Directive Principles of State Policy

Also called: DPSP, Part IV · Topic: Directive Principles and Fundamental Duties · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 10 "The Constitution of India: An Introduction"; Class 7, Ch 6 "The State, the Government, and You"; Class 8, Ch 6 "The Parliamentary System: Legislature and Executive"; Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 11, Ch 1 "Constitution: Why and How?"; Class 11, Ch 2 "Rights in the Indian Constitution"; Class 11, Ch 6 "Judiciary"; Class 11, Ch 7 "Federalism"; Class 11, Ch 8 "Local Governments"; Class 11, Ch 10 "The Philosophy of the Constitution"

Meaning

Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are the guidelines in Part IV (Articles 36–51) of the Constitution. They tell the State what goals to work towards, so that India becomes a just welfare state (a State that works for people's jobs, health, education and security, and does more than keep law and order). No court can force the State to follow them. Even so, Article 37 calls them "fundamental in the governance of the country" [2].

They matter because they set the social and economic goals of the Constitution. The Fundamental Rights give the people political freedom. The Directive Principles add economic and social justice.

Explanation

Origin: where the idea came from

• Irish model: India took the idea from Article 45 of the Irish Constitution of 1937, called "Directive Principles of Social Policy".
• Ireland itself borrowed it from the Spanish Constitution of 1931.
• Chain to remember: Spain 1931 → Ireland 1937 → India 1950.

• Class 7 NCERT says the DPSP were "inspired by the Irish Constitution".

• Sapru Committee (1945): it first suggested splitting rights into two kinds:

• justiciable rights, which a court can enforce;

• non-justiciable rights, which a court cannot enforce.

• B.N. Rau, the Constitutional Adviser to the Constituent Assembly, gave the same advice. The first kind became Part III (Fundamental Rights). The second kind became Part IV (DPSP).

• "Instrument of Instructions": under the Government of India Act 1935, the British Government gave written orders to the Governor-General and the provincial Governors on how to use their powers.
• On 19 November 1948, Ambedkar said the directives are "more or less" an Instrument of Instructions. The difference is that they are now addressed to the Legislature and the Executive of free India [3].
• The old orders served a colonial ruler. The directives guide the people's own elected government.

Nature: not enforceable, but fundamental

• Article 36: in Part IV, "State" means the same as in Article 12. It covers:
• the Union government and Parliament;
• state governments and state legislatures;

• local authorities and other authorities.

• Article 37 (key text): the provisions "shall not be enforceable by any court". But they are "fundamental in the governance of the country", and the State has a duty to apply them when making laws [2].

• Non-justiciable means a citizen cannot go to court to make the State carry out a directive.

• Article 37 gives the job of carrying them out to the State, not to the courts [2].

• Why the framers made them non-justiciable (Class 11 NCERT):

• they wanted to show the way without tying the hands of future governments;
• the newly free country did not have the money to reach every goal at once;
• they trusted the moral force of the directives;

• they expected voters to judge governments on them at elections.

• Class 7 NCERT, in simple words: Fundamental Rights are promises you can take to a judge. DPSP are goals that take time to reach as the country grows.

Purpose: economic democracy

• Political democracy: one person, one vote. Adult franchise (the right of every adult to vote) secures it.
• Economic democracy: Ambedkar's idea that the vote alone is not enough. People also need a livelihood and fair wages, and wealth should not pile up in a few hands.
• Ambedkar said the Constitution aims at economic democracy as well as political democracy [3].

• He said there were many ways to get there, such as socialism or communism. So the Constitution does not fix one economic path and leaves the choice to future governments [3].

• Some directives that set welfare goals: Art. 38 (a just social order), Art. 39 (fair sharing of resources), Art. 41 (right to work and public help).

Classification of the directives

(a) NCERT grouping (Class 11, Ch 2)

Group	What it contains
Goals	Welfare of the people; social, economic and political justice; a better standard of living; fair sharing of resources; international peace
Non-justiciable rights	Adequate means of livelihood; equal pay for equal work for men and women; protection against economic exploitation; right to work; early childhood care and education below six
Policies	Uniform Civil Code; prohibition of alcohol; cottage industries; ban on cattle slaughter; village panchayats

(b) Usual grouping (socialistic, Gandhian, liberal-intellectual)

• Socialistic (aimed at a fair economy): Arts. 38, 39, 39A, 41, 42, 43 (living wage), 43A.
• Gandhian (based on Gandhi's ideas): Arts. 40 (village panchayats), 43 (cottage industries), 43B (co-operative societies), 46 (SCs, STs and weaker sections), 47 (nutrition, health, prohibition of intoxicating drinks), 48 (ban on cattle slaughter).
• Liberal-intellectual (modern, Western-style ideas): Arts. 44 (Uniform Civil Code), 45 (early childhood care and education), 48 (modern farming), 48A (environment), 49 (monuments), 50 (separation of judiciary from executive), 51 (international peace).
• Trap: Arts. 43 and 48 each fall in two groups.
• Art. 43: living wage is socialistic; cottage industries are Gandhian.
• Art. 48: cattle is Gandhian; modern farming is liberal-intellectual.

In the Constitution and practice

• Place: Part IV, Articles 36–51. Article 37 was Draft Article 29 of the 1948 Draft Constitution. The Assembly adopted it without change on 19 November 1948 [2].

• One member moved an amendment to make the directives legally binding. They argued that otherwise the directives would stay "merely pious wishes". The amendment failed [2].

• Who must apply them: everything that counts as "State" under Article 12. That means Parliament, the Union government, state legislatures and governments, and local and other authorities.

• 42nd Amendment (1976) added three new directives:
• Art. 39A: equal justice and free legal aid [4];
• Art. 43A: workers' participation in the management of industries. This was not in the 1950 text [5];

• Art. 48A: the State shall try to "protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life" [8].

• 86th Amendment (2002), dated 12 December 2002 [7]:

• it replaced Article 45 [6][7]. The old Article 45 asked for free and compulsory education for all children up to age 14;
• the new Article 45 asks the State to "endeavour to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of six years" [6];

• education for ages 6–14 moved into Part III as a Fundamental Right (Art. 21A). A directive became a right that courts can enforce [6][7].

• Directives that became law in practice:

• Art. 40 → Panchayati Raj;
• Art. 45 → Art. 21A [6][7];

• Art. 39A → free legal aid [4].

• Critics in the Constituent Assembly:

• K.T. Shah: "a cheque on a bank payable at the convenience of the bank". The State pays only when it chooses to.
• Naziruddin Ahmad: like "New Year's resolutions" that are broken by the second day of January.
• T.T. Krishnamachari: "a veritable dustbin of sentiments".
• K. Santhanam feared two kinds of friction (clash):
  • between the Centre and the states: the Centre might direct a state to apply a directive and dismiss a state government that refuses;
  • between the President and the Prime Minister: the President might refuse to sign a bill that goes against the directives.

• Other charges: the language is vague ("shall endeavour", "within the limits of its economic capacity"); the order is illogical; and some call the directives conservative because they rest on 19th-century ideas.

• Defenders:

• the directives give each new government a standing agenda [3];
• they guide courts when judges read laws and decide whether a limit on a Fundamental Right is "reasonable";
• they give voters a yardstick to judge each government's record;
• they keep policy steady when the ruling party changes;
• Granville Austin called Parts III and IV together the "conscience of the Constitution".

Don't confuse with

• Fundamental Rights (Part III): courts can enforce them (Art. 32, Art. 226). They are mostly limits on the State and aim at political democracy. DPSP cannot be enforced (Art. 37). They are duties on the State to act and aim at economic and social democracy.
• Fundamental Duties: these are duties of the citizen. DPSP are duties of the State.
• Instrument of Instructions (GoI Act 1935): these were British orders to the Governor-General and Governors. Ambedkar only compared the DPSP to them. The directives guide India's own Legislature and Executive [3].
• Irish "Directive Principles of Social Policy" (Art. 45, 1937): this is the Irish source. India's Part IV is called "Directive Principles of State Policy".

Prelims Hooks

• Origin chain: Spanish Constitution 1931 → Irish Constitution 1937, Art. 45 → India's Part IV. The Sapru Committee (1945) first suggested justiciable and non-justiciable rights.
• Art. 36: "State" means the same as in Art. 12. Art. 37: DPSP are not enforceable by any court but are "fundamental in the governance of the country". It was Draft Art. 29, adopted on 19 November 1948 [2].
• 42nd Amendment (1976) added Arts. 39A, 43A, 48A [4][5][8]. 86th Amendment (2002) replaced Art. 45 (care and education below six) and created Art. 21A (education for ages 6–14 as a Fundamental Right) [6][7].
• Match the critic to the quote: K.T. Shah → "cheque on a bank payable at the convenience of the bank"; Naziruddin Ahmad → "New Year's resolutions"; T.T. Krishnamachari → "dustbin of sentiments". Granville Austin → "conscience of the Constitution".
• Trap: UCC (Art. 44) and separation of judiciary from executive (Art. 50) are liberal-intellectual, not Gandhian. Village panchayats (Art. 40) and prohibition (Art. 47) are Gandhian.
• "Instrument of Instructions" (Ambedkar) refers to the orders given to the Governor-General and Governors under the Government of India Act 1935 [3].

Mains Points

• Non-justiciability was a choice, not a weakness:
• a poor new State could not promise in court what its budget could not pay for;
• the framers relied on moral force and on voters to hold governments to account;

• Article 37 still puts a duty on the State to apply the directives when it makes laws [2].

• Economic democracy completes political democracy:

• Ambedkar left the economic path open, whether socialism or another route [3];
• so later governments, from the Nehru years to after 1991, could chase welfare goals in their own way;

• critics such as K.T. Shah and K. Santhanam warned of vague promises and of friction between Centre and states and between President and PM. Defenders reply that the directives still guide courts, set an agenda and give voters a yardstick.

• Should the directives be made binding? (Class 11 NCERT debate)

• For: the poor need food, work and schooling more than abstract freedoms. A promise no court can enforce gives them little.
• Against: courts cannot create money or jobs. Binding duties could clash with the budget and with the choices of elected governments.
• Middle path: directives are slowly becoming rights, such as Art. 45 → Art. 21A [6][7] and Art. 39A → free legal aid [4]. South Africa's Constitution (1996) shows another model, where courts enforce rights to housing, health care, food and water.

Related concepts

• Non-justiciability of Directive Principles
• Instrument of Instructions
• Economic democracy
• Welfare state
• Classification of Directive Principles

Read more

• Directive Principles: origin, nature and purpose