Directive Principles of State Policy – Meaning and Nature

DPSP meaning nature is best understood through Part IV of the Constitution (Articles 36 to 51), which lays down the Directive Principles of State Policy — constitutional instructions to the State on legislative, executive, and administrative matters that are not enforceable in any court but are declared fundamental in the governance of the country.

Meaning of Directive Principles

The Directive Principles of State Policy are a set of constitutional instructions or guidelines addressed to the State — in legislative, executive, and administrative matters — setting out the ideals it should keep in mind while formulating policy. The idea was borrowed from the Irish Constitution. Unlike Fundamental Rights, the Directive Principles are non-justiciable: no court can compel the State to implement them, and their violation cannot be challenged as such in a court of law. Even so, Article 37 of the Constitution declares that although the provisions of Part IV are not enforceable by any court, the principles laid down in it are fundamental in the governance of the country, and it is the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws. The Directive Principles are broadly classified into socialistic, Gandhian, and liberal-intellectual categories, reflecting their varied intellectual origins.

What Article 36 Does

Article 36 simply provides that, for the purposes of Part IV, "the State" has the same meaning as under Part III — that is, the same definition of "State" that governs the Fundamental Rights also governs the Directive Principles, covering the Government and Parliament of India, the government and legislature of each state, and all local or other authorities within India or under the control of the Government of India. During the Constituent Assembly debates, Pandit Lakshmi Kanta Maitra criticised the original drafting of Article 36 for phrasing a directive as though it were a fundamental right ("every citizen is entitled to...") and argued it should instead read that "the State shall endeavour to provide," to bring it in line with the language used throughout the rest of Part IV.

Nature and Purpose

The Directive Principles aim to establish the ideals of economic and social democracy that the Preamble to the Constitution pledges, marking India out as a welfare state rather than a mere "police state" confined to maintaining law and order. Article 39, for instance, directs the State to secure an adequate means of livelihood for citizens, distribute ownership and control of material resources for the common good, prevent concentration of wealth to the common detriment, ensure equal pay for equal work, and protect the health and strength of workers and the tender age of children. Taken together with the rest of Part IV, these directives sketch out the kind of social and economic order the State is expected to work towards, even though none of it can be directly enforced by petitioning a court.

Debate on Enforceability

The non-justiciable character of the Directive Principles was contested even as the Constitution was being framed. Members such as Prof. Shibban Lal Saksena argued that the principles should not remain "mere pious wishes" and that any legislative bill conflicting with them ought to be treated as beyond the legislature's proper authority, so that the directives functioned as genuinely binding guides even without direct judicial enforcement. Others, such as Mahboob Ali Baig Sahib Bahadur, argued that directive principles were in tension with parliamentary democracy, since they could constrain an elected government's mandate, and suggested that anything genuinely essential should instead be placed among the Fundamental Rights, leaving the rest as mere policy matters. Shri S. Nagappa, defending provisions on nationalisation of industries and the means of production, argued that as long as such clauses stood, capitalism could not take root in India, and that the directive principles had to be implemented seriously if the Constitution was to have real meaning.

Directive Principles and Fundamental Rights

Because Fundamental Rights protect individuals while Directive Principles are aimed at the well-being of society as a whole, the two have at times come into conflict — most notably when the State sought to abolish the zamindari system, a move opposed on the ground that it violated the right to property. Parliament responded by amending the Constitution to give effect to the Directive Principles, triggering a long-running legal contest in which the government argued that rights could be abridged to serve the Directive Principles, while the judiciary held that Fundamental Rights required strong protection.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Directive Principles of State Policy are contained in Part IV, Articles 36 to 51, and are non-justiciable.
• Article 36 defines "the State" for Part IV by reference to the same meaning used in Part III.
• Article 37 declares the Directive Principles "fundamental in the governance of the country," though not enforceable by any court.
• The Directive Principles are classified as socialistic, Gandhian, and liberal-intellectual, and were inspired by the Irish Constitution.

Mains

• Examine the nature of the Directive Principles of State Policy and the debate in the Constituent Assembly over their enforceability.
• Discuss how the tension between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles has shaped constitutional amendments in India.

FAQ

Q1. What are the Directive Principles of State Policy? Constitutional instructions in Part IV (Articles 36–51) that guide the State's legislative, executive, and administrative action; they are non-justiciable but declared fundamental to governance under Article 37.

Q2. Are the Directive Principles enforceable in court? No. Article 37 explicitly states they are not enforceable by any court, though it is the duty of the State to apply them in making laws.

Q3. What does Article 36 provide? It defines "the State," for the purposes of Part IV, to carry the same meaning it has under Part III (Fundamental Rights).

Q4. Where did the idea of Directive Principles come from? The concept was borrowed from the Irish Constitution.

Q5. How are the Directive Principles classified? Broadly into socialistic, Gandhian, and liberal-intellectual principles.

Quick Revision

• Directive Principles: Part IV, Articles 36–51; non-justiciable but fundamental to governance (Article 37).
• Article 36: "the State" in Part IV has the same meaning as in Part III.
• Borrowed from the Irish Constitution; classified as socialistic, Gandhian, liberal-intellectual.
• Article 39(a–e): livelihood, distribution of resources, anti-concentration of wealth, equal pay, protection of workers/children.
• Tension with Fundamental Rights (e.g., zamindari abolition) has driven several constitutional amendments.

Sources

• The Constitution of India, Part IV, Articles 36–39 — legislative.gov.in

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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