Salient Features of the Constitution — II
ICSE Class 9 · History & Civics · Chapter 3
What this chapter covers
- Fundamental Duties: meaning and origin
- The eleven Fundamental Duties
- Fundamental Duties: significance and how they complement rights
- Directive Principles of State Policy: meaning
- What the Directive Principles ask the State to do
- Directive Principles: significance and criticism
- Difference between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles
- Meaning of a Welfare State
- Common errors and how to avoid them
Key points
- Fundamental Duties are the moral obligations of every citizen, listed in Part IVA (Article 51A) of the Constitution.
- Ten duties were added by the Forty-second Amendment of 1976 on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee; the eleventh, on education, came with the Eighty-sixth Amendment of 2002.
- The duties cover respect for the Constitution and national symbols, unity and defence, harmony and the dignity of women, composite culture, the environment, public property, scientific temper, excellence, and the education of children.
- Fundamental Duties apply only to citizens and are non-justiciable, but Parliament can give effect to them through laws.
- Fundamental Duties complement Fundamental Rights: every right is safe only when others perform the matching duty.
- Directive Principles of State Policy, in Part IV (Articles 36 to 51), are directions to the State for securing social and economic justice; they were borrowed from the Constitution of Ireland.
- Directive Principles are non-justiciable but fundamental in governance; they follow socialist, Gandhian and liberal ideals, and many have been turned into laws.
- Fundamental Rights are justiciable, mostly negative and aimed at political democracy; Directive Principles are non-justiciable, positive and aimed at social and economic democracy.
- The two features are complementary parts of one plan rather than rivals.
- A Welfare State takes active responsibility for the well-being of all its citizens, especially the poor and weak, unlike a police State that only keeps order.
- India is a Welfare State: the Preamble promises justice, and the Directive Principles give the plan for achieving it.
Questions answered
What are Fundamental Duties? In which Part of the Constitution are they found?
Fundamental Duties are the basic moral obligations that the Constitution places on every citizen to protect the unity of the nation, respect its institutions and build a better society. They are found in Part IVA, in Article 51A.
Which amendment added Fundamental Duties to the Constitution, and in which year? How many duties are there now?
The Forty-second Amendment of 1976 added ten duties. The Eighty-sixth Amendment of 2002 added an eleventh, so there are eleven duties today.
Name the committee that recommended the inclusion of Fundamental Duties.
The Swaran Singh Committee, set up in 1976.
State the Fundamental Duty that applies only to parents and guardians.
A parent or guardian must provide opportunities for education to his or her child or ward between the ages of six and fourteen.
Explain, with one example, how Fundamental Duties complement Fundamental Rights.
A right can be enjoyed only when others respect it, so each right carries a matching duty. For example, the right to freedom of speech is matched by the duty to promote harmony, so a citizen must not use free speech to spread hatred against another community.
Give two criticisms of Fundamental Duties.
Any two: they are non-justiciable, so they cannot be enforced by courts; important duties such as voting and paying taxes are left out; some words are vague; and many citizens are unaware of them.
What is meant by Directive Principles of State Policy?
They are the principles in Part IV of the Constitution that the State must keep in mind while making laws and policies, in order to secure social and economic justice; they cannot be enforced by any court.
From which country's constitution were the Directive Principles borrowed?
Ireland.
Past board exam questions
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
State the meaning of the term ‘Directive Principles of State Policy’.
Show answer
Directive Principles of State Policy are the guidelines/instructions given in Part IV of the Constitution to the Central and State Governments, to be kept in mind while framing laws and policies so as to establish a welfare state; they are not enforceable by courts.
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 1 mark
Mention any one Fundamental Duty as given in the Indian Constitution.
Show answer
To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem. (Any one, e.g. to protect and improve the natural environment; to safeguard public property.)