RAS question
Which Article directs the State to endeavour to secure a Uniform Civil Code for all citizens throughout the territory of India?
Correct answer: (B) Article 44.
Article 44 directs the State to endeavour to secure a uniform civil code for citizens throughout the territory of India.
Explanation
Article 44 is the constitutional directive behind the idea of a Uniform Civil Code. The official text says that the State shall endeavour to secure for citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. This is why the answer is Article 44, not a neighbouring Directive Principle. The Supreme Court, in the Shah Bano case (1985) and the Sarla Mudgal case (1995), emphasised the need to implement Article 44. For RAS, the key is to recognise the exact Directive Principle: Article 44 concerns uniform civil law for citizens across India, while nearby Articles 43, 45 and 46 deal with different welfare objectives.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Article 45 is not about a Uniform Civil Code; after the 86th Amendment, it deals with early childhood care and education.
- (C) Article 46 concerns promotion of the educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other weaker sections, not a common civil code.
- (D) Article 43 deals with living wage and cottage industries, so it belongs to labour and livelihood-related Directive Principles rather than civil law uniformity.
Concept
This tests Directive Principles of State Policy, especially the ability to match Articles 43 to 46 with their exact themes. It recurs in RAS because polity questions often ask for precise Article-subject mapping rather than broad constitutional theory.