http://books.google.co.in/books?

id=YY4I36ZbJ7gC&pg=PA370&lpg=PA370&dq=supremacy+of+directive+principles+over+fundamental+rights+in+Indi
a&source=bl&ots=7TpLJdV1B2&sig=od489B0zgg240_cO2lmRz4G3WxM&hl=en&ei=6j65TL25PIKmvgPU17ztDQ&sa=X
&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=supremacy%20of%20directive
%20principles%20over%20fundamental%20rights%20in%20India&f=false

http://www.ebc-india.com/lawyer/articles/73v4a4.htm

http://www.civilserviceindia.com/subject/Law/notes/fundamental-right-foodbhat.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_India

http://www.mongabay.com/reference/country_studies/india/GOVERNMENT.html

Imp http://www.indianofficer.com/forums/indian-polity-wiki/2440-directive-principles-state.html

http://www.blogs.ivarta.com/Reservation-The-Unmaking-Of-Indias-Constitution/blog-132.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?Education-to-Become-a-Fundamental-Right-in-India&id=1640059

http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/IHRIP/circle/justiciability.htm

http://www.mongabay.com/history/india/india-directive_principles_of_state_policy_fundamental_rights.html
 Objective
They are not justifiable as per Art 37 but enforceable in people’s court. The object of these principles
incorporated based on Irish Constitution is to embody the concept of a welfare State. They are positive in nature, as
they are positive instructions to state to strive hard to implement some programmes for the welfare of people. On
the other hand Fundamental Rights are negative in nature and they direct the state to refrain from doing certain acts
violating the basic codified rights of people. Directive principles were held to be supplement to fundamental rights in
achieving a Welfare State. Parliament can amend fundamental rights for implementing the directives so long as the
amendment does not touch the basic features. They are supplement to each other. In fact directive principles and
fundamental rights are to be harmoniously construed.K.T. Shah defined it as cheque payable at the convenience of
banker.

Introduction

The Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles of State Policy and Fundamental Duties are sections of
the Constitution of India that prescribe the fundamental obligations of the State to its citizens and the duties
of the citizens to the State.note 1 These sections comprise a constitutional bill of rights for government policy-
making and the behaviour and conduct of citizens. These sections are considered vital elements of the
constitution, which was developed between 1947 and 1949 by the Constituent Assembly of India.

The Fundamental Rights are 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, subject to specific restrictions.

The Directive Principles of State Policy are guidelines for the framing of laws by the government. These
provisions, set out in Part IV of the Constitution, are not enforceable by the courts, but the principles on
which they are based are fundamental guidelines for governance that the State is expected to apply in
framing and passing laws.

History
The Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles had their origins in the Indian independence movement,
which strove to achieve the values of liberty and social welfare as the goals of an independent Indian state.1
The development of constitutional rights in India was inspired by historical documents such as England's
Bill of Rights, the United States Bill of Rights and France's Declaration of the Rights of Man.2 The demand
for civil liberties formed an important part of the Indian independence movement, with one of the objectives
of the Indian National Congress (INC) being to end discrimination between the British rulers and their
Indian subjects. This demand was explicitly mentioned in resolutions adopted by the INC between 1917 and
1919.3 The demands articulated in these resolutions included granting to Indians the rights to equality before
law, free speech, trial by juries composed at least half of Indian members, political power, and equal terms
for bearing arms as British citizens.4

The experiences of the First World War, the unsatisfactory Montague-Chelmsford reforms of 1919, and the
rise to prominence of M. K. Gandhi in the Indian independence movement marked a change in the attitude
of its leaders towards articulating demands for civil rights. The focus shifted from demanding equality of
status between Indians and the British to assuring liberty for all Indians.5 The Commonwealth of India Bill,
drafted by Annie Beasant in 1925, specifically included demands for seven fundamental rights – individual
liberty, freedom of conscience, free expression of opinion, freedom of assembly, non-discrimination on the
ground of sex, free elementary education and free use of public spaces.6 In 1927, the INC resolved to set up
a committee to draft a "Swaraj Constitution" for India based on a declaration of rights that would provide
safeguards against oppression. The 11-member committee, led by Motilal Nehru, was constituted in 1928.
Its report made a number of recommendations, including proposing guaranteed fundamental rights to all
Indians. These rights resembled those of the American Constitution and those adopted by post-war European
countries, and several of them were adopted from the 1925 Bill. Several of these provisions were later
replicated in various parts of the Indian Constitution, including the Fundamental Rights and Directive
Principles.7

In 1931, the Indian National Congress, at its Karachi session, adopted a resolution committing itself to the
defence of civil rights and economic freedom, with the stated objectives of putting an end to exploitation,
providing social security and implementing land reforms. Other new rights proposed by the resolution were
the prohibition of State titles, universal adult franchise, abolition of capital punishment and freedom of
movement.8 Drafted by Jawaharlal Nehru, the resolution, which later formed the basis for some of the
Directive Principles, placed the primary responsibility of carrying out social reform on the State, and marked
the increasing influence of socialism and Gandhian philosophy on the independence movement.9 The final
phase of the Independence movement saw a reiteration of the socialist principles of the 1930s, along with an
increased focus on minority rights – which had become an issue of major political concern by then – which
were published in the Sapru Report in 1945. The report, apart from stressing on protecting the rights of
minorities, also sought to prescribe a "standard of conduct for the legislatures, government and the courts".10

During the final stages of the British Raj, the 1946 Cabinet Mission to India proposed a Constituent
Assembly to draft a Constitution for India as part of the process of transfer of power.11 The Constituent
Assembly of India, composed of indirectly elected representatives from the British provinces and Princely
states, commenced its proceedings in December 1946, and completed drafting the Constitution of India by
November 1949.12 According to the Cabinet Mission plan, the Assembly was to have an Advisory
Committee to advise it on the nature and extent of fundamental rights, protection of minorities and
administration of tribal areas. Accordingly, the Advisory Committee was constituted in January 1947 with
64 members, and from among these a twelve-member sub-committee on Fundamental Rights was appointed
under the chairmanship of J.B. Kripalani in February 1947.13 The sub-committee drafted the Fundamental
Rights and submitted its report to the Committee by April 1947, and later that month the Committee placed
it before the Assembly, which debated and discussed the rights over the course of the following year,
adopting the drafts of most of them by December 1948.14 The drafting of the Fundamental Rights was
influenced by the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the U.N. General Assembly
and the activities of the United Nations Human Rights Commission,15 as well as decisions of the U.S.
Supreme Court in interpreting the Bill of Rights in the American Constitution.16 The Directive Principles,
which were also drafted by the sub-committee on Fundamental Rights, expounded the socialist precepts of
the Indian independence movement, and were inspired by similar principles contained in the Irish
Constitution.17 The Fundamental Duties were later added to the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment in
1976.18

Main matter
Social issues

The lack of homogeneity in the Indian population causes division between different sections of the people
based on religion, region, language, caste and race. This has led to the rise of political parties with agendas
catering to one or a mix of these groups.

Some parties openly profess their focus on a particular group, for example, the Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam's focus on the dravid population, and the Shiv Sena's pro-Marathi agenda. Some other parties
claim to be universal in nature, but tend to draw support from particular sections of the population, for
example, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (translated as National People's Party) has a vote bank among the Yadav
and Muslim population of Bihar and the All India Trinamool Congress does not have any significant support
outside West Bengal. The Bharatiya Janata Party, the party with the second largest number of MPs in the
15th Lok Sabha, has an image of being pro-Hindu, and anti-Muslim and anti-Christian. Such support from
particular sections of the population affects the agenda and policies of such parties, and refute their claims of
being universal representatives. The Congress may be viewed as the most secular party with a national
agenda, however it also practices votebank politics to gain the support of minorities, especially Muslims,
through appeasement and pseudo-secularist strategies.
The narrow focus and votebank politics of most parties, even in the central government and central
legislature, sidelines national issues such as economic welfare and national security. Moreover, internal
security is also threatened as incidences of political parties instigating and leading violence between two
opposing groups of people is a frequent occurrence.

Economic issues

Economic issues like poverty, unemployment, development are main issues that influence politics. Garibi
hatao (eradicate poverty) has been a slogan of the Indian National Congress for long. The well known
Bharatiya Janata Party is looked upon with grace as a political party that is indeed encouraging to free
market economy, businesses and others. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) vehemently supports left-
wing politics and has strongly opposed to socio-economic policies such as globalization, capitalism, foreign
investments and privatization. The economic policies of most other parties do not go much further than
providing populist subsidies and reservations. As a noteworthy case, the manifesto of the Samajwadi Party,
the third largest party in the 15th Lok Sabha, for the 2009 general elections promised to reduce the use of
computers upon being elected.

Law and order

Just to name a few, terrorism , Naxalism, Religious violence and caste-related violence are important issues
that affect the political environment of the Indian nation. Stringent anti-terror legislations like TADA, POTA
and MCOCA have received much political attention, both in favour as well as criticism.

Law and order issues such as action against organized crime are not issues that affect the outcomes of
elections. On the other hand, there is a criminal-politician nexus. Many elected legislators have criminal
cases against them. In July 2008 Washington Times reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian
Parliament members faced criminal charges, "including human trafficking, immigration rackets,
embezzlement, rape and even murder".9

References
 Austin, Granville (1999). The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
p. 390. ISBN 0195649591.

 Basu, Durga Das (1993). Introduction to the Constitution of India (15th ed.). New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India.
p. 475. ISBN 8120308395.

 Basu, Durga Das (2003). Shorter Constitution of India (13th ed.). Nagpur: Wadhwa & Co. p. 1972.
ISBN 9788180382062.