Socialistic Pattern Of Society Envisaged Under

Indian Constitution.
A rough research proposal submitted in partial fulfilment of the course
Constitutional Law I, Semester — V during the Academic Year 2018 — 19.

Submitted by
Aditya Saurav, 1506
BA.LLB

Submitted to:-
Prof. Dr. Anirudha Prasad

August, 2018

Chanakya National Law University

Nyaya Nagar, Mithapur
800001, Patna

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 DECLARATION PAGE

I Aditya Saurav, student of B.A., LL.B. (Third year) in Chanakya National Law University declare
that the research project entitled-‘Socialistic Pattern Of Society Envisaged Under Indian
Constitution’ submitted by me for the fulfilment of ―Constitutional Law I course is my own work.
This project has not been submitted for any other Degree / Certificate / Course in any Institution /
University.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am feeling highly elated to work on under the guidance of my Evidence law faculty. I am very
grateful to him for the exemplary guidance. His assignment of such a relevant topic made me work
towards knowing the subject with a great interest and enthusiasm.

I would like to enlighten my readers through this topic and I hope I have tried my best to bring more
luminosity to this topic. I am overwhelmed in all humbleness and gratefulness to acknowledge from
the bottom of my heart to all those who have helped me to put these ideas, well above the level of
simplicity and into something concrete effectively and moreover on time.

I also want to thank all my friends, without whose cooperation this project was not possible. Apart
from all these, I want to give special thanks to the librarian of my university who made every relevant
material regarding to my topic available to me at the time of my busy research work and gave me
assistance.

I owe the present accomplishment of my project to my friends, who helped me immensely with
sources of research materials throughout the project and without whom I couldn’t have completed
it in the present way. I would also like to thank the library staff for working long hours to facilitate
us with required materials going a long way in quenching our thirst for education. I would also like
to extend my gratitude to my parents and all those unseen hands who helped me out at every stage
of my project.

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Contents
DECLARATION PAGE ........................................................................................................................... 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................................................ 3
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 5
Objective of the Study .......................................................................................................................... 5
Hypothesis .......................................................................................................................................... 5
Research Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 6
Source of data ................................................................................................................................. 6
HISTORY OF SOCIALISM................................................................................................................... 7
SOCIALISM IN INDIA ....................................................................................................................... 11
SOCILIAM IN INDIA IN CONTEMPORARY ERA.......................................................................... 15
JUDICIARY ON SOCIALISM IN INDIA ........................................................................................... 18
CONCLUSION & SUGGESTION ....................................................................................................... 21
BOOKS ............................................................................................................................................. 22
ARTICLES ....................................................................................................................................... 22
NEWS PAPERS................................................................................................................................ 22
WEBSITES ...................................................................................................................................... 22

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 INTRODUCTION

Socialism is acknowledged as the cherished goal of Indian political system. Socialism lays emphasis
on the welfare of the people, it seeks to give equality to the people and tries to remove exploitation
of one class by the others and ensures economic and political equality to all. It has been held that
not only political but economics and social democracy are equally essential for the development of
the country. Under article 14 to 18 of Indian constitution right to equality is defined, in which all
citizen are equal before law. On the basis of any caste, creed or religion nobody should be denied
of his legal right, thus ensuring social equality. Untouchability was a curse on Indian Society, Which
was abolished, practices of untouchability in any form was forbidden and made punishable. Title
such as sir, khan sahib, etc. was abolished. Private Banks were nationalized, PSUS were established.
In other social reform, education was made free and compulsory up to the age of 14 to all. Steps
were also taken for the benefit of backward classes, to bring justice and progress for them. It is so
significant and imperative for the modern democratic polity that the Indian Constitution Despite
being permeated with the spirit of socialism, necessitated the 42nd amendment in 1976 to get the
word socialism inserted in the preamble of the constitution as the basic philosophy of the Indian
Polity. This basic constitutional concept has added to give economic content to justice equality and
fraternity and to affirm the resolve of non-discrimination on ground of religion. Social and economic
justices are the pillars of socialism. That is why, the framers of our constitution have prescribed
these fundamental principles in shape of directive principle of state policy in part 4th of our
constitution to establish a welfare state based on the principles of socialism. The holy spirit of the
socialism enshrined in our constitution need to be safeguarded by all of us, so that we can have all
round progress with peace and harmony.

Objective of the Study

1. To understand the concept of socialism in Indian scenarios.

2. To understand the provision laid down for socialism under Indian constitution.
3. To understand the important features of India’s socialist pattern.

Hypothesis

Socialistic pattern of society hampers the development of a nation.

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Research Methodology

The researcher has adopted doctrinal method of research. The researcher has made extensive use of the
library at the Chanakya National Law University and also the internet sources.

Source of data

The following are primary source of data:-

1. Legislative provision
2. Cases
The following are secondary source of data:-
1. Books
2. Website
3. Newspapers

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 HISTORY OF SOCIALISM

Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-
economic system in which the ownership of industry and the distribution of wealth are
determined by the state or by agents of the state or the collective. In its most general sense,
socialism seeks the co-prosperity and common cause of all people, which could be
accomplished without force in religious and utopian communities. But, in general practice, it
refers to the use of state force to redistribute wealth.
Socialism developed as a political ideology in the nineteenth century as a reaction to industrial
injustice, labor exploitation, and unemployment in Europe. For Karl Marx, who helped
establish and define the modern theory of socialism, societal problems were rooted in an
economic system which relied on the private ownership of property, and led to wealth
remaining in the hands of a few and at the cost of the laborers who were the source of wealth.
Marx advocated a revolution of the working class which would lead to collective ownership of
the means of production (property and capital). This control, according to Marx's successors,
may be either direct, exercised through popular collectives such as workers' councils, or it may
be indirect, exercised on behalf of the people by the state.
Currently, there is a diverse array of ideas that have been referred to as "socialist," from forms
of "market socialism," which advocate achieving economic justice through taxation and
redistribution through state welfare programs to the hardcore communists who advocate total
state control of all property and the economy, to a unique Asian and unclear variant known as
"socialism with Chinese characteristics."
"Socialism" has often been used as a slogan by unscrupulous leaders seeking political power.
They prey on the frustration and sense of injustice of low-paid or unemployed people. Both the
National Socialism in Germany under Hitler and the Soviet-style developed by Lenin and his
successors became totalitarian states that denied personal freedom to citizens. These totalitarian
political systems had no checks and balances on power, which human civilization has learned
is necessary to control the human tendency to take more than what one produces.

As an economic system, the command economy failed because it lacked understanding of

human nature and economic incentive and rationally organized people as parts of a giant
machine. People are unmotivated when they are asked to give whatever the state requests and
to accept whatever the state decides to give. Further, no centralized system of rational
distribution of goods and services can account for individuals at different stages of growth, or

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for biological or intellectual differences. As such, a rational command economy cannot
understand what each person needs and provide true economic justice. By the mid-1980s,
both Russia and China gave up on their experiments with a command economy. Today, some
socialists propose selective nationalization of key industries within the framework of mixed
economies. Others advocate "market socialism" in which social control of economy rests on a
framework of market economics and private property.
In the history of political thought, elements of socialism long predate the rise of the workers
movement of the late nineteenth century, particularly in Plato's Republic and Thomas
More's Utopia. These theories are based on an ideal that everyone will live together with the
best possible peace, prosperity, and justice in one mutually supportive human community—
co-prosperity and common cause. Plato's Republic even advocates the sharing of wives and
children. Aristotle criticized the idealism of Plato's Republic in his Politics,1 saying that if all
things were held in common, nothing would get cared for, and that if people had no property
they could not host a guest or perform charitable acts that create community and give life
meaning.
Early Christian communities aspiring to the social ideals of a caring and committed "body of
Christ" are said to have eventually won over the Roman Empire by their attitude and exemplary
concern and love for each other. However, once they attained power they were often accused
of abandoning their idealism and becoming more Roman than Christian.
The term "socialism" was first used in the context of early nineteenth-century western
European social critics as mass society was beginning to develop with the modern bureaucratic
state and the mass production of goods through industrialization. The ideas were rooted in a
diverse array of doctrines and social experiments associated primarily with British and French
thinkers—especially Robert Owen, Charles Fourier, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Louis Blanc, and
Saint-Simon. These theorists were reacting to the excesses of poverty and inequality in the
period and, like young children who notice inequality, advocated reforms such as the equal
distribution of wealth and the transformation of society into small communities in which
private property was to be abolished. Outlining principles for the reorganization of society
along collectivist lines, Saint-Simon and Owen sought to build socialism on the foundations of
planned, utopian communities. At the same time, utopian socialist religious communities like
the Amish and the Shakers were developing in the United States.

1
Cole, G. D. H. History of Socialist Thought, in 7 volumes, Macmillan and St. Martin's Press, 1965; Palgrave
Macmillan, 2003 reprint. ISBN 140390264X

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Early socialists differed on how socialism was to be achieved or organized, and they did not
agree on the role of private property, the degree of egalitarianism, and whether the
traditional family should be preserved. While many emphasized the gradual and modern
transformation of society through small, utopian communities, a growing number of socialists
became disillusioned with the viability of this approach, and emphasized direct and immediate
political action.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the transformation of socialism into a political ideology was
developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels,2 who systematized their theory of socialism as
the outcome of a revolutionary class struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie. They
bolstered their argument using a materialist rendition of the dialectic philosophy of Hegel,
which served as a rationale for revolutionary action against extant governments that were once
viewed as sacrosanct.
Marxist and non-Marxist social theorists have both generally agreed that socialism, as a
doctrine, developed as a reaction to the rise of modern industrial capitalism, but differ sharply
on the exact nature of the relationship or the solution. Émile Durkheim saw socialism as rooted
in the desire simply to bring the state closer to the realm of individual activity as a response to
the growing anomie of capitalist society. Max Weber saw in socialism an acceleration of the
process of rationalization commenced under capitalism. Weber was a critic of socialism who
warned that putting the economy under the total bureaucratic control of the state would not
result in liberation but an "iron cage of future bondage."
Socialist intellectuals continued to retain considerable influence on European philosophy in the
mid-twentieth century. Herbert Marcuse's 1955 Eros and Civilization was an explicit attempt
to merge Marxism with Freudianism. Structuralism, widely influential in mid-twentieth-
century French academic circles, emerged as a model of the social sciences that influenced the
1960s and 1970s socialist New Left.
Human beings will continue to look for ideals of interdependence, mutual prosperity, and social
solidarity in which everyone is treated with equal worth and dignity, and the collective
conscience of human community fosters economic opportunity for all. While socialism as it is
manifested in communism through "the appropriation of the means of production by the state
on behalf of the masses," proved a failed shortcut to wealth for all. Millions of people died
during attempts to implement communism in the Soviet Union and China.

2
Engles, Friedrich. The Origin Of The Family, Private Property And The State, Zurich, 1884.

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Nevertheless, economic injustice continues to abound. The corporate scandals of Enron and
WorldCom that devastated the pensions of myriads of Americans, the mergers and acquisitions
that destroy the dreams and hopes of many in one fell swoop, the housing bubble created by
government and banking collusion that put many hard working citizens out in the streets, and
many other corrupt and selfish economic practices continue to evoke outcries of immorality
and injustice.
Humanizing the economy is an ongoing quest, and various forms of religious morality and
socialist ideals will continue to promote reform of unjust economic practices. However,
economic justice will not be found in a simplistic zero-sum model of dividing the economic
pie like communists tried. Rather, it will more likely be based on a positive-sum economic
system involving checks and balances on large concentrations of wealth, regulation of
corporate behaviour, and laws against the collusion of politics and money. The efficiency of
the market, the personal fulfilment that can be derived from ownership and entrepreneurship,
and the possibilities resident in the mass production of goods and services, can all be integrated
into an economic engine for human betterment.

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 SOCIALISM IN INDIA

The socialist movement began to develop in India with the Russian Revolution. However, in
1871 a group in Calcutta had contacted Karl Marx with the purpose of organizing an Indian
section of the First International. It did not materialize.3 The first article in an Indian
publication (in English) that mentions the names of Marx & Engels printed in the Modern
Review in March 1912. The short biographical article titled Karl Marx – a modern Rishi was
written by the German-based Indian revolutionary Lala Har Dayal. The first biography of Karl
Marx in an Indian language was written by R. Rama Krishna Pillai in 1914.
Marxism made a major impact in Indian media at the time of the Russian Revolution Of
particular interest to many Indian papers and magazines was the Bolshevik policy of right to
self-determination of all nations. Bipin Chandra Pal and Bal Gangadhar Tilak were amongst
the prominent Indians who expressed their admiration of Lenin and the new rulers in
Russia. Abdul Sattar Khairi and Abdul Zabbar Khairi went to Moscow, immediately on
hearing about the revolution. In Moscow, they met Lenin and conveyed their greetings to him.
The Russian Revolution also affected émigré Indian revolutionaries, such as the Ghadar
Party in North America.4
The Khilafat movement contributed to the emergence of early Indian communism. Many
Indian Muslims left India to join the defence of the Caliphate. Several of them became
communists whilst visiting Soviet territory. Some Hindus also joined the Muslim muhajirs in
the travels to the Soviet areas.5
The colonial authorities were clearly disturbed by the growing influence
of Bolshevik sympathies in India. A first counter-move was the issuing of a fatwa, urging
Muslims to reject communism. The Home Department established a special branch to monitor
the communist influence. Customs were ordered to check the imports of Marxist literature to
India. A great number of anti-communist propaganda publications were published.6
The First World War was accompanied with a rapid increase of industries in India, resulting in
a growth of an industrial proletariat. At the same time prices of essential commodities
increased. These were factors that contributed to the buildup of the Indian trade union
movement. Unions were formed in the urban centers across India, and strikes were organized.

3
M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West
Bengal. Hyderabad: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 103
4
Ibid p. 82, 103
5
Ibid p. 82
6
Ibid p.82-23

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In 1920, the All India Trade Union Congress was founded.7 One Indian impressed with
developments in Russia was S. A. Dange in Bombay. In 1921, he published a pamphlet
titled Gandhi vs. Lenin, a comparative study of the approaches of both the leaders with Lenin
coming out as better of the two. Together with Ranchoddas Bhavan Lotvala, a local mill-owner,
a library of Marxist Literature was set up and publishing of translations of Marxist classics
began.8 In 1922, with Lotvala's help, Dange launched the English weekly, Socialist, the first
Indian Marxist journal.9
Regarding the political situation in the colonized world, the 1920 second congress of
the Communist International insisted that a united front should be formed between the
proletariat, peasantry and national bourgeoisie in the colonized countries. Among the twenty-
one conditions drafted by Lenin ahead of the congress was the 11th thesis, which stipulated
that all communist parties must support the bourgeois-democratic liberation movements in the
colonies. Some of the delegates opposed the idea of alliance with the bourgeoisie, and preferred
support to communist movements of these countries instead. Their criticism was shared by the
Indian revolutionary M.N. Roy, who attended as a delegate of the Communist Party of Mexico.
The congress removed the term 'bourgeois-democratic' in what became the 8th condition.10
The Communist Party of India was founded in Tashkent on 17 October 1920, soon after the
Second Congress of the Communist International. The founding members of the party
were M.N. Roy, Evelina Trench Roy (Roy’s wife), Abani Mukherji, Rosa Fitingof (Abani’s
wife), Mohammad Ali (Ahmed Hasan), Mohammad Shafiq Siddiqui and M.P.B.T. Acharya.11

The CPI began efforts to build a party organisation inside India. Roy made contacts
with Anushilan and Jugantar groups in Bengal. Small communist groups were formed in
Bengal (led by Muzaffar Ahmed), Bombay (led by S.A. Dange), Madras (led by Singaravelu
Chettiar), United Provinces (led by Shaukat Usmani) and Punjab (led by Ghulam Hussain).
However, only Usmani became a CPI party member.12
On 1 May 1923 the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan was founded in Madras, by Singaravelu

7
Ibid p.83-84
8
Riepe, Dale. Marxism in India in Parsons, Howard Lee and Sommerville, John (ed.) Marxism, Revolution and
Peace. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1977. p. 41.
9
Sen, Mohit. The Dange Centenary in Banerjee, Gopal (ed.) S.A. Dange – A Fruitful Life. Kolkata: Progressive
Publishers, 2002. p. 43.
10
M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West
Bengal. Hyderabad: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 48, 84–85
11
Ibid p. 88-89

12
Ibid p.89

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Chettiar. The LKPH organized the first May Day celebration in India, and this was also the
first time the red flag was used in India.13 14
On 25 December 1925, a communist conference was organized in Kanpur. Colonial authorities
estimated that 500 persons took part in the conference. The conference was convened by a man
called Satyabhakta, of whom little is known. Satyabhakta is said to have argued for a ‘national
communism’ and against subordination under Commenters. Being outvoted by the other
delegates, Satyabhakta left both the conference venue in protest.15 The conference adopted the
name ‘Communist Party of India’. Groups such as LKPH dissolved into the unified CPI.16 The
émigré CPI, which probably had little organic character anyway, was effectively substituted by
the organisation now operating inside India.

At the 1931 Karachi session of the Indian National Congress, socialist pattern of development
was set as the goal for India. Through the 1955 Avadi Resolution of the Indian National
Congress, a socialistic pattern of development was presented as the goal of the party. A year
later, the Indian parliament adopted 'socialistic pattern of development' as official policy, a
policy that came to include land reforms and regulations of industries.17 The word socialist was
added to the Preamble of the Indian Constitution by the 42nd amendment act of 1976,
during the Emergency. It implies social and economic equality. Social equality in this context
means the absence of discrimination on the grounds only of caste, colour, creed, sex, religion,
or language. Under social equality, everyone has equal status and opportunities. Economic
equality in this context means that the government will endeavor to make the distribution of
wealth more equal and provide a decent standard of living for all.18
Following independence, the Indian government officially adopted a policy of non-alignment,
although it had an affinity with the USSR. The party's commitment to socialism has waned in
recent years, particularly following the assassination of Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv
Gandhi. Elected in 1991, the government of Narasimha Rao introduced economic liberalisation

13
Ibid p.110
14
Report of May Day Celebrations 1923, and Formation of a New Party (The Hindu quoted in Murugesan, K.,
Subramanyam, C. S. Singaravelu, First Communist in South India. New Delhi: People's Publishing House, 1975.
p.169
15
Satyabhakta then formed a party called National Communist Party, which lasted until 1927
16
M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala and West
Bengal. Hyderabad: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 92-93
17
The Role of Law and Legal Institutions in Asian Economic Development: The Case of India : Patterns of Change
in the Legal System and Socio-Economy" (PDF). Cid.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-07.
18
"The Constitution (Amendment)". Indiacode.nic.in. Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved
2018/09/07.

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with the support of finance minister Manmohan Singh, the former prime minister of India.
Communists were also active in the Indian independence movement and have played a
significant role in India's political life, although they are fragmented into a multitude of
different parties. Communist parties represented in parliament are: (statistics from 2004
General Elections) Communist Party of India (Marxist) (43 seats in the Lok Sabha),
the Communist Party of India (10 seats), the Revolutionary Socialist Party (three seats) and
the All India Forward Bloc (three seats). The former speaker of the Lok Sabha, Somnath
Chatterjee, is a member of the CPI(M). Left Front parties remain an independent faction in the
parliament critical of the policies of both the government and that of the mainstream opposition
parties.
Aside from the Congress and the Left Front, there are other socialist parties active in India,
notably the Samajwadi Party, which emerged from the Janata Dal and is led by Mulayam Singh
Yadav, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. It has 5 seats in the 16th Lok Sabha.19
Noted Indian socialists include the founding leader of the All India Forward Bloc and
the Indian National Army Subhas Chandra Bose and the country's first Prime-
minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

19
ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA : GENERAL ELECTION TO LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY TRENDS & RESULT
2016". Eciresults.nic.in. Retrieved 2018-09-07.

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 SOCILIAM IN INDIA IN CONTEMPORARY ERA

India became the poster child for post–World War II socialism in the Third World. Steel,
mining, machine tools, water, telecommunications, insurance, and electrical plants, among
other industries, were effectively nationalized in the mid-1950s as the Indian government
seized the commanding heights of the economy.20
Other industries were subjected to such onerous regulation that innovation came to a near
standstill. The Industries Act of 1951 required all businesses to get a license from the
government before they could launch, expand, or change their products. One of India’s leading
indigenous firms made 119 proposals to the government to start new businesses or expand
existing ones, only to find them rejected by the bureaucracy.
The government imposed import tariffs to discourage international trade, and domestic
businesses were prevented from opening foreign offices in a doomed attempt to build up
domestic industries. Foreign investment was subject to stifling restrictions.
But the planners failed. Manufacturing never took off, and the economy meandered; India
lagged behind all its trade-embracing contemporaries. Between 1950 and 1973, Japan’s
economy grew 10 times faster than India’s. South Korea’s economy grew five times faster.
India’s economy crawled along at 2 percent per year between 1973 and 1987, while China’s
growth lept to 8 percent and began matching rates for Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other Asian
tigers. Even as that reality became clear as early as the late 1960s and early 1970s, India’s
policy makers refused to give up on economic planning. Experts and elected officials settled
for what they called the “Hindu Rate of Growth,” which, according to official figures, was
sluggish at about 3 to 4 percent per year. That would be respectable for a developed country
like the United States or Germany, since they start from a higher economic base. But for a
country like India, it’s abysmal.
Attitudes finally began to change in the 1980s, as India’s persistent budget deficits forced
austerity measures in the middle of the decade. A foreign exchange crisis in 1991 precipitated
major shifts in public policy thinking.21 The government brought spending in line with
revenues and moved away from fixed exchange rates, allowing the Indian currency to reflect
world prices. (Fixing exchange rates at a government-determined price tended to overvalue the

20
https://www.livemint.com/Companies/IvqNiC0KHlZg9ZOXhFbe4O/70-companies-with-pre1947-roots.html
Retrieved 2018/09/07
21
https://www.livemint.com/Sundayapp/E0rCYXfJyjWd2qsENV3KOO/The-long-road-to-the-1991-economic-
crisis.html Retrieved 2018/09/07

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rupee on world markets, discouraging foreign investment.) The government began to open the
door to foreign investment while Indian companies were allowed to borrow in foreign capital
markets and invest abroad. Inflation was brought under control.
The new policies fostered a booming information technology industry, which grew to billion-
dollar status in the mid-1990s and exceeded $6 billion in revenues by 2001. 22 The technology
sector didn’t suffer from as many burdensome regulations as, say, steel and airlines. Nor did
its success hinge on traditional utilities and basic infrastructure, depending more on new
technology such as satellites. A 2004 World Bank report notes that “Services, the least
regulated sector in the economy continue to be the strongest performer, while manufacturing,
the most regulated sector, is the weakest.”
At first, Indians were simply subcontractors to more sophisticated multinational companies.
Then Indian companies began to generate new technologies on their own as they tapped into
the global marketplace. The software used to power Palm Pilots, for example, was developed
by an Indian firm, not outsourced to technicians or programmers. Today 1,600 tech companies,
including the billion-dollar multinationals Infosys and Wipro, export products and services
from India’s high-tech capital, Bangalore. U.S. companies with major Indian investments
include Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Oracle. While I.T. exports led the industry’s early
growth, future growth is expected to be based on the expansion of the domestic economy.
With a billion people, India is bound to become a major consumer powerhouse. It may even
outcompete China. “Culturally, India is much more attuned to free market ideas,” says Barun
Mitra, managing trustee of the New Delhi–based Liberty Institute. “India’s social and
institutional fabric is much more resilient than China’s. The nationalized component of the
Indian economy is relatively small. India’s share of the workforce in any kind of public sector
is barely 6 percent of the total workforce of 420 million.”
Furthermore, India’s regulatory apparatus was crafted from a kinder, gentler form of socialism.
For one thing, more than 90 percent of its workforce is in the informal sector, largely untouched
by the regulations perpetuated by the federal government in Delhi and the state and regional
governments. Furthermore, India is a liberal democracy, bounded by a constitution and a broad-
based cultural tolerance for different lifestyles and points of view. Those same factors—
grassroots respect for trade, constitutional governance, and cultural tolerance of diversity—
have contributed to the rise of another industry symbolic of a progressive, dynamic economy:
film and entertainment. “Bollywood’s” movie output rivals that of Hollywood and Hong Kong.

22
https://www.academia.edu/8290419/LPG_and_Its_Impact_On_the_Indian_Economy Retrieved 2018/09/07

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That’s not to say there’s no intolerance: A bloody war followed India’s independence and
partition in 1947, and serious tensions have persisted along religious, ethnic, class, and caste
lines. But despite a population that is overwhelmingly Hindu, India’s current president is a
Muslim, and its current prime minister is a Sikh. Thirty thousand people died in the state of
Punjab between 1980 and 1995 primarily because of conflict between Hindus and Sikhs. Yet
Punjab is now peaceful, and is one of India’s richest states.
“It is worth pointing out that there are 150 million Indians who profess the Muslim faith,” Mitra
observes. “Yet there is not one Indian Muslim who has been found to be involved with any of
the international jihadi or terrorist groups. And I believe this is because of the sense of political
participation that the Indian democratic process allows.”
The key to further progress will be leveraging the country’s comparative economic advantage
in information technology and services. “India has many of the key ingredients for making this
transition,” notes a 2005 report from the World Bank Finance and Private Sector Development
Unit. “It has a critical mass of skilled, English-speaking knowledge workers, especially in the
sciences. It has a well-functioning democracy. Its domestic market is one of the world’s largest.
It has a large and impressive Diaspora, creating valuable knowledge linkages and networks.”
As robust as India’s growth is, it probably could do much better. It will take a continued
commitment to open trade to achieve higher growth rates, and it’s still unknown whether India
has the political commitment to stay the course.23

23
http://www.insightsonindia.com/2014/12/14/effects-liberalization-indian-economy-society/ Retrieved
2018/09/07

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 JUDICIARY ON SOCIALISM IN INDIA

A constitution to be living must be growing. If impediments to the growth of the constitution

are not removed then it will suffer from vital atrophy. The word “socialist” was not there in the
preamble originally. It was added by the 42nd amendment24 to the constitution in 1976. Though
the term has not been defined in the constitution it does not envisage doctrinaire socialism in
the sense of insistence of state ownership as a matter of policy. It does not mean exclusion of
private enterprise and complete state ownership of material resources of the nation.
Jawaharlal Nehru described democratic socialism as one, which will be based on political
liberty, equality and tolerance. Under democratic socialism we could maintain individual
freedom and initiative with centralized-social control and planning of the economic life of the
people. Hence, he wanted to follow a middle path. He evolved a system of mixed economy as
an alternative to both the rival systems, drawing the positive aspects of each and rejecting their
negative aspects. It would be a combination of free private enterprise and state controlled
economy. Nehru favored a positive role for the private sector, which culled for effective State
regulation and control. Large-scale industries, which needed huge capital investment, would
also be in the public sector. Nationalization was advocated to gain state control over key
industries.
In India there has always been an emphasis on mixed economy, i.e. along with a public sector,
the private sector also has a role-play. The government accepts the policy of mixed economy
where both public and private sector both exist side by side. The Supreme Court in a number
of decisions referred to the concept of socialism.
According to the Supreme Court, the principal aim of socialism is to eliminate inequality of
income and standards of life and to provide decent standard of life to working people.
Democratic socialism aims to end poverty, inequality of income, disease and to provide a
decent standard of life to working people. Socialist concept of society should be implemented
in the true spirit of the constitution.
In Samantha vs. State of Andhra Pradesh25 the Supreme Court has stated while defining
socialism “Establishment of the Egalitarian social Order through the rule of law is the basic

24
http://www.constitution.org/cons/india/tamnd42.htm
25
4601 of 1997(Civil) Appeal

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structure of the constitution”. The Court laid emphasis on social justice so as to attain
substantial degree of social, economic and political equality. The court, to bring about the
distribution of material resources of the country and to serve common good furthered the idea
of distributive justice.
Justice Chief Justice K. G. Balakrishnan said:
“Why do you define socialism in the narrower sense as the communists do? … Why don’t you
go by the broader definition, which mandates the state to ensure social welfare measures for
all the citizens as a facet of democracy?”
By reading the word socialist in the preamble with fundamental rights contained in Article 14
and 16 the Supreme Court has deduced the fundamental right to equal pay and equal work and
compassionate appointment.
Judicial Approach in interpretation of the Constitution:
Initially the predominant approach of the Indian judiciary was positivist i.e. to interpret the
constitution literally and to apply to it the same restrictive cannons of interpretation as are
usually applied to the interpretation of ordinary statutes. But things have changed and the
judicial approach to the constitution is no longer solely one of statutory interpretation. The law
creative role of judge is very well recognized in modern times. The American Jurists greatly
emphasis on such a judicial role. A judge is not an automaton; he has to make choices out of
several alternatives. The liberal approach gives a creative and purposive interpretation to the
constitution “with insight into social values and wit sulppness of adaptation to changing needs”.
Modern scholars by and large now favour liberal judicial approach to the constitution. The
constitution is a mechanism through which laws are made; it is not a mere statute which
declares what a law is to be. The liberal judicial interpretation of the written constitution
emanates from the feeling that the function of interpreting the written constitution is very
crucial to the governmental process in the country and therefore the judicial interpretation of
this task has to be entirely different from that of interpreting a statute. The liberal approach has
an ideological tinge to it; the court casts themselves in the role of the protector and guardian of
the constitution especially of fundamental rights of people and democratic values. The courts
while adopting the liberal approach expands the frontier of the people/s fundamental rights so
as to make the government more liberal and democratic. A creative interpretation of the
constitution involves-
o Interpreting the powers of the government affecting person and property
o Interpreting people’s rights broadly and liberally rather than mechanically and literally.
The Supreme Court has emphasized in many cases that the constitution should not construed
in any narrow and pedantic sense. To express this idea chief Justice Kania pointed out in the
Gopalan case26 “Although we are to interpret the words of constitution on the same principles
of interpretation as we apply to any ordinary law these very principles of interpretation compels
us to take into account the nature and scope of the act we are interpreting- to remember that it
is a constitution; a mechanism under which laws are to be made and not merely an act which
declares what a law is to be.”

26
1950 SCR 88

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In Pathuma the Supreme Court has emphasized that the judicial approach to the constitution
should be dynamic rather than static.
In India Cement case27 the Supreme Court held “It has to be remembered that it is the
constitution that requires interpretation. It is a mechanism under which laws are to be made
and not merely an act that declares what a law is to be.”
In S.R. Chaudhuri vs. State of Punjab28 the Supreme Court said:
“Constitution provisions are required to be understood and interpreted with an object oriented
approach. A constitution should not be construed in a narrow and pedantic sense. The words
used may be general in term, but its full import and true meaning has to be appreciated
considering the true context in which the same are used and the purpose which they seek to
achieve. We must remember that the constitution is not just a document is the solemn form but
a living framework of the government of the people exhibiting a sufficient degree of cohesion
and its successful working depends upon the democratic spirit underlining it being respected
in letter and spirit”

27
1990 SCR (3) 850
28
244 of 1997(civil) Appeal

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 CONCLUSION & SUGGESTION

India is a socialist country because its Constitution declares it as a socialist country in the
Preamble. This and the word secularism were introduced into the preamble during the National
Emergency from 1975 to 1977. This was done by the government without the consent of the
opposition.
Resources in India were all owned by the government until 1991. Then liberalization reforms
were brought in and private citizens were allowed to conduct business alongside PSUs.
However the major PSUs have not been privatized like Coal India and the railways. So all
though we have aspects of a market economy we also have socialistic characteristics.
1. License Raj: The license raj was a series of red tape that made it literally impossible to run
businesses in India from 1947-1990. All of the industries were nationalized [like in communist
nations] and only the government could control the means of production. People could not start
their own companies because you needed 80 or so licenses to start one, and even then, the
government would determine the method of production/how much to produce. This is
socialism.
2. Low Economic Freedom: India ranks very low on the world economic freedom index, and
the Ease of Doing Business list 123th and 130th respectively. Countries that are capitalist are
ranked higher on these indices. Population, Facts, GDP, Corruption, Business, Trade,
FDI [World Economic Freedom] and Ease of doing business: India improves ranking,
Singapore tops the list, says World Bank – The Economic Times
3. Bureaucracy: India has a lot of red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy. India ranks 2nd last
in the housing contracts rankings. A lot of government intervention takes place in business.
So, India was not “bound” to be a socialist but was working as a socialist up till the emergency
when the constitution was amended and this was added to the constitution the two words that
most of today’s politicians fear the most Socialism and Secularism.
I disagree with one of the answers which said it was done against the will of the opposition and
it was done in a manner which was against the essence or ethos of Constitution (though true
but not entirely). After the end of emergency when fresh elections were called, and the Janta
Party swept the polls, they nullified every single legislation or constitutional amendment
brought in during emergency. So, if they wanted to remove those two, they would have, they
didn’t means they were OK with the scenario.
Current Context
In current Context rather after early 90’s Liberalization by PVR’s govt, it is hardly a socialist
but undeniably running a socialist agenda (providing subsidies against will of WTO, Loan
waivers etc.). Is it relevant to have the word Socialism in our constitution considering the
current framework, I am not sure but yes I do believe it isn’t hampering our state of policy
making. No country can survive (according to me) on a purely Capitalist or a purely Socialist
framework so adding socialism or not isn’t gonna make a difference.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
I. Aggarwal, R.C: Constitutional History of India and National Movements,
S.Chand & Co, New Delhi, 1969
II. Bakshi, P.M: The Constitution of India, Universal Publications, New
Delhi, 2005.
III. Banerjee, A.C: Constitutional History of India, V.1, Mukherjee & Co.
Calcutta, 1948.
IV. Durga Das: India from Curzon to Nehru and After, St James, London,
1969
V. Lohia Ram Manohar, Marx, Gandhi and Socialism, Nav Hind Prakashan, Hyderabad,
1963
VI. Koteswara Rao M.V.S. Communist Parties and United Front – Experience in Kerala
and West Bengal. Hyderabad: Prajasakti Book House, 2003

ARTICLES
Ram Manohar Lohia’s The Approach to Socialist Planning, No. 4, Nov. 1956
Ram Manohar Lohia’s Socialism and the New Phase, 6 April, 1947
Ram Manohar Lohia’s Socialism the Only Panacea, Vol. 4, No. 41, 30 Oct., 1949.

NEWS PAPERS
The Hindustan Times

The Hindu

The Indian Express

WEBSITES
w.w.w.India .Org
w.w.w. N.D.T.V. Com.
w.w.w. India Kannoon. Com
w.w.w. Supremecourtofindia.nic.in

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