UPSC IAS - 2013

‘ Economic Justice’ as one of the objectives of the Indian Constitution has been provided in

Year Asked: 2013

A
the Preamble and the Fundamental Rights
B
the Preamble and the Directive Principles of State Policy
C
the Fundamental rights and the Directive Principles of State Policy
D
None of the above

Correct Answer

B. the Preamble and the Directive Principles of State Policy

Detailed Explanation

The correct answer is B. The Preamble promises to secure to all citizens justice, social, economic and political, so economic justice is a stated objective there. The Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV (Articles 36 to 51) turn that promise into policy goals. Article 39, for example, asks the state to secure equal pay for equal work, to distribute material resources to serve the common good, and to prevent concentration of wealth.

Why the others fail:

  • A is wrong because Fundamental Rights in Part III are mainly justiciable civil and political guarantees, such as equality before law and freedom of speech. The economic content sits in Part IV, not Part III.
  • C is wrong because it leaves out the Preamble, and its Fundamental Rights half fails for the same reason as A.
  • D is wrong because B is correct.

Core concept: Part III gives enforceable rights, while Part IV gives non-justiciable goals (Article 37). For Mains GS-II, this links to the debate on how far the state can pursue redistribution while respecting rights, and on whether DPSP should be enforceable.

Trap: aspirants pick A because Articles 14 and 19 sound economic, or assume any justice-related idea must be in Fundamental Rights. The economic vision lives in the Preamble and DPSP.

This question appeared in UPSC Prelims 2013 GS Paper-1.

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