundamental Rights as the ‘Conscience
of the Constitution’
• The Directive Principles resemble
the ‘Instrument of Instructions’
enumerated in the Government of
India Act of 1935. In the words of
Dr B R Ambedkar, ‘the Directive
Principles are like the instrument
of instructions, which were issued
to the Governor-General and to
the
• Governors of the colonies of
India by the British Government
under the Government of India
Act of 1935.
• The Constitution does not contain any
classification of Directive Principles.
However, on the basis of their content
and direction, they can be classified into
three broad categories, viz, socialistic,
Gandhian and liberal–intellectual.

• Sir B N Rau, the Constitutional Advisor

to the Constituent Assembly,
recommended that the rights of an
individual should be divided into two
categories—justiciable and non-
justiciable, which was accepted by the
Drafting Committee
•These principles reflect the
ideology of socialism. They lay
down the framework of a
democratic socialist state, aim at
providing social and economic
justice, and set the path towards
welfare state. They direct the
state:
• 1. To promote the welfare of the people by securing a social
order permeated by justice—social, economic and political—
and to minimize inequalities in income, status, facilities and
opportunities (Article 38).
• 2. To secure
• (a) the right to adequate means of livelihood for all citizens;
(b) the equitable distribution of material resources of the
community for the common good;
• (c) prevention of concentration of wealth and means of
production;
• (d) equal pay for equal work for men and women;
• (e) preservation of the health and strength of workers and
children against forcible abuse; and
• (f) opportunities for healthy development of children (Article
39).
•3. To promote equal justice
and to provide free legal aid to
the poor (Article 39 A).

•4. To secure the right to work,

to education and to public
assistance in cases of
unemployment, old age,
sickness and disablement
(Article 41).
• 5. To make provision for just and
humane conditions of work and
maternity relief (Article 42).
• 6. To secure a living wage , a decent
standard of life and social and cultural
opportunities for all workers (Article43).
• 7. To take steps to secure the
participation of workers in the
management of industries (Article 43 A).
• 8. To raise the level of nutrition and the
standard of living of people and to
improve public health (Article 47).
•These principles are based
on Gandhian ideology. They
represent the programme of
reconstruction enunciated by
Gandhi during the national
movement. In order to fulfil
the dreams of Gandhi, some
of his ideas were included as
Directive Principles. They
require the State:
• 1. To organise village panchayats and endow them with
necessary powers and authority to enable them to function as
units of self-government (Article 40).
• 2. To promote cottage industries on an individual or co-
operation basis in rural areas (Article 43).
• 3. To promote voluntary formation, autonomous
functioning, democratic control and professional management
of co-operative societies 8a (Article 43B).
• 4. To promote the educational and economic interests of
SCs, STs, and other weaker sections of the society and to
protect them from social injustice and exploitation (Article46).
• 5. To prohibit the consumption of intoxicating drinks and
drugs which are injurious to health (Article 47).
• 6. To prohibit the slaughter of cows, calves and other milch
and draught cattle and to improve their breeds (Article 48)
•Liberal–Intellectual
Principles The principles
included in this category
represent the ideology of
liberalism. They direct the
state:
1. To secure for all citizens a uniform civil code throughout the country (Article 44).
2. 2. To provide early childhood care and education for all children until they
complete the age of six years 9 (Article 45).
3. To organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines
(Article 48).
4. 4. To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wild
life 10 (Article 48 A).
5. 5. To protect monuments, places and objects of artistic or historic interest which
are declared to be of national importance (Article 49).
6. 6. To separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State
(Article 50).
7. 7. To promote international peace and security and maintain just and
honourable relations between nations; to foster respect for international law
and treaty obligations, and to encourage settlement of international disputes by
arbitration (Article 51).
NEW DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES
• The 42nd Amendment Act of 1976 added four new Directive
Principles to the original list. They require the State:
• 1. To secure opportunities for healthy development of
children (Article 39).
• 2. To promote equal justice and to provide free legal aid to
the poor (Article 39 A).
• 3. To take steps to secure the participation of workers in the
management of industries (Article 43 A).
• 4. To protect and improve the environment and to safeguard
forests and wild life (Article 48 A).
• The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 added one more Directive
Principle, which requires the State to minimise inequalities in
income, status, facilities and opportunities (Article 38).
• The 86th Amendment Act of 2002 changed
the subject-matter of Article 45 and made
elementary education a fundamental right
under Article 21 A. The amended directive
requires the State to provide early childhood
care and education for all children until they
complete the age of six years.
• The 97 th Amendment Act of 2011 added a
new Directive Principle relating to co-operative
societies. It requires the state to promote
voluntary formation, autonomous functioning,
democratic control and professional
management of co-operative societies (Article
43B).
SANCTION BEHIND
DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

Sir B N Rau, the Constitutional Advisor

to the Constituent Assembly,
recommended that the rights of an
individual should be divided into two
categories—justiciable and non-
justiciable, which was accepted by the
Drafting Committee.
they impose a moral obligation on the state
authorities for their application, but the real
force behind them is political, that is, public
opinion
‘a government which rests on popular vote
can hardly ignore the Directive Principles
while shaping its policy.
The framers of the Constitution made the Directive Principles nonjusticiable and
legally non-enforceable because:
1. The country did not possess sufficient financial resources to implement them.
2. 2. The presence of vast diversity and backwardness in the country would
stand in the way of their implementation.
3. 3. The newly born independent Indian State with its many preoccupations
might be crushed under the burden unless it was free to decide the order, the
time, the place and the mode of fulfilling them.

‘The Constitution makers, therefore, taking a pragmatic view, refrained from

giving teeth to these principles. They believed more in an awakened public
opinion rather than in court procedures as the ultimate sanction for the
fulfilment of these principles