Directive Principles

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The Directive Principles of State Policy of India are the guidelines to be followed by the government of India for the governance of the country. They are not enforceable by any court, but the principles laid down there are considered "Fundamental" in the governance of the country, which makes it the duty of the State^[1] to apply these principles in making laws to establish a just society in the country. The principles have been inspired by the Directive Principles given in the Constitution of Ireland which are related to social justice, economic welfare, foreign policy, and legal and administrative matters.

Directive Principles are classified under the following categories: Economic and Socialistic, Political and Administrative, Justice and Legal, Environmental, Protection of Monuments, Peace and Security.

The History of Ireland, particularly the Irish Home Rule Movement; hence, the Directive Principles of the Indian constitution have been greatly influenced by the Directive Principles of Social Policy.^[2] The idea of such policies "can be traced to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen proclaimed by Revolutionary France and the Declaration of Independence by the American Colonies."^[3] The Indian constitution was also influenced by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Indians, who were seeking independence from British rule and their own government, were particularly influenced by the independence of Ireland from British rule and the development of the Irish constitution. Also, the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Irish Constitution were looked upon by the people of India as an inspiration for the independent Indian Government to comprehensively tackle complex social and economic challenges across a vast, diverse nation and population.

In 1928, the Nehru Commission composing of representatives of all Indian political parties, proposed constitutional reforms for India that apart from calling for dominion status for India and elections under universal suffrage, would guarantee rights deemed fundamental, representation for religious and ethnic minorities, and limit the powers of the government. In 1931, the Indian National Congress (the largest Indian political party of the time) adopted resolutions committing itself to the defence of fundamental civil rights, as well as socio-economic rights such as the minimum wage and the abolition of untouchability and serfdom,^[4] committing themselves to socialism & Gandhian philosophy.

When India obtained Independence on 15 August 1947, the task of developing a constitution for the nation was undertaken by the Constituent Assembly of India, composing of elected representatives under the presidency of Dr. Rajendra Prasad. While members of Congress composed of a large majority, Congress leaders appointed persons from diverse political backgrounds to responsibilities of developing the constitution and national laws.^[5] Notably, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar became the chairperson of the drafting committee, while Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became chairperson of committees and sub-committees responsible for different subjects. A notable development during that period having significant effect on the Indian constitution took place on 10 December 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and called upon all member States to adopt these rights in their respective constitutions.

Both the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy were included in the I Draft Constitution (February 1948), the II Draft Constitution (17 October 1948) and the III and final Draft Constitution (26 November 1949), prepared by the Drafting Committee.

Directive Principles are affirmative directions and are non - justiciable. However, this does not mean that they are subordinate to fundamental rights; Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles go hand in hand. Article 37 of the Constitution of India talks about the application of Directive Principles provided under Article 36 to Article 51.