Draft Article 30 (Article 38) was debated in the Constituent Assembly on 19 November 1948. It directed the State to engage in social transformation to promote social, economic and political justice, for the welfare of the people.
A member wanted to replace the Draft Article with a provision that directed the State to establish a socialist order and take over, among other things, the ownership of important sectors of the economy. It was argued that prevailing capitalist system was oppressive, and the only way to secure the welfare of the people was to organise India on socialist lines. The term ‘socialist democracy’ needed to be explicitly mentioned in the constitutional text.
Another member, while admitting the importance of the article, was concerned about its implementation. He invoked the ‘Instrument of Instructions’ of the Government of India Act 1935 – a set of provisions similar to the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs) in that they were directives to certain constitutional authorities. He argued that the 1935 Act had some provisions to ensure their implementation. The Indian Constitution, on the other hand, had no such provisions. He wanted a ‘superior authority’ that could oversee the implementation and act against the transgression of DPSPs.
There were also opponents, who felt that the influence of a certain school of political thought was being introduced into the Constitution through this Article.
Rounding up the discussion, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee clarified that the Constitution, in addition to establishing political democracy, also aimed to strive for economic democracy. However, there were many ways that economic democracy could be achieved – socialism, communism – and the Constitution would not take a stand on which path to adopt.
The issue of implementation was not responded to here but was done in a previous debate (See Article 37 debate summary)
The Assembly adopted the Draft Article with no amendments.
