Unit-2nd Ch- 1st

Indian Constitution: Preamble; Fundamental Rights and Duties;

Directive Principles
Introduction

 The constitution of India is among the largest in the world.

 The original text of the Constitution contained 395 articles in 22 parts
and eight schedules. It came into effect on January 26, 1950, the day that
India celebrates each year as the Republic Day.
 The Constitution was adopted on January 26, 1950, Republic Day; the
new constitution went into effect.
 The new India was to be a parliamentary democracy, federal republican
and secular.

The Preamble

The 'Preamble' of the Constitution of India is a brief introductory statement that

sets out the guiding purpose and principles of the document, and it indicates the
source from which the document which derives its authority, meaning, the
people. The hopes and aspiration of the people as well as the ideals before our
nation are described in the preamble in clear cut words. It may be considered as
the soul of Constitution. The preamble can be referred to as the preface which
highlights the entire Constitution. The Constituent Assembly completed the
work of drafting the constitution on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on
26th January, 1950.

Sovereign

It means free from the control of any foreign power and internally has a free
government which is directly elected by the people and makes laws that govern
the people. Hence, Citizens of India also enjoy sovereign power to elect their
representatives through elections held for the parliament, state legislature and
local bodies as well. People have supreme right to make decisions on internal as
well as external matters. No external power can dictate the government of India.

Socialist
The term socialist here means democratic socialism i.e. achievement of
socialistic goals through democratic and non-violent means. A mixed economy
in which both Public sector and Private sector run together as two wheels of
economic development.

Secularism

Secularism is the basic structure of the Indian constitution. The Government

respects all religions. It does not uplift or degrade any particular religion. There
is no such thing as a state religion for India.

Democratic

The people of India elect their governments at all levels (Union, State and local)
by a system of universal adult franchise; popularly known as "one man one
vote". Every citizen of India, who is 18 years of age and above is entitled to
vote. Every citizen enjoys this right without any discrimination on the basis of
caste, creed, colour, sex, Religious intolerance or education.

Republic

In a republic form of government the head of the state is an elected person and
not a genetics ruler. The post of the President of India is not hereditary. Every
citizen of India is eligible to become the President of the country.

Fundamental Rights in India

The Fundamental Rights is defined as the basic human rights of all citizens.
These rights, defined in Part III of the Constitution, apply irrespective of race,
place of birth, religion, caste, creed or gender. They are enforceable by the
courts.

Seven fundamental rights were originally provided by the Constitution – right to

equality, right to freedom, right against exploitation, right to freedom of
religion, cultural and educational rights, right to property and right to
constitutional remedies. However, the right to property was removed from Part
III of the Constitution by the 44th Amendment in 1978.

The purpose of the Fundamental Rights is to preserve individual liberty and

democratic principles based on equality of all members of society. Dr
Ambedkar said that the responsibility of the legislature is not just to provide
fundamental rights but also and rather more importantly, to safeguard them.

In case of any violation of these rights the Supreme Court of India and the High
Courts of the states have the power to declare such legislative or executive
action as unconstitutional.

The Fundamental Rights are subject to reasonable restrictions as necessary for

the protection of public interest.

The imposition of a state of emergency may lead to a temporary suspension any

of the Fundamental Rights, by order of the President. The President may, by
order, suspend the right to constitutional remedies as well, thereby barring
citizens from approaching the Supreme Court for the enforcement of any of the
Fundamental Rights, during the period of the emergency.

For example, the Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977

when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across
the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article
352 of the Constitution because of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the
Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March
1977.
The order granted upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree
(order), allowing elections to be cancelled and civil liberties to be suspended.
For much of the Emergency, most of Indira Gandhi's political opponents were
imprisoned and the press was censored. The Emergency is one of the most
controversial periods of independent India's history.
In the history of independent India, a state of emergency has been declared
thrice. The first instance was between 26 October 1962 to 10 January 1968
during the India-China war, when "the security of India" was declared as being
"threatened by external aggression".
The second instance was between 3 to 17 December 1971, which was originally
proclaimed during the Indo-Pakistan war. It was later extended along with the
third proclamation between 25 June 1975 to 21 March 1977 under controversial
circumstances of political instability under Indira Gandhi's premiership, when
emergency was declared on the basis of "internal disturbance".

The six fundamental rights are-

1. Right to equality 2. Right to Freedom 3. Right against exploitation 4.
Right to Freedom of religion 5. Cultural and educational rights and 6.
Right to constitutional remedies.

1. Right to equality-
(i) Equality before Law- Article 14 of the constitution guarantees that
all citizens shall be equally protected by the laws the country. It means
that the state cannot discriminate against a citizen on the basis of
caste, colour, sex, religion or place of birth.
(ii) Social equality – Article 15 of the constitution states that no person
shall be discriminated on the basis of caste, colour, language etc.
(iii) Equality in matters of public employment- Article 16, states that the
state cannot discriminate against anyone n the matters of employment.
All citizens can apply for govt. jobs.

2. Right to freedom- The rights to freedom in Article 19 guarantees the

following six freedoms-
(1) Freedom of speech and expression.
(2) Freedom to assemble peacefully without arms, on which the state can
impose reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order.
(3) Freedom to form associations or unions, on which the state can impose
reasonable restrictions in the interest of public order.
(4) Freedom to move freely throughout the territory of India, though
reasonable restrictions can be imposed in the interest of the general
public.
(5) Freedom to reside and settle in any part of territory of India.
(6) Freedom to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade
or business.
These six freedoms are also automatically suspended during a state of
emergency but the Right to Life and Personal Liberty cannot be suspended
according to the original Constitution.

3. Right against exploitation-

The abolition of Begar (forced labour) and abolition of employment of
children below the age of 14 yrs in dangerous jobs like factories and
mines.

4. Right to Freedom of religion-

According to the Constitution, all religions are equal before the State and
no religion shall be given preference over the other. Citizens are free to
practice and propagate any religion of their choice.
 5. Cultural and educational rights- Any community which has a language
and a script of its own has the right to conserve and develop them. No
citizen can be discriminated against for admission in State or state aided
institutions. All minorities, religious or linguistic, can set up their own
educational institutions in order to preserve and develop their own
culture.

6. Right to constitutional remedies- Right to Constitutional remedies

empowers the citizens to move a court of law in case of any denial of the
fundamental rights. For instance, in case of imprisonment, the citizen can
ask the court to see if it is according to the provisions of the law. If the
court finds that it is not, the person will have to be freed.

The Fundamental Duties

The Fundamental Duties of citizens were added to the Constitution by the 42nd
Amendment in 1976. Originally ten in number, the Fundamental Duties were
increased to eleven by the 86th Amendment in 2002, which added a duty on
every parent or guardian to ensure that their child or ward was provided
opportunities for education between the ages of six and fourteen years.

However, like the Directive Principles, these are non-justifiable, without any
legal sanction in case of their violation or non-compliance.

The Fundamental Duties noted in the constitution are as follows:

It shall be the duty of every citizen of India —

 To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the
National Flag and the National Anthem;
 To cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national
struggle for freedom;
 To uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
 To defend the country and render national service when called upon to do
so;
 To promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all
the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or
sectional diversities; to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of
women;
 To value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
 To protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes,
rivers and wild life, and to have sympathy for living creatures;
 To develop the scientific temper, humanism and reform;
 To safeguard public property and to avoid violence;
 To do your best towards excellence in all spheres of individual and
collective activity so that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of
endeavour and achievement;
 Who is a parent or guardian to provide opportunities for education to his
child or ward, as the case may be, between the ages of six to fourteen
years.

Directive Principles in India

 The Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines to the central and
state governments of India, to be kept in mind while framing laws and
policies.
 These provisions, contained in Part 4 th of the Constitution of India, are
not enforceable by any court, but the principles laid down there in are
considered fundamental in the governance of the country, making it the
duty of the state to apply these principles in making laws to establish a
social justice in the country.
 Part 4 of the Indian Constitution consists of all the DPSP (Directive
Principles of State Policy). 
 It covers the Articles from 36 to 51. 
 Article 36 of Part IV defines the term “State” as the one, who has to keep
in mind all the DPSP before formulating any policy or law for the
country.
 In Article 37 the nature of DPSP has been defined.
 DPSPs are non-justiciable. 
 The principles have been inspired by the Directive Principles given in the
Constitution of Ireland and also by the principles of Gandhism and relate
to social justice, economic welfare, foreign policy and legal and
administrative matters.
 The Indians who were fighting for the independence of India from the
British rule were greatly influenced by the movements and independence
struggles of Ireland at that time, to free themselves from the British rule
and move towards the development of their constitution.
 According to Dr B R Ambedkar, these principles are ‘novel features’ of
the Constitution. DPSP acts as a guideline for the state and should be
taken into consideration while coming up with some new policy or any
law. But no one can compel the State to consider and follow all that
which is mentioned in DPSP, as DPSP is not justiciable.
Directive Principles -
1. The directive principles ensure that state shall promote the welfare of the
people by social, economic and political justice.
2. The state shall work towards reducing economic inequality.
3. Both men and women as well as equal pay for equal work.
4. The State should work to prevent concentration of wealth and means of
productions in a few hands.
5. Child abuse and exploitation of workers should be prevented.
6. The State shall provide free legal aid to poor.
7. The State shall also work for organisation of village Panchayats.
8. The State shall provide the right of work and education in case of
unemployment.
9. The State should also ensure living wage and proper working conditions
for workers.
10.Provide free and compulsory education to all children till they attain the
age of 14 yrs.
11.The State raises the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to
improve public health and,
12.Protection of monuments, places of historic and artistic interest and
national importance against demolition and damage.

Significance of DPSP

 Directive Principles are non-justiciable but these are backed by vox

populi (voice of the people), which is the real sanction behind every
law in reality.
 DPSP gives the philosophical foundations of a welfare system. These
principles make it a responsibility of the State to secure it through
welfare legislation.
 Their nature is more of moral ideals. They constitute a moral code for the
State but this does not reduce their value as moral principles are very
important and the absence of it may hamper the growth of a society. A
state is run by its people and the Government is always formed and
managed by them, so it’s really important to have a set of standards for
making laws in the country.
 DirectivePrinciples act as a guide for the government which helps them
in making policies and laws for the purpose of securing justice and
welfare in the State.
 DPSP are like a source of continuity in the Governance of the country
because in a democratic system, the Governments change after regular
elections and every new government makes different policies and laws
for the country. The presence of such guidelines is really important
 because it ensures that every Government will follow the set of
principles in the form of DPSP while formulating its laws.
 DirectivePrinciples can be called as the positive directions for the State
which helps in securing social and economical dimensions of
democracy. DPSP are supplementary to Fundamental Rights which
offers political rights and other freedoms. They both are nothing
without each other as one provides social and economic democracy and
the other, political rights.
 Directive Principles of State Policy make it possible for people to
measure the worth of a government and its working. A Government
which doesn’t consider these principles can be rejected on this ground
by the people in favour of a government which gives due importance to
the task of securing these Directive Principles in the state.
 TheDirective Principles do not seem to be very rigid in their meanings
and this helps the State in interpreting and applying these principles in
accordance with the situation prevailing at a given time.

Thus, the inclusion of Part IV which contains the Directive Principles of State
Policy proved to be very useful for the country. The Directive Principles
provide good foundations for welfare state. The securing of Directive Principles
helped in completing the requirements of a democratic system. It supplemented
the Fundamental Rights of the people and built a State characterized by these
four pillars – Justice, Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity.

Fundamental Rights Vs DPSP (Directive Principles of State Policy):

Unlike the Fundamental Rights (FRs), the scope of DPSP is limitless and it protects the
rights of a citizen and work at a large level.
DPSP consists of all the ideals which the State should follow and keep in mind while
formulating policies and enacting laws for the country.
Directive Principles are positive directions on the other hand; Fundamental Rights are
negative or prohibitive in nature because they put limitations on the State.
The DPSP is not enforceable by law; it is non-justiciable.
It is important to note that DPSP and FRs go hand in hand.
DPSP is not subordinate to FRs.