E-Book - Mahatma Gandhi

Is There an Alternative to… 159that the paramount duty of the State would be:(i)(ii)(iii)To raise the standard of living of the poorestsection of the people;To assure them the basic necessities of life;To ensure full employment;(iv) To demarcate separate sectors for small-scale, largescale,and state-run industries to achieve thisobjective;(iv)To make the district, or lower units, self-sufficient inthe production of basic necessities;(vi) To increase industrial production without increasingdisparities;(vii) To fix a ratio of 1:40 between the minimum and themaximum incomes, to be gradually reduced to 1:20;and(viii) To ensure that foreign capital and investment do nottake over control of the economy from ‘nationalhands.'There are four indices that the Constitution provides:One, the basic concepts or foundations of our polity, viz., (a)nationhood or the belief that we are one nation; (b) sovereignty:(c) democracy: and (d) socialism. The last of these was addedmany years after the Constitution was adopted andpromulgated. Two, the chapter on Fundamental Rights and theDirective Principles of the Constitution. Three, the organs orinstitutions that were set up under the Constitution, viz., theParliament or the Legislatures, the judiciary, and the executive.Four, the Federal Principles, and the distribution and balance ofpowers envisaged by the Constitution.Before examining the present in the light of these