Indian Journal of Law and Justice, Vol. 11, No. 01 (Part-02)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://ir.nbu.ac.in/handle/123456789/3987

EDITORIAL

For decades now legal fraternity has been preoccupied with attempts to explain the relationship between legal and social change in the context of development and society. They viewed the law both as an independent and dependent and variable (cause and effect) in society and emphasized the interdependence of the law with other social systems. In its most concrete sense, social transformation means the change the society envisages in keeping with the demands of social, economic, political and historical factors. Social change brings about a change in the thought process of the people living in the society. Social change also has an impact upon the governance of a country. Such changes impact upon the rights of the people and also subaltern thoughts.

Law is the reflection of the will and wish of the society. It is responsible for the social transformations. The relationship between law and society works in a circular motion. On one hand the law changes the society and compels the society to be changed according to it. And on the other hand society changes the law as per its demands and needs. Legislated law, judicial interpretations, and custom and usages having the force of law play an important role in bringing about social change. When law changes the society it is the sign of beginning of the development of the society. When society changes law it is the sign of maturity of the society. The Shahabano case, Vishakha case, transgender case, the Nirbhaya case, Shabarimala case, Triple Talaque case environmental cases were some of the areas where the commonest of the common man was able to raise a voice and say how the law must be, what must be the punishment etc. The change required in the society can be initiated by a single person also and this has been proved in India right from Raja Ram Mohan Roy; Eishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Dayanand Saraswati to Mahatma Phule, Mahatma Baseswar, and Mahatma Gandhi up to Mother.

Teresa, Baba Amte, Anna Hazare! Thus the demand takes root and compels the government to either reform the existing laws or make new or even delete the existing unworthy laws.

Education too is a very important instrument of social change. Social change refers to an alteration in the social order of a society. As a result of rapid industrialization, growing urbanization and changes in the human intellect society needs to change in order to cope with the gradual changes. Education can initiate social change by bringing about changes in the outlook and attitude of people. Present education system is totally mechanized and homogenising which curbs the individual thinking and self-learning.

Education is the root cause of social and cultural changes that takes place within the society. Education has been and is being played as an agent of socialization of the youth so as to reach the expectations of the society. Technology is another instrument of social change and development. With the introduction of technology in all walks of life, minimal knowledge of technology is the need of the hour.

Keeping the current developments and the emerging trends in mind, the Department of Law, University of North Bengal, had organised the National Law.

Conclave on the theme “Law as an Instrument of Social Change: Issues, Challenges and Emerging Trends” in November 2019.This special issue of the Indian Journal of Law and Justice is an anthology of the selected papers presented in the Conclave which intends obtain the bird’s eye view of the changes that have occurred and to ascertain how the jurists interpret the phenomenon of change.

Prof. (Dr.) Gangotri Chakraborty
Chief Editor

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 12
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    Fighting Extremism – The Legal Propositions
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Goswami, Gauri; Boruah, Isheta
    Law as an essential function of the state regulates social interests and arbitrates conflicting claims and demands security of person and property that can be achieved through instrumentality of law. In recent years, there has been an outcry of atrocities caused by various extremist groups like Boko-Haram of Nigeria where its imminent and consistent message of their intolerance in terms of religion, culture, social- has had many drastic changes in many regions of the world. The Islamic Extremism in India focused primarily on the conflict of Kashmir where India has the second largest Muslim population in the world. Even the religious extremism faced by India where the left wings (Naxalites and Maoists) are considered as the single biggest internal security threat have the low level insurgency in India’s south central regions since 1967.In 2015 Paris, 12 people were killed in the terrorist attack in the office of Charlie Hebdo a French satirical magazine that published controversial Muhammad cartoons. Even in New Zealand the Christchurch mosque shooting are the two consecutive terrorist shooting attacks because of the ‘Great Replacement’ and White Genocide conspiracy theories.
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    Evolution of Child Custody Laws from ‘Parens Patriae’ to the ‘Welfare of the Child’
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Pradhan, Alisha
    Divorce is a process in which the actual victim is neither husband nor wife, but the children born out of the wedlock. The children of a divorced parents endure psychological or mental disturbance. Studies show that majority of the children of divorced parents shows deviant behaviour, prone to abuse due to lack of emotional support that need to be given in the particular age group. The custody rights during the ancient period was under the state i.e. ‘Parens Patriae’, thereafter the custody rights shifted to the natural guardians’ rights. However, now the focus is on the ‘Welfare of the Child’ while granting custody. In custody cases normally the best interest of the child will be taken into consideration. It means that all custody and visitation discussions and decisions are made with the ultimate goal of fostering and encouraging the child’s happiness, security, mental health and emotional development into young adulthood. The shift in custody law not only grants security to the child’s interest but it is a mark that our society is progressing towards a better future. As the children are the future of our society and each and every child should be protected.
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    The Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019: The Politics of Disempowering Empowerment
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Moitra, Sanyukta
    The Right to Information has emerged as a powerful tool to strengthen participatory democracy in India. The journey from secrecy to transparency was a result of people’s arduous movement and also the active role played by the media and civil society organisations that culminated into the Right to Information Act, 2005. The Act has given statutory recognition to the cherished right to know and to be informed of the matters that concern public at large. Since then, the Act has enabled the citizens to demand information from every public authority carrying out public functions in exchange of a nominal fee which is waived for the people below poverty line. The Act has indeed made transparency a rule and secrecy an exception and has re instilled people’s faith in democracy. From securing individual rights to unearthing scams worth crores, the Act has emerged as a potent weapon empowering citizenry. However, it is interesting to note that although considered boon to the citizens, the Act remained a bone of contention to the government since inception. Almost every government in power have made repeated attempts to dilute the Act. Eventually, the present government serving its second term in power has finally succeeded in bringing significant changes in the Act through the Right to Information (Amendment) Act, 2019. It is debatable as to whether there was any imminent need for the amendment to be introduced or it is a conscious effort to disempower people.
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    Right to Information and Good Governance: A Technical Dimension
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Ghatani, Swarnim
    The people's democratic responsibilities do not just begin or end with the right to cast their votes; they are also required to nurture the democratic system in the day- to- day functioning towards better Governance. While transparent Governance is an essential feature to restore accountability and increase in efficiency, accountability of the Governor to be governed is also an essential feature of good governance. The Right to Information is one such dimension that creates an environment of sharing of information and provides to each and every citizen of India the basic Constitutional and democratic right to gain access to certain information held by the Public Authority. The Right to Information can be said to have been heralded as one of the most significant reform towards the onset of public administration in India. This far reaching law is like a ray of hope which has the ability to disperse the darkness of secrecy and bad effects of corruption, and ensure transparency and accountability which are the hallmarks of an efficient and good going Governance. It basically acts as a catalyst which facilitates the onset of a new value system and rejuvenation of hope in order to establish a better, educated and a happier society.
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    Accepted, But Not Accepted: The Stigmatisation of LGBT People in India Post Navtej Singh Johar
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Tamang, Rupendra
    It has been more than a year since the historic judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court for the LGBTQ community. It was the duty of every state to ensure that the judgment should travel to the remotest areas of the country. Has this been really done? Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that the world is made up of different countries, cultures and peoples yet despite of these differences we have one thing in common. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The Constitution of India also has provisions regarding the equality of the people. But how far is this applicable to the LGBTQ community.
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    Euthanasia Vis-À-Vis Right to Die with Dignity: An Analysis of Article 21 of the Constitution of India and Approach of the Indian Judiciary
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Rakshit, Souradeep; Mitra, Arpita
    Questions are being asked as to whether it is right to continue life-sustaining medical treatment in cases where all hopes has extinguished or whether wishes of a person no more competent to exercise judgment and his wishes expressed before lapsing into incapacity of exercising judgment, be respected and complied with in terminating life. But, the risk and fear of misuse and abuse could be done away with the proper safeguards and specific guidelines. Due to the lethal indecision, people are increasingly relying on ‘living wills’, authorizing their surrogates to petition for removal of life sustaining devices in the event of becoming terminally ill. At the present time, “right to die with dignity” is being advocated by many organizations and individual. Many “right to die” societies are being created and living wills are becoming increasingly popular. There is also the issue of socio-economic viability linked with the right to die with dignity. The expense of health care system is increasing day by day all over the world. Keeping a person who is in a persistent vegetative state ‘alive’ by artificial respiratory system is an expensive affair today. In the light of recent developments (legal, moral and ethical), issues have arisen as to whether a person who is under ventilator and artificial nutrition should be kept alive for all time to come till the brain-stem collapses or whether, in circumstances where an informed body of medical opinion states that there are no chances of the patient’s recovery, the artificial support systems can be stopped.
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    Indian Women in the Event of Social Transformation – Legal Perspectives
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Das, Sudeshna
    "All collective human life is indirectly shaped by law. Law is like knowledge, an essential and all pervasive fact of the social condition" –NiklasLuhmann. Law is the reflection of man's social consciousness at a given period of time.Society is a changing phenomenon and this process requires to be maintained by some machinery in order to avoid disorientation and disarray. Legal propositions, researches and judicial pronouncements are those instruments which are developed in the form ofnorms and principles and its accuracy being checked and then applied as true principles of law.
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    The Relevance of Jaya Prakash Narayan’s Political Ideas to Reform Indian Democracy for Development for All: An Analysis
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Barman, Paritosh
    Jayaprakash Narayan’s entire life was dedicated to establishing freedom and equality for all. He was not addicted to any ‘ism’ and never compromised with any injustice. JP worked as a socialist from 1932 to 1954. He had been the foremost leader and spokesman of Indian socialism. He used the concept of socialism blending with Gandhian Socialism for the Indian perspective. He gradually changed his political ideas to adjust to the necessity of the Indian polity. He became the torchbearer of Gandhiji’s ideas of peace, non-violence, and Gram Swaraj. JP strongly talked against the serious defects of parliamentary democracy and party politics. He tried his best to establish communitarian democracy which was more and more decentralized so that people can take part more and more in the administration for their development. He tried to transform ‘Rajniti’ into Lokniti to set up participatory democracy in India. This paper would focus his ideas to remake Indian democracy for the development of all.
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    Linguistic Regionalism and Constitution: An Indian Experience
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Mondal, Rakesh
    The social movement is one of the major factors of social transformation almost in every society. The claim of Linguistic regionalism is so immense that it compels the various nations to re-design their constitutional framework. Basically, people of particular linguistic community have the emotional attachment towards their language. As a result of that these community demands for the recognition of their language as an official language of the nation or at least elementary education may be imparted in their own language. Sometimes, these communities claim for recognition of their distinct language asa language of communication in governmental or executive or judicial functions. Some of these claims may be legitimately endorsed under the constitutional frameworks. Although this problemis minimal for the homogenous societies, the problem of the multilingual state is massive. Specially, difficulties arise for those nations wherein no particular linguistic community hold the majority status.
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    People's Movement, Social Change and Law: A Critical Analysis
    (University of North Bengal, 2020-03) Biswas, Diganta
    Social change is continuous and ongoing. The broad historical processes of social change are the sum total of countless individual and collective actions gathered across time and space. Social movements are directed towards some specific goals. It involves long and continuous social effort and action by people. Social movements sometimes cause changes in the Law. The paper is going to discuss the issues of such change.