Directive Principles of State Policy
General Part IV of the Constitution of India deals with Articles 36 to 51. “These articles relate to the directive principles. Article 36 gives the meaning of the ‘State’ as has been explained in Part III. Article 37 says that these principles, though are not enforceable, but are considered fundamental in the governance of the country.
Directive Principles
Article-wise “The Directive Principles of State Policy as mentioned in the Constitution can be stated as follows: State to secure a social order for the promotion of the welfare of the people
- “The State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing and protecting as effectively as it may, a social order in which social, economic and political justice shall inform all the institutions of the national life [Article 38(1)] (renumbered by 44th amendment’1978)
- “The State shall, in particular, strive to minimise inequalities in income, and endeavour to eliminate inequalities in status, facilities and opportunities, not only among individuals but also among groups of people residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations.
Article 38(2) (Inserted by the 44th Amendment in 1978) Certain principles of policy to be followed by the State’
“The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing:
(a) that citizens’men and women equally’have the right to adequate means of livelihood;
(b) that the ownership and control of material resources of the community are so distributed as to best subserve the common good;
(c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment;
(d) that there is an equal pay for equal work for both men and women;
(e) that the health and strength of workers, both men and women, and children of tender age’are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter vocations not suited to their age or strength;
(f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and moral and material abandonment
(Article 39) (Substituted by 42nd amendment’1976) Equal justice and free legal aid'”The State shall secure that the operation of the legal system promotes justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities.
(Article 39A) (Inserted by 42nd amendment, 1976). Organisation of village panchayats'”The State shall take steps to organise village panchayats and endow them with such powers and authority as may be necessary to enable them to function as units of self-government.
(Article 40) Right to work, to education and to public assistance in certain cases'”The State shall, within the limits of its economic capacity and development, make effective provision for securing the right to work, to education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement, and in other cases of underserved want.
(Article 41) Provision for just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief'”The State shall make provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work and for maternity relief.
(Article 42) Living wage, etc., for workers'”The State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organisation or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, a work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities and, in particular, the State shall endeavour to promote cottage industries on an individual or cooperative basis in rural areas.
(Article 43) Participation of workers in management of industries'”The State shall take steps, by suitable legislation or in any other way, to secure the participation of workers in the management of undertakings, establishments of other organisations engaged in any industry.
(Article 43A) (Inserted by 42nd amendment ‘1976) Provision of cooperative Societies'”The State shall endeavour to promote voluntary formation, autonomous functioning, democratic control and professional management of cooperative societies. (43B’inserted by 97th amendment, 2012) Uniform civil code for the citizens'”The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.
(Article 44) Provision for early childhood care and education to children below the age of six years'”The State shall endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years.
(Article 45: substituted by 86th amendment, 2002) Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections'”The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and, in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.
(Article 46) Duty of the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health'”The State shall regard the raising of the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties and, in particular, the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of the consumption, except for medicinal purposes, of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health.
(Article 47) Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry ‘”The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal’ husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.
(Article 48) Protection and improvement of environment and safeguarding of forests and wildlife'”The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.
(Article 48A) (Inserted by 42nd amendment’1976) Protection of monuments and places and objects of national importance’It shall be the obligation of the State to protect every monument or place or object of artistic or historic interest, (declared by or under law made by Parliament) to be of national importance, from spoliation, disfigurement, destruction, removal, disposal or export, as the case may be.
(Article 49) Separation of judiciary from executive'”The State shall take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State.
(Article 50) Promotion of international peace and security’ “The State shall endeavour to (a) promote international peace and security; (b) maintain just and honourable relations between nations; (c) foster respect for international law and treaty obligations in the dealings of organised peoples with one another; and (d) encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration. (Article 51)