Certain Principles of Policy to be Followed by the State

Article 31, Draft Constitution of India 1948

The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing-

(i) That the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood;

(ii) That the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good;

(iii) That the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment;

(iv) That there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women;

(v) That the strength and health of workers, men and women and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength;

(vi) That childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

Article 38, Constitution of India 1950

The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing—

(a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood;

(b) that the ownership and control of the material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve the common good;

(c) that the operation of the economic system does not result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common detriment;

(d) that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women;

(e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or strength;

(f) that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.

Draft Article 31 (Article 39) was taken up for debate in the Constituent Assembly on 22 November 1948. It directed the State to protect and promote the economic welfare of citizens with special emphasis on the weaker sections of society.

The debate in the Assembly was dominated by its socialist members, who felt that the Draft Article’s clauses did not go far enough to encode socialism in the Constitution. They pointed out that the language of clause allowed private interests to obtain the ‘ownership and control of material resources’ which was antagonistic to the economic welfare of citizens. Amendments were moved that aimed to give specificity to the clauses, by clarifying what came under ‘material resources’, and explicitly stating that only the State acting on behalf of the people could have control over material resources.

Another member was worried about clause 3 that directed the State to prevent the concentration of wealth and moved an amendment. It was argued that unless the Assembly had plans to install a communist state, the concentration of wealth and inequities would be inevitable. Therefore, the problem was not really the concentration of wealth, but the undue concentration of wealth.

At the end of the debate, it was clarified that the clauses of the Draft Article were deliberately worded in a general and extensive manner; the economic system that the socialists were arguing for was compatible with the Draft Article. Therefore, there was no need for the relevant amendments.

All amendments were rejected, with the exception of the minor amendment to replace ‘that the strength and health’ with ‘that the health and strength’. The Assembly adopted the amended Draft Article on 22 November 1948.