Article 43: Living wage etc for workers

The State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organisation or in any other way, to all workers, agricultural, industrial or otherwise, work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities and, in particular, the State shall endeavour to promote cottage industries on an individual or co-operative basis in rural areas.

Background

 Article 34, Draft Constitution of India, 1948 The State shall endeavour to secure, by suitable legislation or economic organisation or in any other way, to all workers, industrial or otherwise, work, a living wage, conditions of work ensuring a decent standard of life and full enjoyment of leisure and social and cultural opportunities. Draft Article 34 was debated in the Constituent Assembly on 23 November 1948. It aimed to protect and promote the interest of the workers. The debate began with and centred around an amendment that proposed to add a line that directed the State to ensure that rural areas were economically self-sufficient by encouraging the use of swadeshi goods and the promotion of cottage industries. It was argued that there was a stark difference in the economic fortunes of villages/rural areas as compared to cities; The growth of economic opportunity in cities came at the cost of the villages. Indians were abandoning rural India for greener economic pastures in cities. The amendment mover wanted to stop this and felt that cottage industries could play a critical role in the economic transformation and empowerment of rural areas. Another member chimed in and noted that capitalists should be not be given the lead to facilitate the emergence of cottage industries. The approach that members settled on was to organise these centres of economic activity around cooperative societies. The debate around Article 34 also saw members engaging with larger themes: they believed that economic and social democracy were prerequisites for the success of political democracy. As one member put it ‘Political consciousness and patriotism will come only when they have economically contended.’ Finally, the Assembly adopted the amendment in modified form. Also, ‘agricultural workers' was added in the Draft Article.