- Thursday, Apr 2nd, 2026
| TITLE | Distributive Justice in India’s Constitutional Framework: Analyzing Articles 38, 39, and 46 through the Lens of Rawls’ Theory of Justice |
|---|---|
| ABSTRACT | The Constitution of India it was not just a law book of rules that could be utilized to govern its people but it was a tool of enormous social transformation. Central to it is the contradiction between safeguarding individual freedoms and the need to have social justice and enjoy the freedom of individuals. A theory of Justice (1971) by American political philosopher John Rawls decades later was an attempt at solving this same tension with a solution he termed Justice as Fairness. This paper gives a comparative jurisprudential inquiry and traces, as an exemplar of celebrated and renowned difference principle, proposed by Rawls, which characterizes inequalities as being justified only when they are beneficial to the least fortunate the same concept, We have adopted in our constitution In the in Part IV of the Indian Constitution. In particular, it examines Articles 38, 39 and 46 of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). The paper contends that although Part III of the Fundamental Rights has been adopted to ensure reflection of paragraph of the first principle of Liberty as propounded by Rawls, the Directives Principles serves as the road in the second principle of Distributive Justice as propounded by Rawls. The study, based on the requirements of Article 38 of a fair social order, article 39 of avoiding wealth concentration, and Article 46 of making particular reference to the weaker sections, shows that the Indian Constitution foresaw the conceptual requirement of the Rawlsian requirement of Redress. "Logically deduces Supreme Court decisions, the article argues that Indian democracy thrives on the synthesis of liberty and distributive justice, treating them as twin pillars of an egalitarian society. In this context, affirmative action for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes serves as a real-world manifestation of the 'least advantaged' group described in Rawlsian theory." |
| AUTHOR | Dr. Gunde Gowda Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University College of Arts, Tumkur University, Tumkur, Karnataka, India |
| VOLUME | 12 |
| DOI | DOI:10.15680/IJARETY.2025.1201041 |
| 41_Distributive Justice in Indias Constitutional Framework Analyzing Articles 38, 39, and 46 through the Lens of Rawls Theory of Justice.pdf | |
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| References | 1. Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 2. Rawls, J. (2001). Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Harvard University Press. 3. Basu, D. D. (2018). Introduction to the Constitution of India. LexisNexis. 4. Austin, G. (1966). The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation. Oxford University Press. 5. Bhatia, G. (2019). The Transformative Constitution: A Radical Biography in Nine Acts. HarperCollins. 6. Seervai, H. M. Constitutional Law of India. Universal Law Publishing. 7. Supreme Court of India. Minerva Mills Ltd. & Ors v. Union of India & Ors, 1980 AIR 1789. 8. Supreme Court of India. State of Tamil Nadu v. Abu Kavur Bai, 1984 AIR 326. 9. Supreme Court of India. Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, 1985 SCC (3) 545. 10. Ambedkar, B. R. Writings and Speeches, Vol. 1. Education Department, Govt. of Maharashtra. 11. Dreze, J., & Sen, A. An Uncertain Glory: India and its Contradictions. Penguin Books. |
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