IMPLEMENTATION OF DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

Part IV of the Constitution of India deals with Directive Principles of State Policy. It is one of the most outstanding features of our Constitution.

IMPLEMENTATION OF DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

1. Abolition of the Zamindari System - The greatest achievement of the Government of India is the abolition of the zamindari system. Agriculture is the main source of income in India and the farmers were being exploited by the zamindars. Thus major income of the country was in the hands of Zamindars. With the abolition of the Zamindari system the farmers got relief from exploitation.

2. State owned projects, plants and producing concerns - The state has established a number of projects, plants and producing concerns. All these projects lead to the economic development of the nation. e.g. Bhakranangal

3. Factory Acts - The state has passed various Factory Acts by which minimum wages, insurance against sickness and other just and human conditions of work have been laid down for the workers.

4. Equal pay for equal work for men and women - Equal pay for equal work is being paid to both men and women in most areas of employment.

5. Reservation of Posts for Scheduled Castes and others - The state has passed various laws by which a number of posts have been reserved for members of the SC & ST and other weaker sections of the community.

6. Promotion of Cottage Industries - The Government of India has established many boards such as All India Khadi and Village Industries Board and All India Handloom Board in order to promote cottage industries.

7. Compulsory education upto the age of 14 years - Most states have passed laws to have compulsory education to every child upto the age of 14 years.

8. Raising the standard of living - To raise the standard of living, especially in villages, the government started the community development programme. It tries to provide better communication, education, housing and sanitation. It aims at uplifting the rural poor above the poverty line.

9. Prohibition of Slaughter of Cows and Calves - A ban is put on the slaughter of cows and calves throughout the country.

10. Protection of Monuments, Places and Objects of Artistic and Historical Interest - They are fully protected by law and the Archaeological Department looks after them.

11. Organisation of Self - governing Village Panchayat - The members of the Village Panchayat are elected by the adult population of the villages and the Panchayat looks after the administration, maintenance of roads, parks, tanks and wells, medical relief, primary education, etc.

12. Prohibition of Intoxicating Drinks and Drugs - has been introduced in many states.

13. International Policy - The foreign policy of our government aims at promotion of international peace and security, maintenance of just and honorable relations between nations and settlement of international dispute by arbitration. Our government has been successful and the Indian contribution towards promotion of non alignment and peaceful co-existence have been widely acknowledged.

DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES OF STATE POLICY

Part IV of the Constitution of India deals with Directive Principles of State Policy. It is one of the most outstanding features of our Constitution.

CLASSIFICATION OF DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES

Directive Principles are divided into 4 classes:

A. Socio-Economic Principles of National Policy
B. Socio-Political and Administrative Objectives of National Policy
C. Certain Principles for the guidance of International Relations
D. Saving of laws giving effect to certain directive principles

A. SOCIO-ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES OF NATIONAL POLICY - ARTICLES 38,39,41 AND 45-48)

The framers of our Constitution laid down detailed directives.

1. The state shall try to secure for all citizens - both men and women equally:

a. Adequate means of livelihood

b. ownership and control of material resources of the community are so distributed as best to serve the common good

c. that the national wealth shall not get concentrated in the hands of a few

d. that there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women

e. that the health and strength of workers and the tender age of children are not abused

f. that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner in conditions of freedom and dignity and that they are protected from exploitation.

2. That effective provision for securing the right to work, education and public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement shall be made by the state within its limits of economic capacity and development.

3. State shall make provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.

4. The state shall endeavour (try) to secure, by economic organisation or in any other way, work, a living, wage, a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities for all workers and promotion of cottage industries.

5. State shall try to provide free and compulsory education for all children till the age of 14 years withing ten years of commencement of the constitution i.e. from 1950-1960.

6. The state shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of society, particularly schedule castes and tribes and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.

7. One of the primary duties of the state shall be to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living of its people and to introduce prohibition of consumption of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health, except for medicinal purposes.

8. The state shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and preserve and improve the breeds and prohibit the slaughter of cows and calves.

9. The state shall strive to minimise inequalities in income and eliminate inequalities in states and provide facilities and opportunities for all.

B. SOCIO-POLITICAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE OBJECTS OF NATIONAL POLICY - ARTICLE 39 A, 44, 49, 40 AND 50

These directives reflect the socio political and administrative aims of national policy.

1. The state shall promote justice for all on equal terms.

2. The state shall organise village panchayats and help them to function as units of self-government.

3. The state shall secure for all citizens a uniform civil code throughout India.

4. The state shall protect every monument or place of artistic and historic interest that is of national importance.

C. PRINCIPLES FOR THE GUIDANCE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - ARTICLE 51

1. To promote international peace and security

2. To maintain just and honorable relations between nations

3. To foster respect for international law and treaty obligations.

4. To encourage settlement of international disputes by arbitration (settlement of disputes by the decision of somebody chosen to be the judge)

D. SAVING OF LAWS GIVING EFFECT TO CERTAIN DIRECTIVE PRINCIPLES - ARTICLE 31C

No law that gives effect to the policy of the state towards securing Directive Principles can be taken away or abridged (shortened) e.g. rights dealing with right to freedom, equality before law.
The court can examine the matter if challenged under fundamental rights.

PREAMBLE - INDIAN CONSTITUTION

The Preamble functions as a foreword to the Constitution. The Preamble performs three functions that grant the Constitution its credibility and importance.

1. The Preamble indicated the source and target of the Constitution. The words 'We the people of India do hereby adopt, enact and give to ourselves this Constitution' indicate that the Constitution is a valid one in the context of our Democracy, as it has been created by the people, for the people.

2. The Preamble indicated the date when the Constitution was adopted, by the words 'this twenty sixth day of November 1949).

3. The Preamble lays down the objectives and philosophy of the Constitution by the words 'to constitute India into a Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic Republic'.

The term 'Sovereign' implies the independent authority of the State. The Indian State is a power unto itself, and does not have to refer to any external authority when making policy decisions.

The term 'Socialist' implies that India shall be a welfare state.

The term 'Secular', along with the term 'socialist' was introduced in the Preamble by the Constitution (Forty second Amendment) Act, 1976. In the Indian context 'secular' has three implications:

a. The Indian state shall not have an official religion

b. Citizens of India enjoy the freedom to profess and practice any religion of their choice.

c. Citizens of India enjoy the freedom to choose to not belong to any religion at all, if they so desire.

The term 'Democratic' implies that the Head of Government is elected. e.g. Prime Minister is elected to Parliament.

The term 'Republic' implies that the Head of State is elected. e.g. President is elected by the elected members of Parliament and the State Legislatures.

The Constitution also guarantees Indians all conceivable forms of justice: social, economic and political. 

COURAGE

Courage is the ability to face danger and difficult tasks / jobs in a rational way and with self control. A courageous person is able to discuss problems with others, get involved with new challenges, and pursue the job or business even it there are obstacles or difficulties.

Courage is a key value which helps accept self-responsibility for one's life, enable one to be honest and admit to one's mistakes, enables one to face challenges and uncertainties of the future.

HONESTY

Honesty is the human quality of communicating and acting truthful and with fainess. It is related to truth as a value. It includes listening, reasoning as well as speaking

Honesty means simply stating facts and views as best one truly believes them to be. It includes both honesty to others and to oneself.

Honesty is an important element in interpersonal relationships, especially intimate relationships and dishonesty leads to distrust.

BENEFITS OF PRACTICING HONESTY

Honesty brings good health and happiness

Honesty helps establish peace of mind

Honesty enables you to gain love and respect

Honesty helps promote good will

FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is the intentional and voluntary process by which a victim undergoes a change in feelings and attitude regarding an offence, lets go of negative emotions such as vengefulness, with an increased ability to wish the offender well.

Forgiveness is pardoning yourself or another from an offence. 

Key ingredients of forgiveness are:

- Character strength

- Its a slow unique individual journey

- It is a virtue

- It enables you to move from resentment to inner reconciliation

- It liberates you from anger, fear, resentment etc

- It is a proactive choice

COMPASSION

Compassion is the emotion that one feels in response to the suffering of others. It motivates a desire to help and gives rise to an active desire to alleviate another's suffering,

Compassion is feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate suffering. 

Compassion involves putting yourself in someone else's shoes, to take focus off yourself and to imagine what its like to be in someone else's predicament. 

• Look for commonalities: Seeing yourself as similar to others increases feelings of compassion. 
• Calm your inner worrier: When we let our mind run wild with fear in response to someone else’s pain (e.g., What if that happens to me?), we inhibit the biological systems that enable compassion. The practice of mindfulness can help us feel safer in these situations, facilitating compassion.
• Encourage cooperation, not competition, even through subtle cues
• See people as humans
• Don’t play the blame game: When we blame others for their misfortune, we feel less tenderness and concern toward them.
• Respect your inner hero
• Notice and savor how good it feels to be compassionate. 
• To cultivate compassion in kids, start by modeling kindness, lead by example.
• Curb inequality

EMPATHY

Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within the other being's frame of reference, i.e., the capacity to place oneself in another's position. 

Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another.

One must learn to be empathetic to empathize with the problems faced by family members, friends, acquaintances, as this will make our lives more meaningful and worth living. 

Empathy is not the same as sympathy. Empathy is about feelings, sympathy is about actions. Thus one can empathize with another and then act on it by feeling sorry for the person or happy for the person.

Empathy helps connect people
Empathy builds trust.
Empathy helps heal and can be therapeutic

SELF INITIATIVE

Self initiative is doing the right thing without being told to do so. It is taking the first step instead of waiting for someone else to do it.

One can develop self initiative by

• -          Developing  a plan (career plan)
• -          Build self confidence
• -          Check your ideas
• -          Look for and take up opportunities that come your way
• -          Be persistent
• -          Be consistent

Initiative has become increasingly important in today's competitive workplace and so one needs to develop self initiative. Self initiative is also very useful for individuals who are business oriented and intend to start up a new business or pursue family business.

SELF CONFIDENCE

Self confidence is an attitude which allows individuals to have a positive yet realistic views of themselves and their situations.

Self confident people trust their own abilities, have a general sense of control in their lives, and believe they will able to do what they wish, plan and expect

A confident person can easily deal with the hurdles of life and can influence other by their positive attitude and personality.

Self confidence can be built through:

• -       -   Praise and compliments
• -          Focusing on positive ideas
• -          Having a good role model
• -          Physical activity
• -          Rest and relaxation
• -          Learn new things
• -          Practice talents and skills
• -          Setting and achieving goals

SELF DISCIPLINE

Self-discipline refers to the ability to control one's own feeling. Self-discipline is one of the most important and useful skills everyone should possess. This skill is essential in every area of life, and though most people acknowledge its importance, very few do something to strengthen it.

Self-discipline enables one to overcome one's own weaknesses. It helps you take charge of yourself and enables you to get things done in an orderly, organised and efficient manner.

Self discipline is one of the most important ingredients of success. It is achieved through

- Perseverance

- Not giving up despite failure and setbacks

- Self control

- Resistance to distractions and temptations

- Try over and over again till you succeed

VALUES

Values from an important part of society as they account for the stability of social order and provide an internal reference for what is good, beneficial, important, useful, beautiful, desirable and constructive. Values generate behaviour and influence the choices made by an individual.

Values may help solve common human problems for survival by comparative rankings of value, the results of which provide answers to questions of why people do what they do and in what order they choose to do them. 

Moral, religious, and personal values, when held rigidly, may also give rise to conflicts that result from a clash between differing world views.

Over time the public expression of personal values that groups of people find important in their day-to-day lives, lay the foundations of law, custom and tradition. 

Values do not change from individual to individual.

IMPORTANCE / SIGNIFICANCE OF VALUES

- Values provide goals or aims for members to pursue

- Values ensure uniformity and stability in group interaction and thus hold society together

- Values help bring adjustment in the various sets of rules given to us and hence it is possible to modify rules.

- Values enable society to function in peace and harmony

Some timeless human values are: Non-violence, Peace, Trust, Unity, Responsibility, Love, Compassion, Generosity, Sharing, Integrity, Honesty, Sincerity, Service, Respect, etc.

PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL

Promotional material helps to establish a cordial relationship between the customer and the organization and to foster the customer’s confidence in the organization’s products and services. Organizations reach out to customers through advertisements, billboards, press releases, public relations, sales promotions, direct marketing, telemarketing, radio and TV commercials etc.

Promotional materials do not have a standard format. The design of the promotional material depends on what is being offered and the means and methods used to reach the customer. Promotional materials should be accurate and all claims should be supported by data. It should not make exaggerated claims or mislead. It should be prepared with the approval of the senior personnel of the organization to make sure it compiles with the policies of the organization.

The purpose of any promotional material is to reach the reader, convey the information, convince the reader of the quality of what is offered and then prompt him to respond positively. Thus it is important that the promotional material is well written in easy to understand language and presented in a logical and professional manner. The more customer friendly the promotional material the greater the chance of positive response from the reader. To achieve this, the customer’s needs are to be kept in mind while drafting the promotional material.

Promotional material should be clear in what it says. It should be concise yet complete, conveying all relevant matter. The text must be free of spelling and grammar errors. Use short sharp sentences that will convey the message clearly. Repeating the same matter in various ways shows lack of confidence and should be avoided. It is important to keep in mind ‘less is more’ principle.

Use visuals effectively to support the written or audio text. Ensure that the contact details are easy to find and easy to read. They should be in bold and in a logical location.

Promotional messages are illegal if they advertise false prices, performance capability, quality and other characteristics. The text must be ethical. 

PRESENTATION SKILLS

A carefully researched and prepared viewpoint that contains suggestions and ideas for the solving problems and which is delivered as a speech with the help of notes and audio-visual aids is known as a presentation.  Presentations try to persuade by explaining ideas, sharing knowledge and experiences and helps the listener make informed decisions. Some times the purpose of a presentation is merely to obtain feedback.

A Presentation may take the form of a prepared speech which is read out line by line, with breaks for illustrations on the black board or slides being shown with an overhead projector. Or it could take the form of brief notes which the speaker refers to from time to time and elaborates upon spontaneously.

The speaker has to research his material well and plan the presentation with care for the presentation to be successful.

USING AIDS FOR PRESENTATION

We absorb knowledge and information through a combination of sense. Vision enables us to take in 75% of what we learn. Hearing follows at 15% and feeling, smelling and tasting to a negligible extent. Keeping this in mind the effective presenter makes use of various aids.

Visual (and even audio) aids should be used to reinforce the points that you are speaking about and should not become the main attraction of the presentation. Do not speak while the audience is studying the visual material. Remove or erase the visual material before going to the next point as keeping it will distract the attention of the audience from what you are saying.

Advancing technology has given an entirely new meaning to modern presenter tools. E.g. OHPs, LCD, etc enable the presenter to effectively illustrate his/her talk.

SECULARISM (INDIA)

Secularism is separation of religion from the State. It implies that state should not favour the followers of any particular religion or discriminate against any followers of any particular religion

Secularism does not mean negation of religion; does not mean banning of religion from social or public life.

Secularism means not merely tolerating other religions but showing equal respect to all religions and their followers. (“Sarva dharma samabhava”) which allows all Indian citizens to follow or not follow a religion of their choice.

The 42^nd Amendment to Constitution inserted the word ”Secular”  in the preamble to the Constitution in 1976. It is thus part of the basic structure of the Indian Constitution.

The Indian Constitution promotes secularism in the following ways: 

- State to observe neutrality and impartiality towards all religions. 

- There shall be no state religion in India. 

- No religious instruction will be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of state funds. 

- Every person is guaranteed freedom of conscience and freedom to profess, practice and propagate his/ her own religion, subject to restrictions imposed by the state in the interest of public order, morality and health. 

- State shall not discriminate against any citizen in any matter, particularly in the matter of employment on the ground of religion   

FOR ALL STUDENTS

Dear students,

Here are some guidelines which will be useful for all your papers.

• Don’t start your answer until you have fully understood the question. Read and re-read questions, paying attention to the wording.
• Answer to the point. Tailor the matter you know to answer the question. Don’t write all that you know on the topic.
• Get your facts right. Don’t give conclusions /arguments without factual backing.
• Use paragraphs- one paragraph for one idea or point. Each paragraph should be worked around one idea and the next idea should logically follow in the next paragraph.
• Use bullets and numbering to highlight points. Bullets/ point numbers should be INSIDE the margin and be distinguishable from question numbers. (Don’t number every sentence).
•  Leave enough margin space for examiner.
• Avoid long-winding introductions.
• Answer all subsections of a question together (Especially Q1) and number them clearly. no rhetoric, exclamations
• Language should be neutral. No emotion, or counter-questions.
• Don’t get personal in your answers: Don’t say “I feel”’, “I think” etc; instead say, “Some people argue that…..’
• Write clearly
• Don’t use abbreviations (such as ‘coz, n),
• Don’t underline every other word: highlight only the side headings.
• Not to use any colour other than blue or black for writing as using other colours is considered a malpractice.
• Don’t write anything on the question paper.
• Each question is a stand-alone question. Don’t say things like ”As discussed earlier…” etc.
• Keep a note of the time and don't waste time looking around for inspiration.

Sleep well, eat healthy and have some outdoor physical activity while you prepare for your exams. 

Wishing all of you the very Best in your exams and a bright future ahead!

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