Which Article directs the State to organize village panchayats?

Explanation

Article 40 sits in Part IV of the Constitution, the Directive Principles of State Policy. Its heading is "Organisation of village panchayats", and the operative text directs the State to take steps to organise village panchayats. It does not stop at mere creation: it also requires the State to endow them with the powers and authority necessary for them to function as units of self-government. That is why Article 40 is the precise answer when the question asks which Article directs the State to organise village panchayats. The 73rd Amendment later gave this directive an implemented constitutional form.

Why the other options are wrong

• (A) Article 38 is about securing a social order for the welfare of the people, not about organising village panchayats.
• (C) Article 39 lays down certain policy principles such as adequate livelihood, distribution of material resources, and equal pay, so it is not the village panchayat provision.
• (D) Article 41 concerns the right to work, education, and public assistance in specified cases, not local self-government through village panchayats.

Concept

This tests the Directive Principles of State Policy, especially the constitutional basis of local self-government. RAS repeatedly asks such Article-mapping questions because they connect polity facts with governance themes.

Source

• The Constitution of India

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