1. The Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) are borrowed from the Constitution of which country?
a) United States
b) United Kingdom
c) Ireland
d) Canada
Answer: c) Ireland
2. Which of the following Articles of the Indian Constitution contains the Directive Principles of State Policy?
a) Articles 12 to 35
b) Articles 36 to 51
c) Articles 52 to 78
d) Articles 80 to 100
Answer: b) Articles 36 to 51
3. Directive Principles of State Policy are:
a) Justiciable and enforceable in courts
b) Non-justiciable but fundamental in the governance of the country
c) Justiciable and directive in nature
d) None of the above
Answer: b) Non-justiciable but fundamental in the governance of the country
4. Which Article of the Indian Constitution declares that the DPSPs are not enforceable by any court?
a) Article 31
b) Article 32
c) Article 37
d) Article 39
Answer: c) Article 37
5. Which of the following is not included in the Directive Principles of State Policy?
a) Right to education
b) Promotion of international peace and security
c) Right to constitutional remedies
d) Equal pay for equal work for men and women
Answer: c) Right to constitutional remedies
6. Which of the following is a "Gandhian Principle" included in the Directive Principles of State Policy?
a) Right to work, education, and public assistance
b) Organization of village panchayats
c) Uniform civil code for citizens
d) Separation of judiciary from the executive
Answer: b) Organization of village panchayats
7. Which of the following Amendments introduced the "Fundamental Duties" into the Indian Constitution, in line with the DPSP?
a) 42nd Amendment, 1976
b) 44th Amendment, 1978
c) 52nd Amendment, 1985
d) 61st Amendment, 1989
Answer: a) 42nd Amendment, 1976
Conflict Between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles
The justiciability of Fundamental Rights and non-justiciability of Directive Principles on the one hand and the moral obligation of State to implement Directive Principles (Article 37) on the other hand have led to a conflict between the other hand have led to a conflict between the two since the commencement of the Constitution. In the Champakam Dorairajan, the Supreme Court ruled that in case of any conflict between the Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles, the former would prevail. It declared that the Directive Principles have to conform to and run as subsidiary to the Fundamental Rights.
The above situation underwent a major change in 1967 following the Supreme Court's judgement in the Golaknath case (1967). In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that the Parliament cannot take away or abridge any of the Fundamental Rights, which are 'sacrosanct' in nature. In other words, the Court held that the Fundamental Rights cannot be amended for the implementation of the Directive Principles.
The Parliament reacted to the Supreme Court's judgement in the Golaknath Case (1967) by enacting the 24th Amendment Act (1971) and the 25th Amendment Act (1971). The 24th Amendment Act declared that the Parliament has the power to bridge or take away any of the Fundamental Rights by enacting Constitutional Amendment Acts.
In the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973), the Supreme Court declared that judicial review is a basic feature of the Constitution and hence, cannot be taken away.
In the Minerva Mills case (1980), the Supreme Court also held that 'the Indian Constitution is founded on the bedrock of the balance between Fundamental Rights and the Directive Principles. They together constitute the core of commitment to social revolution. They are like two wheels of a chariot, one no less than the other. To give absolute primacy to one over the other is to disturb the harmony of the Constitution. This harmony and balance between the two is an essential feature of the basic structure of the Constitution. The goals set out by the Directive Principles have to be achieved without the abrogation of the means provided by the Fundamental Rights'.
Implementation of Directive Principles
Since 1950, the successive governments at the Center and in the states have made several laws and formulated various programmes for implementing the Directive Principles. These are mentioned below.
The Planning Commission was established in 1950 to take up the development of the country in a planned manner. The successive Five Year Plans aimed at securing socio-economic justice and reducing inequalities of income, status and opportunities.
Almost all the states have passed land reform laws to bring changes in the agrarian society and to improve the conditions of the rural masses.
The measures include
abolition of intermediaries like zamindars, jagirdars, inamdars, etc;
tenancy reforms like security of tenure, fair rents, etc;
imposition of ceilings on land holdings;
distribution of surplus land among the landless labourers; and
cooperative farming. Further, the land reform laws are given constitutional protection, that is, they are
incorporated into the 9th Schedule so that they could not be challenged in the courts.
The Minimum Wages Act (1948), the Payment of Wages Act (1936), the Payment of Bonus Act (1965), the Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act (1970), the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulatio Act (1986), the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act (1976), the Trade Unions Act (1926), the Factories Act (1948), the Mines Act (1952), the Industrial Disputes Act (1947), the Workmen's Compensation Act (1923) and so on have been enacted to protect the interests of the labour sections.
The Maternity Benefit Act (1961) and the Equal Remuneration Act (1976) have been made to protect the interests of women workers.
Various measures have been taken to utilise the financial resources for promoting the common good.
These include nationalisation of life insurance (1956), the nationalisation of fourteen leading commercial banks (1969), nationalisation of general insurance (1971), abolition of Privy Purses (1971) and so on.
Khadi and Village Industries Board, Khadi and Village Industries Commission, Small-Scale Industries Board, National Small Industries Corporation, Handloom Board, Handicrafts Board, Coir Board, Silk Board and so on have been set up for the development of cottage industries in rural areas.
The Community Development Programme (1952), Hill Area Development Programme (1960), Drought-Prone Area Programme (1973), Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (1999).
The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, have been enacted to safeguard the wildlife and the forests respectively.
Agriculture has been modernised by providing improved agricultural inputs, seeds, fertilisers and irrigation facilities.
Three-tier panchayati raj system (at village, taluka and zilla levels) has been introduced to translate into reality Gandhiji's dream of every village being a republic. The 73rd Amendment Act (1992) has been enacted to provide constitutional status and protection to these panchayati raj instructions.
The Criminal Procedure Code (1973) separated the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the state.
The Ancient and Historical Monument and Archeological Sites and Remains Act (1951) has been enacted to protect the monuments, places and objects of national importance.
