The Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of the Constitution of India were primarily inspired and adopted from the Constitution of which country?

Introduction / Context:
The framers of the Constitution of India studied many foreign constitutions and selectively borrowed useful features from them. The Directive Principles of State Policy, contained in Part IV, lay down guidelines for the State to achieve social and economic justice. This question tests whether you know which foreign constitution was the main inspiration for these Directive Principles.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The question refers specifically to Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of the Indian Constitution.
- The options are the constitutions of the United States, Britain, Ireland and France.
- The learner is expected to know the broad mapping between foreign influences and specific parts of the Indian Constitution.
- It is assumed that other features like Fundamental Rights or parliamentary form of government may have different sources of inspiration.

Concept / Approach:
The idea of non justiciable guiding principles to direct the State towards social and economic goals was adopted from the Irish Constitution. In particular, the Directive Principles in Ireland influenced the drafting of Part IV in India. Other elements of the Indian Constitution came from different sources: the United States inspired the Fundamental Rights and judicial review, the British system inspired the parliamentary form of government, and the French ideas influenced concepts like liberty, equality and fraternity. The approach is to connect Directive Principles specifically with the Irish Constitution.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that Directive Principles of State Policy are non justiciable guidelines that direct the State to work towards social and economic justice, welfare of the people and reduction of inequalities. Step 2: Remember that the Indian framers looked to the Irish Constitution, which contained similar directive principles for social policy, as a model for Part IV. Step 3: Recognise that the United States Constitution mainly inspired the Fundamental Rights and certain aspects of the federal structure, not the Directive Principles. Step 4: Understand that the British Constitution, being unwritten and based on conventions, influenced parliamentary practices, cabinet government and the role of the Speaker, rather than Directive Principles. Step 5: Note that the French Constitution and the French Revolution influenced the general values of liberty, equality and fraternity, but not the specific structure of Directive Principles as found in Part IV. Step 6: Therefore, the correct source for the Directive Principles is the Irish Constitution.

Verification / Alternative check:
Standard Indian polity textbooks clearly state in their comparative tables that the Directive Principles of State Policy were taken from the Constitution of Ireland. These references usually list out a chart showing features such as Fundamental Rights from the United States, parliamentary system from Britain, Directive Principles from Ireland and the ideals of liberty, equality and fraternity from France. This repeated mapping across textbooks and exam guides confirms that the Irish Constitution is the correct answer.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, United States Constitution, is wrong because although it contributed to the model of justiciable Fundamental Rights and judicial review, it did not serve as the main template for the non justiciable Directive Principles.

Option B, British Constitution, is wrong because it influenced the parliamentary form of government, rule of law and relationship between the executive and legislature, but not the codified Directive Principles contained in Part IV.

Option D, French Constitution, is wrong because its major influence was on the adoption of values like liberty, equality and fraternity in the Preamble and political thought, rather than the structure of Directive Principles.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to confuse the sources of different parts of the Indian Constitution, especially when memorising multiple influences together. Students may mistakenly attribute Directive Principles to the United States or Britain because those countries are mentioned frequently in discussions of Indian constitutional features. Another pitfall is not distinguishing between inspiration for values and inspiration for specific institutional arrangements. To avoid such confusion, it is useful to remember a simple mapping: Directive Principles from Ireland, Fundamental Rights from the United States and parliamentary system from Britain.

Final Answer:
The Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV of the Constitution of India were primarily inspired and adopted from the Irish Constitution.