Fundamental Rights tell the State what it must not do. Directive Principles tell the State what it should try to do. They are goals for a welfare state: fair wages, free legal aid, village panchayats, health and education. They sit in Part IV, Articles 36 to 51. No court can force the government to follow them. But the Constitution calls them fundamental in the governance of the country.
What the Directive Principles are
Goals for the State, not rights you can take to court.
In 1950 India was very poor. The makers of the Constitution wanted jobs, wages, schools and health care for everyone. But the new State did not have the money to promise all this at once.
So they wrote these aims as directions, not guarantees. The State must keep working towards them as its means grow. A citizen cannot sue the government for not meeting them. This is why they are called non-justiciable.
Article 37 says two things together. The Directive Principles shall not be enforceable by any court. But they are fundamental in the governance of the country, and it is the duty of the State to apply them in making laws. So they are not enforceable, but they are not optional either.
Article 36 says "the State" in Part IV has the same meaning as in Part III (Article 12). It covers the Union and state governments, Parliament, state legislatures, and local and other authorities.
The three groups
Socialist, Gandhian and liberal-intellectual. The Constitution does not use these labels, but exams do.
Articles 38, 39, 39A, 41, 42, 43, 43A, 47: welfare, fair share of wealth, equal pay, legal aid, right to work, living wage, health.
Articles 40, 43, 43B, 46, 47, 48: panchayats, cottage industries, co-operatives, weaker sections, prohibition, no cow slaughter.
Articles 44, 45, 48, 48A, 49, 50, 51: uniform civil code, child care, scientific farming, environment, monuments, separate judiciary, world peace.
Some articles fall in two groups. Article 47 is socialist (nutrition, health) and Gandhian (prohibition). Article 48 is Gandhian (cow slaughter) and liberal (scientific farming).
Gandhian = P-C-C-W-P-C: Panchayats (40), Cottage industries (43), Co-operatives (43B), Weaker sections (46), Prohibition (47), Cow protection (48).
Articles 36 to 46, one by one
Welfare, wages, panchayats and the weaker sections.
| Article | What it asks the State to do |
|---|---|
| 36 | Defines State (same as Article 12). |
| 37 | Not enforceable by courts, but fundamental in governance. |
| 38 | Build a social order with social, economic and political justice; 38(2): reduce inequalities of income and status. |
| 39 | (a) livelihood for all; (b) fair sharing of material resources; (c) no concentration of wealth; (d) equal pay for equal work for men and women; (e) protect workers and children; (f) healthy growth of children. |
| 39A | Equal justice and free legal aid to the poor. |
| 40 | Organise village panchayats as units of self-government. |
| 41 | Right to work, to education and to public help in unemployment, old age, sickness and disability. |
| 42 | Just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief. |
| 43 | Living wage for workers; promote cottage industries in villages. |
| 43A | Workers' participation in the management of industries. |
| 43B | Promote co-operative societies. |
| 44 | A uniform civil code for all citizens. |
| 45 | Early childhood care and education for children below six. |
| 46 | Promote education and economic interests of SCs, STs and weaker sections. |
Article 45 was rewritten in 2002. At first it asked for free and compulsory education for children up to 14. The 86th Amendment made that a Fundamental Right in Article 21A (ages 6 to 14). Article 45 now covers early childhood care below six.
Articles 47 to 51, and principles outside Part IV
Health, farming, environment, monuments, courts and world peace.
| Article | What it asks the State to do |
|---|---|
| 47 | Raise nutrition, living standards and public health; prohibit intoxicating drinks and drugs (except as medicine). |
| 48 | Organise agriculture and animal husbandry on scientific lines; prohibit slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle. |
| 48A | Protect the environment, forests and wildlife. |
| 49 | Protect monuments and places of national importance. |
| 50 | Separate the judiciary from the executive. |
| 51 | Promote international peace and security; respect international law; settle disputes by arbitration. |
- Article 39(d)
- Equal pay for equal work for men and women.
- Article 39A
- Free legal aid and equal justice (42nd Amendment).
- Article 40
- Village panchayats as units of self-government.
- Article 43B
- Co-operative societies (97th Amendment, 2011).
- Article 44
- Uniform civil code for all citizens.
- Article 48A
- Environment, forests and wildlife (42nd Amendment).
- Article 50
- Separation of judiciary from executive.
- Article 51
- International peace and security.
A few directions sit in other Parts. Article 335: claims of SCs and STs in government jobs. Article 350A: teaching in the mother tongue at primary stage for linguistic minorities. Article 351: spread of Hindi. Courts read them together with Part IV, but they are not counted among Articles 36–51.
Principles added later, and the clash with Fundamental Rights
Four amendments added principles. Four cases settled the conflict.
- 197642nd Amendment
Added 39(f) (children), 39A (free legal aid), 43A (workers in management) and 48A (environment).
- 197844th Amendment
Added 38(2): reduce inequalities in income, status, facilities and opportunities.
- 200286th Amendment
Rewrote Article 45: early childhood care below six. Education for 6–14 moved to Article 21A.
- 201197th Amendment
Added 43B: promote co-operative societies.
Now the hard question. Rights can be enforced and Principles cannot. What if a law made for a Principle breaks a Right? Land reform raised this at once. Giving land to the landless served Article 39. But it took away property, which was then a Fundamental Right.
- 1951Champakam DorairajanFundamental Rights prevail over Directive Principles. Parliament replied with the 1st Amendment.
- 1967GolaknathParliament cannot amend Fundamental Rights, even to carry out a Directive Principle.
- 197124th and 25th AmendmentsParliament said it can amend any part. Article 31C protected laws made for 39(b) and (c).
- 1973Kesavananda BharatiParliament can amend Rights, but not the basic structure. Part of 31C that blocked court review was struck down.
- 197642nd AmendmentWidened 31C to protect laws for all Directive Principles.
- 1980Minerva MillsThat widening struck down. Balance between Part III and Part IV is itself part of the basic structure.
Article 44 asks for one set of family laws (marriage, divorce, inheritance) for all citizens. India still has no national uniform civil code. Goa has long had a common civil code from Portuguese times. Uttarakhand passed its own Uniform Civil Code law in 2024, the first state to do so after independence.
- Article 39(d) → Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 (later replaced by the Code on Wages, 2019)
- Article 39A → Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 (set up NALSA and Lok Adalats)
- Article 40 → 73rd Amendment, 1992 (panchayati raj)
- Article 41 and 39(a) → MGNREGA, 2005 (right to work in villages)
- Article 45 → Article 21A and the Right to Education Act, 2009
- Article 48A → Environment (Protection) Act, 1986
- Article 50 → CrPC, 1973 (now BNSS, 2023): trials by judicial magistrates under the High Court
Also useful: quotes and criticismTap to open
- B. R. Ambedkar: a "novel feature" of the Constitution
- Granville Austin: the "conscience of the Constitution" (with Part III)
- Ideals echo the Preamble: justice, liberty, equality
- K. T. Shah: like a cheque payable only when the bank can afford it
- T. T. Krishnamachari: a "dustbin of sentiments"
- Ivor Jennings: "pious aspirations"
The usual defence: a government that ignores Part IV must face the voters. The Principles also guide the courts. When a law is made to carry out a Principle, courts are more likely to treat its limits on rights as reasonable.
Everything on one look
Articles, groups, amendments and cases to remember.
- Part IV: Articles 36 to 51
- Borrowed from Ireland (1937)
- Article 37: not enforceable, but fundamental in governance
- 3 groups: socialist, Gandhian, liberal-intellectual
- Article 44: uniform civil code
- Article 50: separate judiciary from executive
- 42nd (1976): 39(f), 39A, 43A, 48A
- 44th (1978): 38(2)
- 86th (2002): new Article 45
- 97th (2011): 43B co-operatives
- Champakam (1951): Rights prevail
- Minerva Mills (1980): balance is basic structure
- DPSP came from Ireland; Fundamental Duties came from the USSR.
- Directive Principles are non-justiciable, yet fundamental in governance (Article 37).
- Article 40 = panchayats; Article 41 = right to work; Article 42 = maternity relief.
- Article 48 = cows and farming; Article 48A = environment; Article 49 = monuments.
- Ban on human trafficking is Article 23 (a Fundamental Right), not a Directive Principle.
- Article 45 now covers children below six; education for 6–14 is in Article 21A.
- Free legal aid 39A came in 1976 (42nd), not with the original Constitution.
- Uniform civil code is liberal-intellectual, not Gandhian.
- 48A = the State's duty (DPSP); 51A(g) = the citizen's duty (Fundamental Duty).
- DPSP: Part IV, Articles 36–51
- Borrowed from: Irish Constitution
- Article 36: defines the State
- Article 37: non-justiciable
- Article 38: welfare social order
- Article 39(d): equal pay for equal work
- Article 39A: free legal aid
- Article 40: village panchayats
- Article 41: right to work
- Article 43: living wage, cottage industries
- Article 43A: workers in management
- Article 43B: co-operative societies
- Article 44: uniform civil code
- Article 45: care below age six
- Article 46: SCs, STs, weaker sections
- Article 47: nutrition, prohibition
- Article 48: cow slaughter ban
- Article 48A: environment
- Article 49: monuments
- Article 50: separate judiciary
- Article 51: international peace
A state passes a law that limits how much farmland one family may own, and gives the extra land to landless farmers. Which Directive Principle does it serve, and why is it hard for a court to strike it down under Article 14 or 19?
Show answer
It serves Article 39(b) and (c): fair sharing of material resources and no concentration of wealth. Under Article 31C, a law made to carry out 39(b) or (c) cannot be declared void for breaking Article 14 or 19. Courts can still check whether the law really serves that aim.