RAS question
Which DPSP is also called the 'Gandhian principle'?
Correct answer: (A) Article 40 - Organization of village panchayats.
Article 40, which directs the State to organise village panchayats as units of self-government, is a Gandhian Directive Principle of State Policy.
Explanation
Article 40 is the right answer because the Gandhian group of Directive Principles is built around village self-government and rural reconstruction. The NIOS lesson classifies DPSPs by ideological source and places Article 40 under “Directives Based on Gandhian Principles”, stating that the State shall take steps to organise village panchayats as units of self-government. Gandhian DPSPs include village panchayats, living wage for workers, promotion of weaker sections, prohibition of intoxicating drinks, and organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry. The phrase “Gandhian principle” therefore points specifically to Article 40 and its village panchayat focus.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Article 39A deals with free legal aid and is a later-added Socialist principle, not the village self-government idea associated with Gandhian DPSPs.
- (C) Article 38 concerns a social order for welfare and belongs to the Socialist stream of DPSPs, whereas the Gandhian label here is tied to village panchayats under Article 40.
- (D) Article 44 concerns a Uniform Civil Code and is treated as a Liberal-Intellectual principle, so it does not match the Gandhian category represented by village panchayats.
Concept
This tests the ideological classification of DPSPs, especially the Gandhian cluster within Part IV. RAS asks this often because DPSP articles are easy to confuse unless candidates remember both the article number and the constitutional idea behind it.