Key Terms & Concepts — UPSC Mains
Article 48
"Directive Principle mandating organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry on modern scientific lines, with specific instruction to prohibit slaughter of cows, calves and other milch and draught cattle."
Article 48 of the Constitution of India is a Directive Principle of State Policy (DPSP) under Part IV. It reads: 'The State shall endeavour to organise agriculture and animal husbandry on modern and scientific lines and shall, in particular, take steps for preserving and improving the breeds, and prohibiting the slaughter, of cows and calves and other milch and draught cattle.' The constitutional protection is welfare-economic — focused on 'milch' (milk-producing) and 'draught' (labour-using) cattle — not absolute or religious. The provision became the constitutional anchor for state-level anti-slaughter laws across 20+ Indian states. The Supreme Court has interpreted Article 48 in multiple judgments — including State of Gujarat v. Mirzapur Moti Kureshi (2005), which upheld a complete cow-slaughter ban in Gujarat. However, scholars and the May 29, 2026 Hindu lead op-ed have argued that many state laws have extended protection to all bovines — including unproductive cattle — going beyond the constitutional text and creating unintended consequences: depressed secondary cattle markets, stray-cattle externalities, farmer income losses, and vigilante violence.
GS2 (DPSPs, federalism) + GS3 (animal husbandry, agriculture). Prelims: exact text, Part IV, key SC judgments. Mains: DPSP implementation gaps, prohibition vs welfare-economic regulation.
- 1 Constitutional source: Article 48, Part IV (DPSPs)
- 2 Subject: agriculture + animal husbandry; cow-slaughter prohibition
- 3 Specific protection: 'milch' (milk-producing) + 'draught' (labour) cattle
- 4 Federalism: Schedule VII, List II, Entry 15 — animal husbandry is a State subject
- 5 Key SC verdict: State of Gujarat v. Mirzapur Moti Kureshi (2005)
- 6 Related: Article 51A(g) — Fundamental Duty (compassion for living creatures)
- 7 Animal Welfare Board v. Nagaraja (2014): animal welfare under Article 21
- 8 Central law: Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960
- 9 20+ states have stringent anti-slaughter laws
The Hindu's May 29, 2026 lead op-ed argued that many state cow-protection laws have stretched Article 48 beyond its 'milch and draught cattle' text — extending blanket prohibition that hurts the very farmers Article 48 was meant to protect.
