The Significance of Directive Principles of State Policy from the Gandhian Lens in the Contemporary Times

Vedabhyas Kundu & Mansi Sharma

The Significance of Directive Principles of State Policy from the Gandhian Lens in the Contemporary Times

The Constitution of India is not only regarded as one of the longest constitutions of the world but also as a more comprehensive one. It encompasses provisions almost for every thinkable situation and aspect in the lives of people of great variety moving ahead with their roots of caste, creed, religion or culture. It provides either direct law or provisions leading to the enactment of laws which range from definition of State under Article 12 to Citizenship, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy, Fundamental Duties, President, Vice-President, Judiciary, Parliament and so on. All these have found place in the constitution as a result of positive influences of the constitutions of the different countries as well as great personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi. In nutshell, Indian constitution is a detailed and comprehensive document.

Chapter IV of the Indian Constitution from Articles 36 to 51 deal with Directive Principles of State Policy, hereafter referred to as DPSP. Resulting from an inspiration from the constitution of Ireland, DPSP are the principles which act as a guide for the State in the process of framing of laws and policy making. Though citizens have been deprived of recourse to Courts for their enforcement by making them non-justiciable, yet these have been recognised as fundamental in the governance of the State through a catena of orders/judgements by the honourable Supreme Court of India. The Apex Court has gone to the extent of holding that the DPSP may have precedence over even the Fundamental Rights when the national interest so warrants. It is perhaps the demand of the present scenario in which State is moving towards being a Welfare State. India is no exception to this. Consequently, the framers of the constitution have been wise enough to develop India into a ‘Welfare State’ through constitutional provisions pertaining to the establishment of a political democracy with provisions of social and economic justice and minimising inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities.

Directive Principles of State Policy — Nature and Purpose:

The DPSP are classified on the basis of their ideological source and objectives. These are:

1. Economic and Social Principles.

2. Gandhian Principles.

3. Directive Principles relating to International Peace, and

4. Miscellaneous.

The above classification facilitates their smooth convenient study. At best, the DPSP are certain ideals, particularly aiming at the socio-economic justice, which according to the framers of the constitution, Indian State should strive for. Dr B.R. Ambedkar described DPSP as a Novel Feature of the Constitution. They are in the nature of general directions or instructions or guidelines to the State. These embody the aspirations of the people, objectives and ideals which the Union and State governments must bear in mind while making laws and formulating policies.

According to the famous jurist cum parliamentarian L.M. Singhvi, The Directive Principles are the life-giving provisions of the Constitution. They represent the philosophy of justice incorporated in the Constitution of India. Although DPSP are non-justiciable or they are not legally binding by any courts, but they are however fundamental in the governance of the country. They lay down a code of conduct for the legislatures, executives and administrators of India to discharge their responsibilities in tune with these ideals.

The Gandhian Directives:

As noted above, there is a category of DPSP which is described to be based on the Gandhian Principles. These are contained in the following Articles of the Indian Constitution:

1. Article 40: 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.

2. Article 43: The State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organisation or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, 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 co-operative basis in rural areas.

3. Article 45: The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years. Originally this article provided for free and compulsory education to all children till the age of 6 years. However, it was amended by the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 to ensure that provisions of article 21-A which ensures right to education, hold good.

4. Article 46: 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.

5. Article 47: 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.

6. Article 48: 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.

An appraisal of the above principles would reveal how these are in consonance with Gandhiji’s views on the issues which they relate to. For instance, Gandhiji viewed organisation of village panchayats and communities as a tool for development of individual human being. Also, it is in line with the idea of decentralization of power for self-rule as an antithesis to concentration or centralization of power with the State. Not only the above referred directives but the whole scheme of DPSP appears to support and substantiate the vision of Gandhiji about State and an individual fitting into its plan of welfare of the individuals who make a composite aggregate called Society and the State.

Gandhiji wrote in Young India (1931),

“To me political power is not an end but one of the means of enabling people to better their condition in every department of life. Political power means capacity to regulate national life through national representatives. If national life becomes so perfect as to become self-regulated, no representation becomes necessary. There is then a State of enlightened anarchy. In such a state everyone is his own ruler. He rules himself in such a manner that he is never a hindrance to his neighbour. In the ideal state, therefore, there is no political power because there is no state. But the ideal is never fully realised in life. Hence the classical statement of Thorean -that government is best which governs the least.”

He also wrote in Harijan (1feb, 1942),

“If the individual ceases to count what is left of the society.” However, it didn’t imply an unbridled licence for the individual will to prevail in all matters. He explained this in Hind Swaraj (1909): “We can see that, if we become free, India is free. And in this though you have definition of Swaraj. It is therefore, in the palm of our hands. Do not consider this Swaraj to be like a dream. Here there is no idea of sitting still. The Swaraj that I wish to picture before you and me is such that, after we have once realised it, we will endeavour to the end of our lifetime to persuade others to do likewise. But such Swaraj has to be experienced by each one for himself.”

Infact, Gandhi had envisioned for independent India a polity that would be based on the principles of democratic self-government or self-rule. Actually Swaraj (self-rule), Sarvodaya (welfare for all) and Swavlamban (self-reliance) are the basic principles of the Gandhian thought. There can be no better expression of these principles than the directives contained in Article 38(1) which provides that the State shall strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order in which social, economic and political justice is animated/informed in all institutions of life. Such a social order as envisaged here in Art. 38(1) can be ensured by forming laws, establishing schemes for employment, healthcare, education, provision for basic goods, housing, care for environment and ecology.

While debating on DPSP in the constituent assembly, Dr. Ambedkar stated on 19th November 1948 as given below, highlighting that the DPSP shall be the basis of the future governance of the country:

“It is the intention of this assemble that in future both the legislature and the executive should not merely pay lip service to these principles enacted in this part, but that they should be made the basis of all executive and legislative action that may be taken hereafter in the matter of the governance of the country.”

Initially general attitude towards DPSP was that as these are non-justiciable they are lesser angels than Fundamental rights, but with the passage of time it has been established that Fundamental rights and DPSP are not antithetical to each other rather they are complementary and aim at forging a just social order. This what Gandhiji aimed at through his concept of Ramrajya- a State where personal choices and social responsibilities go hand in hand. However, it would be wrong to conclude that all DPSP are in the vision of Gandhiji. Apparently provisions of Art.44 which provide for securing a Uniform Civil Code does not fall in line with Gandhian views as he didn’t favour any interference in anybody’s religious/personal affairs. It however seems that this was not taken by Gandhiji but has been coined by others by interpreting him differently because Gandhi was always a votary of justice and equality above religion.

Interestingly, keeping up with the demands of the modern society and citizenry, the Supreme Court of India has emphasised the importance of having a Uniform Civil Code in several cases that needs to be analysed, starting from the Shah Bano Case to the recent Shayara Bano v/s Union of India case that questioned the legitimacy of the practice of talaq-e-bidat (triple talaq). In a very recent case too, the Apex Court granted one “last opportunity” to the centre to make its stand clear on the enforcement of UCC in the country. Though it is part of the judicial process, yet in a number of earlier cases the Court has issued directions to consider implementation of UCC.

The observations of Justice B.P. Jeevan Reddy in case of R.S. Bommai v/s Union of India are worth noticing. It was stated that religion is a matter of individual faith and it can not be mixed up with secular practices and can be regulated by the government by the enactment of law. Here also the efforts for UCC can be guide by the views of Gandhiji who said that he didn’t mean religion as a particular religion like Hinduism or Islam but moral values that inform all religion is actually a real religion. He believed that politics must be guided by ethics drawn from religion. If it could be asked- whether aim of politics is not to strive for the ‘welfare of people’. Let us arrive at the correct answer.

Conclusion:

Viewed in the collective perspective the DPSP have proven their importance as well as contribution in ensuring a just social order. And it is not that only the State can ensure their successful implementation, it is for individuals also to ensure the achievement of these objectives. Role of the individual is two-fold: one, to ensure compliance to the laws/policies framed in order to implement the DPSP; second is to aspire and work towards the attainment of these objectives. Gandhi had remarked that:

“The true source of rights is duty. If we all discharge our duties, rights will not be far to seek. If leaving duties unperformed we run after rights, they will escape us like a will-o’-the-wisp. The more we pursue them, the farther they fly.”

Let us not forget that both the governed and the governors are human beings and it is only through respect for duties in form of directives when governing and in form of responsibilities when being governed, that we can ensure a peaceful world order. The idea of living and letting live is at the core of human existence and if we deviate from duties as individuals and directives as government, we only move towards anarchy. The purpose of DPSP is to keep reminding every government of their role and responsibility in the development of the country as a whole while providing for the individual needs.

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