Whether Laws Lead Or Change Or Follow The Changes?

Advocate Arjun *

High Court Complex at Chingmeirong Imphal on April 07 2012 :: Pix - Bullu Raj

Laws are needed to be enacted for a better social change but in India till the day (64 years of Indian Republic life) laws are made for social control merely in name sake, for social harmony and equilibrium. Hereby, the question whether Indian Laws lead or change the society or Nation in the trends of world changing process rather than following the changes. It is interesting topic to be discussed on.

Yes, of course India follows changes much more than leading or changing the Nation to a better position in all aspects. This is unfortunate. A society or Nation needs to lead or change it to a new target in future with or through challenges and hardships for a better civilization in next. Of course, Human beings and its mind are in the natural process of hunting new things after one and two and so on. It is/shall be a continuous and dynamic in process. Once a Society stops change for a decade more in all its socio-economic, political aspects, then that is more alike a man of permanent different childhood (the writer doesn't wish to use the words like immature, disable, incomplete, handicap or abnormal).

The History reveals that human wisdom has devised different methods and means to meet the structural changes in the Social System. The changes in the Social System take place with the advancement of knowledge of culture and civilization. And so, the development and advancement of human cultures and civilization too create changes in the knowledge of mankind and in reciprocal, the advancement of knowledge of mankind leads to new refined cultural patterns and even to a new scenictific world and civilization in vice versa. In the process of development, Law is as such can be considered as an advanced instrument in humankind in order to control their behaviours and to keep human beings in advancing and development. Therefore, law is like an instrument too of social control and social change.

In a developing Nation like India, there has been widespread concern of law as a tool for bringing about homogeneity in the heterogeneous system of population, having socio-cultural diversities. Though there are several devises to bring about a change and reformation in society, but reformation through law is perhaps one of the most effective and a safe method to this end though the process is very slow and has negative implications too.

Jurist Enrlich said that Law depends on particular acceptance which has a great creative force. He supported dynamic nature of law which keeps pace with the advance of time and needs of the society. He firmly believed that Law consists not of "proposition" alone but of legal institutions" which cherish in the Society. Other Jurists and legal reformers notably Llewellyn, Roscoe Pound, Max Weber and others supported the contention that "Law can be exclusively used as an instrument of social change since it is an effective method of Social Control." Llewellyn particularly believed that Law cannot be developed in isolation without taking into consideration its relationship with other disciplines such as Sociology, History, Politics, Economics, Psychology, and Philosophy and so on.

In other advance nations like USA, Law is being extensively used as an instrument of Social Change as if it were/are a Century old profession and rationalized thinking. The process has also begun in India even since its independence but the progress is rather slow perhaps because of the most gaps between the laws as it exits and as it ought to be implemented.

The Indian Society at present seems to be at cross-roads as the Nation is confronted with many complex problems such as poverty, unemployment, socio-Economic backwardness, communalism, political vandalism, corruption, regional self- identity confrontations and terrorism etc. The predominance of selfish and self-individualistic approach has gone so deep in the Indian life that it has shattered National Character amongst Indians.

Considering from this standpoint the role of law and legislation has become all the more significant to tackle these burning issues in order to maintain social policies and uprooting social evils. But for this effectiveness, it must have the support of public opinion and public participation in legislation. By observing the Indian socio-legal reality, we can say that maximum measures taken or adopted by Indian Legislatures are of the temporary measures in nature but India couldn't propagate any permanent or everlasting law and legislations to lead Indian Society to better structural changes in near future. So, Indian Legal implications and laws usually follow changes. It is a negative or inactive approach to a Social Change still.

However, the Indian Constitution as a written law on legislation underlines the ideals of supremacy of law in providing social, economic and political justice, secularism and democracy. The fundamental rights guaranteed to Indian Citizens constitute the basis for a free and democratic society. The Directive Principles contained in part IV of the Indian Constitution provide guidelines for the state to initiate measures to ensure welfare of the Indian community. The physical integrity of life and liberty forms the most important aspect of individual freedom. The Doctrine of Rule of Law enshrined in the Indian Constitution seeks to balance the individual rights with their legal responsibility of a National character.

The Fundamental Rights and Duties are both equally important aspects of Indian Social Life. It ensures equality before law and equal protection of law to all individuals and excludes the possibility of automatic and totalitarian exercise of power by the state. However, eventually, Indian laws are more of social control rather than social change. Practically Indian laws are amended or moulded depending upon the contemporary, existing, and implied situations and circumstances in the changing trends of the Society or Nation or World.

India where there are millions of poverty, uneducated, lower castes, tribes and above all, the present Indian Legislatures/political bosses as people know them, are almost from Mumbai and South Indian Film Factories and some others from Dubai based or trained smuggling, killing Factories, and some others are from caste or regional centric Factories etc couldnot make laws confidently to changes or positively to changes ( i.e., leading to change). The true Indian National Politics were/are indeed over after India got her Independence in 1947.

Of course not, a very few true National Politicians can be named but it is only about 2 or 3 members. Actually a good law or success of law by and large depends on pre – legislative mobilization of public opinion and information. Experiences tell that even the Legislatures / law makers couldn't extract good information and opinion from the public citizens or the citizens could never expect good laws from the law makers.

Till today India copies maximum of her laws, provisions and books from western Nations in toto. Originally Dr. Ambedkar also simply compiled and composed Indian Constitution after reading the Constitutions from USA, ENGLAND, and some others. He couldn't write an original one.

Conclusively, therefore though law aims to lead changes or makes changes, it follows changes. It is a mere passive instrument of social change in name sake in case of India. . It is rather a definite instrument of social control. "You Cannot do that, You must not disobey this, You are needed to oblige to Fundamental Duties of the Constitution. Consequently, Penal provisions are already framed.

My last submission is that if there are reward provisions too for someone's good conducts in normal life, everyday maximum number of good citizens would claim their rewards/ awards. Pushing Citizens to change is far better than striving to control them and put them in following the changing situations. The social issues, problems arising out of new situations, circumstances, values, diverse social attributes & outlooks and different socio-cultural ingredients of Indian Social life always proceed to its immediate legislations and laws.

It is ,thus not so easy or simple to delegate certain powers to Executive Officers/Administrators but it is needed mandatorily to have certain Delegated Powers to legislate immediate regulations or provisions on the part of the Executive Officers to challenge immediate social issues and problems.