This MCQ module is based on: Directive Principles, Fundamental Duties & Exercises
TOPIC 6 OF 29
Directive Principles, Fundamental Duties & Exercises
🎓 Class 11
Social Science
CBSE
Theory
Ch 2 — Rights in the Indian Constitution
⏱ ~22 min
🌐 Language: [gtranslate]
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Chapter 2 · Rights in the Indian Constitution — Part 3: Directive Principles, Duties & Exercises
Beyond the enforceable Fundamental Rights, the Constitution carries a longer wishlist for the State — the Directive Principles of State Policy. It also asks every citizen to honour ten Fundamental Duties. This part compares the two charters, ties them to the Directives, and walks through model answers to the chapter exercises.
2.12 Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV, Articles 36–51)
While the framers of the Constitution were drawing up the list of Fundamental Rights, they faced a difficulty. Many goals that they considered crucial — ensuring decent wages, providing adequate means of livelihood, free legal aid, free and compulsory education, equal pay for equal work — could not be guaranteed immediately by the new State. India was a poor country emerging from colonial rule. To make a court-enforceable right out of every desirable goal would be to invite mockery: a citizen could sue the government for not yet having built schools that did not exist.
The framers therefore divided the goals into two categories. The first category, the Fundamental Rights, contained the immediately enforceable rights. The second category, the Directive Principles of State Policy? (DPSP), listed long-term goals that the State should keep working towards.
\1F4D6 Article 37 — The status of the Directives
The Directive Principles “shall not be enforceable by any court, but the principles therein laid down are nevertheless fundamental in the governance of the country and it shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making laws.” In other words, they are moral and political duties on the State, not legal obligations.
2.12.1 The three families of Directives
| Family | Examples | Article(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Socialist | Adequate means of livelihood, equal pay for equal work, just and humane conditions of work, living wage, securing a uniform civil code in matters where appropriate | 38, 39, 41, 42, 43 |
| Gandhian | Promotion of village panchayats, cottage industries, prohibition of intoxicating drinks, protection of cattle, promotion of educational interests of SC/ST | 40, 43, 46, 47, 48 |
| Liberal–Intellectual | Uniform civil code, separation of judiciary from the executive, protection of monuments and places of national importance, promotion of international peace | 44, 50, 49, 51 |
2.12.2 Directives that have shaped real laws
Right to Education Act, 2009
Article 45 (Directive) urged the State to provide free and compulsory education for children. The 86th Amendment (2002) and the RTE Act translated it into Article 21A — a Fundamental Right.
Mid-Day Meal Scheme
Articles 39, 45 and 47 ask the State to raise nutrition levels and the standard of living. The mid-day meal scheme delivers on that goal in primary schools across India.
Panchayati Raj (73rd Amendment)
Article 40 directed the State to organise village panchayats. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment (1992) gave them constitutional status across India.
MGNREGA (2005)
Articles 39 and 41 promise the right to work and adequate means of livelihood. MGNREGA legally guarantees 100 days of paid work per year per rural household.
2.13 Fundamental Rights vs. Directive Principles
This is one of the most frequently asked board-exam questions. The two charters work together but differ on every dimension that matters — enforceability, scope, source of inspiration, and target audience.
| Basis of comparison | Fundamental Rights (Part III) | Directive Principles (Part IV) |
|---|---|---|
| Nature | Justiciable — enforceable in courts | Non-justiciable — not enforceable in courts |
| Source of inspiration | American Bill of Rights | Irish Constitution (1937) |
| What they aim at | Political democracy — protecting individual liberty | Socio-economic democracy — building a just society |
| To whom addressed | Restrain the State from violating individual rights | Direct the State to take positive action |
| Sanction | Legal sanction (court can strike down a law) | Political and moral sanction (public opinion, elections) |
| If violated… | Can be challenged under Article 32 / 226 | Cannot be challenged in court directly |
FR and DPSP read together describe a complete vision of a free and just society.
\1F4DA Are they in conflict?
Conflict has arisen historically — for instance, when land-reform laws (under DPSP) collided with the right to property (then a Fundamental Right). The Supreme Court worked out a balance through cases like Golak Nath (1967), Kesavananda Bharati (1973) and Minerva Mills (1980), settling that both sets of provisions are essential and that neither completely overrides the other — preserving the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution.
2.14 Fundamental Duties (Part IV-A, Article 51A)
Originally, the Constitution had no chapter on duties. The 42nd Amendment (1976), on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee, added a new Part IV-A containing Article 51A. A 2002 amendment added the eleventh duty. Today, the Constitution lays down eleven Fundamental Duties for every citizen.
| # | Duty |
|---|---|
| (a) | Abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals, institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem. |
| (b) | Cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for freedom. |
| (c) | Uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India. |
| (d) | Defend the country and render national service when called upon. |
| (e) | Promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood; renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women. |
| (f) | Value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture. |
| (g) | Protect and improve the natural environment — forests, lakes, rivers and wildlife. |
| (h) | Develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform. |
| (i) | Safeguard public property and abjure violence. |
| (j) | Strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity. |
| (k) | Provide opportunities for education to one’s child or ward between the ages of 6 and 14 years (added by 86th Amendment, 2002). |
\26A0 Are duties enforceable?
Like Directive Principles, Fundamental Duties are not directly enforceable by courts. But Parliament can pass laws to enforce them, and courts may consider them while interpreting the constitutionality of a law. They remind us that rights and duties are two sides of the same coin.
LET’S DISCUSS — Rights and duties go together
Bloom: L4 Analyse
Form four groups. Each group picks one Fundamental Right and one matching Fundamental Duty (e.g. Right to free speech ↔ duty to abjure violence; Right to equality ↔ duty to renounce practices derogatory to women). Argue, in 5 minutes, why one cannot survive without the other.
\2705 Pointers
Free speech without the duty to renounce violence becomes incitement; a society that demands rights but ignores duties cannot remain civil. Equality without the duty to renounce practices derogatory to women would remain a paper guarantee. The right to a clean environment (Article 21) requires every citizen to perform the duty to protect the environment (Article 51A(g)).
2.15 Chapter Exercises — Model Answers
Below are model responses to the kind of questions found at the end of NCERT Chapter 2. They are written in a way that earns full marks: definitions first, then articles, then a real example, then a short evaluation.
Q.1
Write true or false against each of the following statements: (a) A bill of rights lays down the rights enjoyed by the people of a country. (b) A bill of rights protects the liberties of an individual. (c) Every country of the world has a bill of rights. (d) Constitution guarantees remedy against violation of rights.
Answers: (a) True — this is the textbook definition. (b) True — a bill of rights protects individual liberty against the State and others. (c) False — not every country has one. The United Kingdom, for instance, relies on parliamentary sovereignty and unwritten conventions rather than a single codified bill. (d) True — Article 32 itself is a Fundamental Right that gives citizens the remedy of writs.
Q.2
Which of the following is the best description of Fundamental Rights? (a) All rights an individual should have. (b) All rights given to citizens by law. (c) The rights given and protected by the Constitution. (d) The rights given by the Constitution that cannot ever be restricted.
Answer: (c) — Fundamental Rights are precisely those rights given and protected by the Constitution. Option (d) is wrong because Fundamental Rights are subject to reasonable restrictions; they are not absolute.
Q.3
Read the following situations. Which Fundamental Right is being used or violated in each case and how? (a) Overweight male cabin crew are allowed to get promotion in the airlines but their female colleagues who gain weight are penalised. (b) A director makes a documentary film that criticises the policies of the government. (c) People displaced by a big dam take out a rally demanding rehabilitation. (d) Andhra society runs Telugu medium schools outside Andhra Pradesh.
Model Answers:
- (a) Right to Equality (Articles 14 and 15) — the differential treatment based on sex amounts to discrimination on the ground of sex.
- (b) Right to Freedom — freedom of speech and expression (Article 19(1)(a)) — criticism of government policy through film is protected expression, subject to reasonable restrictions.
- (c) Right to Freedom — freedom to assemble peacefully and without arms (Article 19(1)(b)) — a peaceful rally for a public cause exercises this freedom.
- (d) Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles 29 and 30) — a linguistic minority can establish and administer educational institutions of its choice.
Q.4
Which of the Fundamental Rights is being violated in the following cases? (a) Bonded labour. (b) Religious instruction in a government school. (c) A 12-year-old child working in a factory. (d) A person of one religion being prevented from converting another to his/her religion.
Answers: (a) Article 23 — Right against exploitation, prohibition of forced labour. (b) Article 28 — freedom from religious instruction in a State-funded school. (c) Article 24 — prohibition of employment of children below 14 in factories. (d) Article 25 — freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion (subject to public order, morality and health).
Q.5
Which of the following is a correct interpretation of the Cultural and Educational Rights? (a) Only children belonging to the minority group enjoy these rights. (b) Government schools must give education only in the mother tongue. (c) Only the minorities can establish educational institutions. (d) Linguistic and religious minorities can open schools and colleges and the government will not discriminate against them in granting aid.
Answer: (d) — Articles 29 and 30 protect minorities’ right to conserve their language, script and culture and to establish institutions of their choice; the State will not discriminate in granting aid.
Q.6
Which of the following is the best description of secularism? Give reasons for your choice.
Best description: A secular state in India is one that is equally distant from all religions, treats every citizen equally regardless of faith, allows every individual the freedom of conscience, and ensures that no religion is favoured by the State or by the use of public funds. Reasons: Article 25 protects the freedom of conscience; Article 26 protects the management of religious affairs; Article 27 forbids using tax money for any one religion; Article 28 keeps State-funded education free of religious instruction.
Q.7
What does the writ of habeas corpus mean? Which Fundamental Right is it associated with?
Answer: Habeas corpus means “you shall have the body”. It is a writ issued by the Supreme Court (under Article 32) or by a High Court (under Article 226) commanding any authority that has detained a person to produce the detainee in court and justify the detention. If the detention is illegal, the court orders the immediate release of the person. The writ is most directly associated with Article 21 — Right to life and personal liberty, and also with Article 22, which provides protection against arbitrary arrest.
Q.8
Differentiate between Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy.
Answer: Refer to the comparison table in Section 2.13 above. The four most important differences are: (i) FR are justiciable, DPSP are not; (ii) FR restrain the State, DPSP direct it to act; (iii) FR aim at political democracy, DPSP at socio-economic democracy; (iv) FR are inspired by the US Bill of Rights, DPSP by the Irish Constitution. Together, FR and DPSP form the constitutional vision of a fully free and just India.
2.16 Chapter Summary & Key Terms
Bill of Rights
A list of rights written into the constitution and protected by it.
Fundamental Rights (Part III)
Six rights — equality, freedom, against exploitation, religion, cultural & educational, constitutional remedies.
Reasonable Restrictions
Limitations on rights that are justifiable in proportion to legitimate aims; tested by the courts.
Article 32 & Writs
Five writs — habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, certiorari, quo warranto — protect Fundamental Rights.
DPSP (Part IV)
Non-justiciable directives that are fundamental in the governance of the country.
Fundamental Duties
Eleven duties of every citizen, added by the 42nd (1976) and 86th (2002) Amendments.
\1F4CB
Competency-Based Questions — Part 3
Case Study: A village panchayat passes a resolution promising free legal aid to women victims of domestic violence and free Class 1–8 schooling for every child of migrant labourers. The local authority refuses to fund the resolution, calling it “a matter of policy, not of right”.
Q1. Free and compulsory schooling for children aged 6 to 14 is now best described as:
L3 ApplyAnswer: (B) — The 86th Amendment moved free and compulsory education for children aged 6–14 into the Fundamental Rights chapter as Article 21A. Article 45 (DPSP) and Article 51A(k) (duty) reinforce it but do not replace it.
Q2. The local authority’s argument that DPSP is “a matter of policy, not of right” is:
L4 AnalyseAnswer: (B) — Article 37 declares that DPSP is “fundamental in the governance of the country” even though it is not justiciable. The State is morally and politically bound to apply it.
Q3. In about 70 words, explain why the framers of the Constitution placed certain socio-economic rights in DPSP rather than in Part III.
L5 EvaluateModel Answer: India in 1950 lacked the resources to immediately guarantee employment, healthcare, decent wages and free education to every citizen. Making these court-enforceable rights would have invited mass litigation against an impoverished State and brought the Constitution into disrepute. The framers therefore placed them as Directive Principles — political and moral commitments that the State would progressively realise as resources permitted, while preserving justiciable Fundamental Rights for the protection of liberty.
HOT Q. Design a 10-line “Citizen Charter” for your locality that combines five Fundamental Rights, three Directive Principles and two Fundamental Duties. For each, write one concrete commitment.
L6 CreateHint: Possible entries — Equality (no entry barriers to community parks), Freedom (a public bulletin board for residents’ views), Against exploitation (no underpayment of cleaners), Religion (rotation of festival venues), Constitutional remedies (a residents’ legal-aid desk). DPSP — village panchayat (Article 40), environment (Article 48A), nutrition (Article 47). Duties — protect the environment (51A(g)), abjure violence (51A(i)).
\2696 Assertion–Reason Questions — Part 3
Options:
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true, but R is false.
(D) A is false, but R is true.
(A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A.
(B) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A.
(C) A is true, but R is false.
(D) A is false, but R is true.
Assertion (A): Directive Principles are not enforceable in courts.
Reason (R): Article 37 itself declares them non-justiciable while calling them fundamental in the governance of the country.
Answer: (A) — Both true and R is the precise reason for A.
Assertion (A): Fundamental Duties were part of the original Constitution adopted in 1950.
Reason (R): The 42nd Amendment (1976) added Part IV-A and Article 51A on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee.
Answer: (D) — A is false: Fundamental Duties were not in the original Constitution. R is true and explains how they were added later.
Assertion (A): Many Directive Principles have been progressively converted into law.
Reason (R): The Right to Education Act, MGNREGA and the 73rd Amendment all give effect to specific Directives.
Answer: (A) — Both true; R provides three real instances supporting A.
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