The term "Article 38" primarily refers to a provision in Part IV of the Constitution of India, which contains the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP). It is a fundamental concept that mandates the State to promote the welfare of the people.
This provision was part of the original Constitution, adopted in 1950, and was discussed as Draft Article 30 in 1948. It was created to provide a blueprint for a welfare state, ensuring that the ideals of justice—social, economic, and political—pledged in the Preamble would inform all institutions of national life.
Article 38 works through two clauses: Clause (1) directs the State to strive to promote the welfare of the people by securing a social order based on justice. Clause (2), which was inserted by the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978, specifically directs the State to minimize inequalities in income, and to eliminate disparities in status, facilities, and opportunities, not only among individuals but also among groups residing in different areas or engaged in different vocations. The core principle of promoting welfare and a just social order has stayed the same, but the addition of Clause (2) strengthened the State's explicit duty to reduce economic and social inequalities.
As a DPSP, it connects to Article 37, which declares that these principles are fundamental in the governance of the country, even though they are not enforceable by any court. It is closely related to Article 39, which lays down specific principles like securing an adequate means of livelihood and preventing the concentration of wealth. An informed reader should also be aware that Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a separate, major concept in international law, which lists the sources of law the ICJ must apply, such as international conventions, custom, and general principles of law.