Jahan Uddin Choudhury

WELFARE STATE:

Welfare State is an attempt towards the combination of Liberalism and Socialism. It is the
natural culmination of positive liberalism, which seeks to ensure Liberty and equality for the
citizen on an extensive basis. Welfare State is a fascinating ideal with grand promise for the
lower and backward sections of the society and with elaborate provision of essential and
common services.

Welfare State expands the scope of state activity to a very large sphere. It claims to reduce the
economic inequality by a system of progressive taxation for the provision of common services,
not only for common use like posts, telegraphs, roads, bridges, railways etc. but by a special
efforts the poor section of the community such as schools, hospitals, transport services, fire-
fighting services, and soon are considered as attributes of welfare state.

It tends to provide some economic security for citizens under the capitalistic system. In the
sense welfare state may be considered as a compromise between or admixture of capitalism and
socialism.

Advantages of Welfare State:

1. Economic advantage: Equality through social policy, planned and systematic way to
fulfill the needs. Welfare state provides security against poverty and needs caused by
aged, illness, unemployment, etc. The greater equality of income and opportunity is
ensured by redistributive taxation, free education, scholarship, for SC, ST, Minority,
fixation of minimum wages. The policy of full employment which is a distinctive feature
of the welfare state, seeks to utilize, the labour resources of the country to their outmost
capacity.
2. Political advantage: The modern welfare state produces a spirit of feeling of social
commitment and possibilities of a revolutionary passion among the working class. The
enmity and jealousy with great disparities in wealth are controlled by feeling of security,
opportunity and prospects of advancement in a democratic way.
3. Moral advantage: The harness of the market is the tempered need and merit become
little to income, and the injustice of the free market system is set at not. Existence of
sweated labour is abolished. The price for certain articles are fixed for ethical
consideration.

Disadvantages of Welfare State:

1. Economic disadvantages: Incentive and right to work destroy the sense of work
properly. People are more dependent on state, they always look to the govt. for help
without trying to help themselves for their upliftment. Ultimately it restricts the
competition which affects largely in their development process.
2. Political disadvantages: In a welfare state burden are maximum on govt. machineries.
Generally, intellectuals are extended from politics, power favoured the majority.
 Jahan Uddin Choudhury

3. Moral disadvantages: It discourages the initiatives and entrepreneurship, doctrine of

something for nothing is injurious to self respect and responsibility.

Responsibilities of Welfare State:

1. Social service:
a. Rehabilitation for blind, handicapped, vulnerable etc. (ICDS)
b. Arrangement for social investment. (NYK)
c. Recreation like museums, rural library, community centre.
2. social security measures:
a. Protection from economic threat, exploitation. (Art. 23 – prohibition of trafficking
and forced labour & Art. 24 – prohibition of employment of children in industries)
b. Arrangement of provident fund.
c. Old age pension, women pension.
d. Reservation for SC/ ST, senior citizen, women etc. (Art. 29 – protection of interest of
minorities & Art. 30 – right of minorities to establish and administer educational
institution)
3. Economic development & full employment:
a. Maximum utilization and redistribution of national capitals & assets. (IRDP)
4. Nationalization of central Industries: (SAIL, HPC)
5. Protection of civil liberties: (Art. 19 – guarantees freedom of speech, press, assembly,
movement etc.)
6. Social Control:
a. Social control mechanism through license.
7. Protection against arbitrary arrest and detention: (Art. 23 of Part III of the Indian
constitution)
8. Peoples participation for any activities running by the govt. organizations:
Democratic decentralization – Panchayati Raj 73rd amendment.

India as a welfare state:

India achieves independence from British colonialism in 1947. The new Indian constitution
came into force in early 1950’s, expressing the people to secure all the citizen of India, republic,
justice – social, economic and political, a liberty of thought and expression, equality of status
and opportunity, a fraternity assuring the dignity of individual etc. The constitution also sought
to promote the welfare of the people and to secure a social order in which justice- social,
economic and political shall inform all institution of National life. Thus it was made clear that
India is committed to ideal of ‘welfare state’. A subsequent amendment to the preamble (1976)
declared India to be socialist republic, ‘the right to property which was focused to be hindrances
to India’s march towards socialism which was subsequently shifted from the chapter on
fundamental rights to another chapter on finance, property and contract etc. All these
provisions sighted to show that India is committed to social issue as well.
 Jahan Uddin Choudhury

However, in spite of all these provisions it is quite clear that the Indian political system seeks to
secure welfare of the people, for that matter socialist goes to framework of ‘liberal democracy’.
These socialistic goals were described as socialist pattern of society. But a close analysis shows
that this alteration measures of strategy for the achievement of a goal for the formation of a
society where disparities of all kinds and exploitation will be minimized to save the way for all,
irrespective of caste, class, religion etc. to live in society free from pollution and exploitation in
the presence of condition for good living and economic emancipation for all. Thus India is
characteristically a ‘welfare state’.