Directive Principles of State Policy

The Fundamental Rights tell the State what it must not do. The Directive Principles of State Policy tell the State what it should do. They are instructions to the Union and state governments to work for a society in which there is social and economic justice: a welfare state.

The idea was adapted from the Constitution of Ireland. Article 37 explains their status: they cannot be enforced by any court, but they are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country, and it is the duty of the State to apply them in making laws.

The main principles

The principles are often grouped under three heads for convenience, though the Constitution itself does not classify them.

Social and economic welfare

• Article 38: the State shall promote the welfare of the people and reduce inequalities of income and status.
• Article 39: adequate means of livelihood for all, equal pay for equal work for men and women, and protection of children and workers from abuse.
• Article 39A: equal justice and free legal aid for the poor.
• Article 41: the right to work, to education and to public help in old age, sickness and unemployment, within the State's economic capacity.
• Article 42: just and humane conditions of work, and maternity relief.
• Article 43: a living wage and a decent standard of life for workers.
• Article 45: early childhood care and education for children below six years.
• Article 47: raising the level of nutrition and public health.

Gandhian ideas

• Article 40: organising village panchayats as units of self-government.
• Article 43: promoting cottage industries in rural areas.
• Article 46: promoting the educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections.
• Article 47: prohibition of intoxicating drinks and drugs that harm health.
• Article 48: organising agriculture and animal husbandry on modern lines and prohibiting the slaughter of cows and other milch and draught cattle.

Other principles

• Article 44: a uniform civil code for all citizens.
• Article 48A: protecting the environment, forests and wildlife.
• Article 49: protecting monuments of national importance.
• Article 50: separating the judiciary from the executive.
• Article 51: promoting international peace and security.

Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles compared

The Supreme Court has said, in the Minerva Mills case (1980), that the Constitution is founded on a balance between the two. Neither is meant to swallow the other.

Principles that became law

Many Directive Principles have been turned into reality over the years: panchayati raj (73rd Amendment), free legal aid, laws on equal pay and maternity benefit, the rural employment guarantee, laws protecting wildlife and the environment, and the right to education, which moved from a Directive Principle to a Fundamental Right in 2002.