Towards A Sociology of Indian Law

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, , 'TOWARDS A SOCIOLOGY OF INDIAN LAW y

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Dedicated 10 the Memory or Profeuor luilul Stone

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, Towlrds a SociololY of Indian Law

UPENDRA DAXI F/rJt Edl,lon @ 1986

Publlshtd by SllYllhan llubliutlons Nt ... Delhi 110 OGS CompDud by

Amll! Composing Ageocy Nanen Shllbadra, Deihl 110032 Printed It GlllRXY Printers Delhi 1100]2

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-ftlurice Har/ol! ob~eryed (using sociology 10 11 generic scn'e) that "too little !ociolo~y Itll.d~ sway from [nw, bUl much sociology lends back to it." And George Gurvilch rlghlly lupplc:mcnlcd this statement by saying IhM "II little law [cada alva)' from loclolog)' bul much law lead, back to it" (Qurviteh, 19-17: 2) Jfane lOOKS at the history of Wulcrn lotiology, it is cltar that 'much socloloS)" did indeed lead itl founders back to law. The ,truclUflil sianificaoce of law, in the broadest .cns.c. WIS masl dearly m:oaniud by the foundcrs of modern sociology like Outkhcinl, Weber and Mat.l, Theh conceptual e1llborali~llavc: lome: kiod tI( [lrimac! 10 law III • lociat variable. DUI unrortun~ldy, since flus early 1920s, /I gradual dillUlociBt/on bcrwccn ,0CiOIO!) and law beaan. Ic.... iog criminology as the only meetioj! Braund betwec:n awyers Bnd loc!nlo,i,u. In many partt of the world. but C:Jpecinlly in the United Sl.lles Rnd Europe:. we now witness the emergenc:e or an autonomous discipline: c~lhd the 'lOclology of law', It would also be true to $tly of the: Western experience thal much law led buck to .ociology. One ho~ only to think of name! like Eugen Ehrlich (1962), Roscoe Pound (19591. Karllewellyn (962). Julius StODC (1946. 1966) and 1. Willard Hunt 0960. 1964) (to mention only the pioneers) to underscore the fact Utat understand In!; of lawyefl' law (that il legal proc;essc:. as relevant 10 dedsion·makers or lawmen.judges. !nwyen. law reformer., and jurists) is alma,' impossible without n sensltlye .c:raJp q( thc'impUtatlons of lllw IS It locial proceS!, or course, many central ouest ions cool/nue: to remain 11111 debated, It Is ,till beiog .. Iced whether lociolol!lY of law can really exist as nn .~Ionomoua dlsclpllnc (see Stone, 1966: )I·J5: Auerbach, 1~66; 91),

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SOCIOlOGV 01' LAW

Ir thinker5 who tlonc~de Ihis possibility, Ihe importolnt questions Concern e m~tbod ~\ld Ihl! ,scope or sodolOIlY of Inw. Inc~tlnbly, Ihe tiresomc mlrovtr'SY reCarding Iht ,(lIe of \'ahJe~ (or value neutmlity) has als.o :curred In debates (tn sl,CiolollY Qr' luw (sec, c.,., Uhll;k, 1972; NOllet, }16). There is much d!~cuuion whether the prOper tasks of ,sodoloGY r Jaw should be policy or ;lelioll oriented or w'helher they ought 10 be lore e:-:rlidl!y thtor~llcal seeking 10 f"tmulste normative theories about :!aliolls of forms of !lnv with rorms of sodll! order nnd their evolulion. 1tete lisa i$ growing n mass of c:mpiric.arnter:lture concerninaleg.i! rocuses nnd jll$liIUlinn" e~prci,'lIy focus\inG On de\'c!optd ,oeiclies but cc:nionlllly concerning III~o the de\·t!Qpln& ~ocieties. The roll: of law I development h05 been It focu. of mllny impurlllnl Jludies. Of III Ie odleDI Marlliit critlqllu of IlIw hllve :tpJ'le11red dlalleog.ing tho princip,,; nICs of the older, and maUl cstllblishetiwn),5 of dolo!! ~otioloSY of !IlW Ihether lit Iheoretlcnl or C'mpirica! l~vcl5. ' Comp~red wUh 1111 this, illlodill neither social s.clenrists nor 1111'.' persons ro upUclily concerned .... llh the tmer~ence of II disdplintl of SocioJoay flaw. Although there is much tllik of Illw lIod socilll chaoge III nround !left Itrpet'lf 10 be no sustained IIttempts It examining lhl1 potcnliai ad :lcw:tl role which the leJ;al proccss burs 10 IQllratlon nod .!lainmeDt of social dumge. With 11 few notable ueeptions. 'vilJalc ludiu' continue 10 focus on caste (nod recenLly dIU) :timon totally fnoring tqe handling of Ihe •dlspules and coonicts through Indigenous mmunity ioslitution.s (hereafier called the Don·slato Jesnl 'yltems: SLS) or through ngtncie, or the sule luch II Nyayn Panchl1yatl (NP) r trlbunl'lls lind courll. VllIllgc studies pillce litlle cmpluub 011 the the institulioUJ of lite ,111 Ie legal sySlems (SLS) in relation hllvlour connlcta Ilnd di~putes. And even 'iep!' II.nthropololY hu ytt to win recognition in India 115 n InteGrated discipline. Dispute inuitution. and prnceiSes figure but nly incidentally, in clhnolfaphlc accounts. Thelr significance (0 s~citll lability and ch3nge is perceived only ocwsionally. Tribal ethnograpby u abo geotrally OYN looked the si,nifieance or dispute institutions and rOCC5ses (ICSSR. 1!l12 : 2S8·61, 1914 : 30·87 ; Veena Das, 1974). Even ben ~o~epreoccupation with these is vilible. opporlunilies for.ylteDlatic ny~'tlgaIIOn appear to h.ave been surrendered (see part IV of tb.is survey). ndla docs nOIIt:tve nny 'Iudiu of the Iype presented by E. AdaOison -Iotbel (1954) Max Gluckmlln (l!l55; 1965), Pn.ul Bohannan (1957), A.L, puc1n (\969) 10 tlI~nlinn only II few landmarks in legal anthropology. he fllel Ihat !I::\dtng Indlnn unh'crlities continue to hili b:\ek IlPO' s· 1M " . Ir . cnlY ~Inc. lenllnlll \vorki for poU·gradu:tle lepi educalion il not Ult I IUlimony to obSOlete leill'll curricula but it iSlllto. Slid cowmentllry n the ltala of arl.

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r~!e~rc:her~ ~afJ 'HO heavily pteQ~cupie~

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research. The ImHan IlQdtmic I;lwl'~r "f'lerulet only at tbe cybernetic control point of the .n.l?rmalJ~~ leg:!1 a~~tem. nll.melY,..!he IIppe!inlc courl~y~tem. No doubt, Ihat $YSICtn' rc\'cals- the key pointl of strcss lind stntin enus~d moinl)' by rhll need ,10 Accommodate within A brO:lI.1 and stable nOfnliltive/cu!turo! fwmclYork. the impulses for, And resistancc 10, oormalive chnnge and grnwth. And undoubt· ed!y 100 the normatlYe output of that Iystem elln be 1l11ributed Il dtgru of imp:!el on the entire normalivefcultuu.1 s)'st~n1 of Illw. On the other hand, howevcr, the appellate cOurt·system i~ only tbe tiP of the icebug of the form:tl lee>!1 ,yucm; and the normative oulp:ut of Ibis system i,-merely 11 dot on Ihe.!i.p.Q.f'.tll's-'cebc.rg. Accordingly. a ratlonlll comprchenslon of Ihe role of le"allYitems in ,mdul Jtubflhy lind growth demand. II more \lide.ranSlng Iwarencu oftllW:lt II lociill Iystem. -Thls must be the first major point of departure for IIny - pro8ram~e;r ,ooio. logal research in India IBu1, 1!l7Sn). In this Slnlc of Itrt, It Iw lomc..what presumptuous 10 nl\empt a review of lit~rnlurc und~r Ihe rubric 'sociolollY of Inw'. nUl there IIrc lome speel. fie advantage. in tbls endu\·our. PirsUy, wc \\anl 10 raise I question OJ to wbether (here ought 10 exitt II discipline culled the '50ciology of Indian law' 7 And were it to emerge, what should be its method (lnd .!cope 7 In olher words, may thero be not very distinct;"e ~tyles, themes and problems with which thit discipline might bt concerned in contrast to the AmerlcaD lind European developments? How can sociology of Itlw be rtluled to Ihat of development'? Sceondly. mAY onc nOl attempl to clllcgorizo research Olltput in terms of the probable directions into which thought nnd re~enrch might IIIVIC moved hud we emerged with ruch n dlsdpline nJrelldy 7 In other word" rnny it not bo worth\\"bHo to remind socln! scientlsts and lawpeuons Ihnt what ther hap~n to do unselfconscloualy (like Moliere's h~ro who splke prOJe without knowing it) rniAhi be done bttler self·consclously under the framework of an emerGent 10doiolY Indian law 7 And finally, whatever may be nur onswen and approo~bel 10 the foreloing. may one \lot Cltpcct through the present en(!Cll.vour some points of converge nco In concern between law and other adences 7 Already, at least 00 tbe 'ide of law teaching and research, thtre are clear indications or growing appreciation of Ihe social roles of legal proceues and institutions. May we not find in the pres~nt euay II pica for 5imilar responsivcnc5$ nmonA social scientists? Orgnnilntion of dlspatl'lle materIals for the prBent survey has posed mOS5ive problems. For the sake of convenience, rather thlln frum any compelling Identilie necenity, the survey of themes and liternture is divided iuto following catc,orles : .I. StUdies on Classical Hindu Law. ~. Law lind S~iul Cbllnge : Tbo Colonial Experience,

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• Law aad Social ChInle: SOUle: AspcelJ of CootcnI(K'rnry experience. I. Peapl"'" Law or Non-Slale LeBI' Systems.

I. Trlblll uw and JUltlce. i. NYIl,,1l P:lnch;tyuls. I, Law DDd Sodlll Control. I. Adjudication under Stale Lcpl Systems. t alilhe available literature has been examined, or even mentioned Ibe luI, thOUGh an auemp! has betD made to make the bibliography :ompletc possible. A variety of methods has been used to clIiamlne

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lent themel lind Iltcrllurc, including the r~(hcr uQconvgnlional one of r the prescnt farmlu) father detniled cxamiullon of lOme: warka which crye !ulh:r uposilioQ. The result Is not IUlhctically pleasant; but : hopu that the untidiness is jorntwhot compensated by the issues led QvcrDIl by the lurve)'.

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••• 1 CLASSICAL HINDU LAW Vtcoa Dal Doted. in the prevIous lurvey. !.be: eomrlc.lities of Ihe diQlc:ctic between the law in the: booh and tbe law in lIe.ioll with regllrd to dhar",D-.raslrQ$. She complaIned rigb!!y, :md witbout at all belilllioS the maguitudc of achievement. Ibat Kane', "mODUllIcntal.lx volume work" docs DOt, afler all, "give ont any iosight iolO the Ilructurc orleeai rules." She preferred to such exegetical and doctrinal method the more {explicit ethnographiul Wlllk., But 00 the whole we Ilmented the hu:k of II "'ingle locioiolicil compilalioo of UJ,pllS Juris for. aoy ~cilll group io

lodia" (035. 1974: 368·15). A major publfclltion Since then has been Robert LingllCs (1973) ClaSJKaf u,w oj Illd/a (Iran~lnted by J.O.M. Derrett,to;whom all studcDtl of Indian law and lodety stllnd now further indebted). Lingat" Inaly';! rtlatu to many perplailies which wailed Veelll DIIS aad is generally pertinent to any account of sociallhouaht OD Indian (Iod Dot jusl the Hindu) law. Ling~I'J cootrlbutloa merits an eXlended aonly.ls in this Icction. Lioglll formulates with envlablc clcallnee of style. certain bllsic questions; How Is one 10 distinguish (prior 10 the ad\'cnt of the Western conceptions of IIW IIDd aUlhority) between dharma and law, between dharma, law, custom, 30d royal powcr? What kinds of relatioDsbip.! exist nmong these? Whll nrc tbe relationships ~ll'.'ecn tllC law·in·books lind the Jaw·in-actlon 7 Wbat are the distinctive reatures or the Hindu Jurisprudence 7 These, lind related questiODS, have no doubt preoccupied eminent 5cbohars in tbe field: but Linpt offen, a systematic array of answers to them, Qnd subsequent work: in the area will h/we 10 u!.ke t hua. as ~tWDS. ~\nts fl.' { lbouPt. »~lITml.l, e'i'flh.\1\s lib£J.". 11 00\ mt'r"t:\J J. ~ tu:nnl \n.1,-. mhtran. in the na ture of thiDiS but Is al50 a. "mon&1ity addressed to men in •• ocie!))" a morality which speci6c. the ::'!olaljly or duUu whjch bep.rs

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CI."'SSICAI.II!NDU LAW

I II the individual neeordin I II lit ru, (rama) and the .Iage of hi, fe (0,,011/11 " (Ling1li 1973: )·4). The IUQrn1il)' of dl,armn (.upcrior to hot of welllth. Interest nnd,klllllll-pleniure) is both soci:!! nnd

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'f:lillioU5 : Jharmfl "/, em:nlinUy n 'rule of i/lltrr1l'p~lld~I"t, founded on the tlt::tfchy corrcipond.illg to Ihc..nlltuTc . of, things nod Ilccesury for lhe

ml1nlena1\CC of socI3i ordtr.

5~lvation" aUlh~~ity

To DelliMe rrOrn ill requirements "is I

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nolnte QDC" (ibid., 211). Dhof1llo is tNinscendc.nt nnd imm ',blt; its dedv,c. rrom the onturnl ordu of things, nlthOu;, f ,ornra b;ls no eOltstnmuog pOlVer by itself" (ibid., 258). ThUJ , . " 1 • ay, ""to&I!, \1 Ie IU C 0 r dlmrm(l \1'1' 1\ rcm:tin tilte(l,,! the vcry foundntion of the cOllcepl or law" (IbM, 5·6). lience the problem: enn we :analyt!c::dl, disen .. ;ge the rul" or dl ~ . 'd' i 0 lOrII/o ,rom JUri len rul~$ 1 The !:alter, quile prominent In dJlOrmososmu "eo~unue ~,o bt tncorpC'flltcd wilh rules of II purely religious nnd rhulIl Th~ rule of p:,escription (through ad'leue posstuion) (Dsplrntlon, rO~lIIulijted by YII}u,lYl1lk}'D, I, vlrlually of the "me nature 8' that whieh :n)om1 upon Q drl}o a duty or nOI m:anying a woman ofvamo hI"helth . !lh owo," Dolh the1e precept' • , "exprt» or rather determine Ih. tequ J'" remenU neCtSS3ry 10 mnmtaln Ihe cosmic and tbe moral order" ('b'd I3S). Fulfilment of bOlh the precepts reprtsent no ""q",," " b I" r'd d' .. uonlte Ie 1&IOU5 . uly. an :l.ceordlngly confer "mtfil", DUI Dre the legnl r I :xprtsttd 10 d/tormo.soHras direct souTenor law 0' U t57 e I,'In,.HtCI ones In UngBI's 'sharpr formulation: Do they have the "qual It, or I.,' I I' . lSI 100, burs directl, "pon the ""',e 1" 0 I are tiC.)' I "Ot e IUt h onty rl 0 whIch ' 10unC$ 0 ;aw ooly !~ the seO$e that religion and momHty IIrc arnonpt Ille lources o,~ Ill.w to Europe?,,' In Ungltt's Inillysis! the Inuer will AD tonUliute I sOllfe,'" of law. _ 11 oberl Unj;at'slnlwcr to this qu'ditlon i. neceSSArily compleJ:, D/larm _ ostros e, vlousl not ,odes "in Euro an .enstl of Ihllt wo;'r ,eClluie, prior to ~hc ~titish period, "ihere never WIlS III In In , •• a power to pau legIslation, in our seole:"of thnt word. lit leut in mllUeri of r Vile IW. 11, t e tlwrfe precepts were not entIre y witho t IInuclIee: apart from the IUlllodty they bad by virtue of their . bey 11,'0 olTered (pulicularly "in thcjudges' eyC$") "lome r JUTldlcal reasooing" (ibid" 141), The precepl$, however, were ~exposed to tht ~Yll:a of custom ::Iud the Chlrybdis of royal power aod llover~mentnl poIJ~!e5, The vOY~Be from Dharma to IIIW, Lin&llt emphatzU, eenme poSSIble bec;au'e of the Ill.boun of eommenlnton Oil .sa.sI,le , , reeeph: ooly with the Mimallia Icch' " " .it 1 WllS ' , Otquco r 'tnterprell1110n that a t ru~ JUflr,>lcnl SClellce be&:l1) in India" (11M., (43), IlC ~U'I turn, to the MI or interpretation (Ibid, 143·I7S) t ully Ipprcculte Ute vUluOIity or , , 0 nd tonluls of the stUlric in' ,commentalors in ulterpreling the tUtl

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Cll\bouying an injunction) IIonu an arllJlll'!ldll (lidullion:!.1 v;trbi,lGe orTering dClenptions, claboutions or ruson' for injunctions) or of runlli?ulllliag the rulel for resolving dirTtrenccs betw~cn twO .sas/ric: le:m of equ~1 authority (see the diccuuion or Vijnancs~af'll, 's exeg1is O,n Ildvers.: pones· silln and Jlr~criptiotl at pp, \61-167 Ibid.), It should ullice to not.: here lhat the juristic concern with lOttlprCllllion, o\'erlly analytical aod cxegetical though it may appear, .:onllnually made Stu/(;t: precepts responsive to social ru.litics, within which they had 10 runctlnn as rules for conduct, Somelimes, such interpretation leglliluixed local cusloms ~ the lIIosl dramatio exnmplc being .. rurnished by Ml1dhllvn'. interpretation of Manu (ibfd., IX: 112.11l1 which prohibits the marrh'ge of II boy "ith his maternal unde's or pale.roal nUDt', daugbler-tommoo "mong South judilln5. In a IIlUr de/arc/! of exegcsil. Mndhavn reinterprets thc veOe to unction what it exprcssly prohihill! (ibid,. 169-11). It is the same type or cre3t(ve ability which enables both Vijn;anesvara aod Jimulanballl; to derive from the Smrititexl • "violently opposed theses" rnulliog into now wcll.known 'Icllools' (respectivey) of Milllk,nril and D.lyabagD.

(Ibid., 172-75).

tingat warns us, rightly. not to assume liial the comment310rs' role or function WllS to "canoni1.e" custom. Customary rulc~ nrc "often imprecise aod incomplete." Interpretation "offel'5 Ihem a rramework which dem;aods adjust"u:ntJ Ind correctives in eouncillion, at the same time it allo ...s gaps to be filled:' It is this framework throuj,b which interpretation could exercise iaflucnce upon cuSlom "even when eu'tom has nOldlrccted itt choice" (Ibid., 112). We see conl!nuinG eXlimples of this kind of interAction in Llnsal" absorbin& anlliytil of contrOlSts and (lon!l\a' between d/larmo nnd cUllom. The rcce 15 of dharma and of law staod in sitar Ctlll tfaSl to Ihose o cuslom. SOJtrfc law (rell&ioUs Ind juridlcll) is didactic, religlou, in conception and consequences, Rule of CUltOm, in princi[lie, "is different \0 Ille religions t:olllicquenceJ of an act": custom lOlly be consonanl wilh .sllSlrlt: Ilw, or m::ly be in acute eoonict with them, So.slrlc IIIW, as etcronloalurltllaw Is independent or human volilioo : "the culet sovern the activity of men: Ihey arc OCI influeoced by mlln" whereas custom ill II. "purely human devcJopmenL" While dhllrlJlCJ, and law related to ii, hns It "tran5ceodent duracter," custom is. "social phenomenon." Dharma is immuln'ole Bud unlvernl : custom is territorilllly limited and variable (Ibid., 116-11). Lingnt ,bolVs, 110wever, thaI these ideal-typIcal canUUII drawn in literature can millead us : indeed, he demOnSlrlllCS II\:lt delphe these contnslS, the fllj(rlc te~tl diJdolO "I pillce for custom in tbe aenesis or dltarmo" (ibid., 177), lIow doel this CODle about? [ir.slly, tnc ,umrns explicitly reco&o\:z.c jDd.ocora, tile cU5tom of the good or siS/a-acara, the custom of the initiated, instrucled nnd virtuous liS II 50urce or dharmCJ. In II 5ente, tbe good

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custom

ClASStCAL HINDU

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a Jouree of ,lImrllltl, "amounlS 10 saylnc IInH the cOllduct of

everyone ,bould be ruled by Ibllt of IJrnhmlns," u only they would but

underuood hOIl' 10 ItCI 10 II dl,lntere$tcd WilY, with 11 belief thai the behaviour is uquircd by "obedience fot the divine I~w" (ibM" 179.80). EYen thouJ;h some conllllt'JUators endta~ourcd 10 enlarge thil conc.eption

sinful? Line,!t Ihows Ihu ':'10)t commcnl:!.ton wed creatively the doctrine or sood eustonl to legitimilte wholc bodies of cu~IOml'lt)' rules uilltnl in difJ'crent re;ions. Moreover, the rDyALdJ.U.i,;s extepded to tbe pre.ervAlinn of customt. conventions anUS-lIges nOl merely of the people in n conguen;d tcrriUlQ'_j)Ut al'o with f!:~Dcct 10 Groupt of hi! own 5ubjeeu. The. king h advised that dharmo can "ooly prosper in 'order": if, the/erore, abrogation cUcustom, contrary to dlrarm:l, is likely 10 cause dilnrder, wisdom requIres continuaace of $uch custom (Ibid.,

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to indude hchl1\'iour of those IIO( IClIrncd in !'he Vedas, the custom ..... bieh w(luld COUO! :1S II rule of dharmQ "must not ooly be immemorial but also frcc from oIl apparent worldly moll\'c, ioterest, or utilitarian consideration" (ibid, tHO).

'~~"''')O' ~ woman yet

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rules for

Il

199,200; 224·32).

Ihare of

paternal CIl;!lC 100 of Brllhmln. lesOfriJ Q or l"alnaytJ born of (emnlc sudra I) It may be 11Ilit tue IDcorporation of custom IIno sasufe injunc. lions may be ld~o.::tive. Dud may transrorm the rula of cwtom: bur neather lUe (ael or illcorporalion nor the fC5ultlUIi nexUi between dharma !loll custom can be gainslud. "... Thirdly, tbe tbeory of )'ugfU, efpec!lly as developed by ParlUllra, would ieem to mllke dharma (nnd law) more responsIve 10 social realities, oflen exprused througb custom:; and uuges of tbe group. Hindu cosmogyny divlde5 eacb epocb into four perIods (rugal) : krta (the fIrst golden age) is followed by 'retal dvopora and finally tbe kaf/ (Ihe prelicnt, decadent ale). Each period hu its owo characteristics and ill own d/Jaw!a, Wbat vanes, lI"ording to Lingat, arc not tbe "moral imperativ«" or dharma but nuber man't enpacilies "to obey the moral Illw" lIbld. , IH9). , IS ducribed by Llnaal 'I What is just he says, is Ibat which IJ Irlal (lilat wbich (lonforms to law): "Iaw·in· action, which effectively loyerns relations between people. II deduced directly from Ihe law" (Ib(d" 2S1). Surely, the dOle interaction of relilinus and natural law thought 10 evolution of 'We.lern' law and ilS inlitilutlonl unlil later Middle Agts does not rully ,upport the idea lhllt leglllilY (in the tense here used) was the buls (sole or even prominent) of 'Western' legal syltems. Nor, despite t he rise of oaiiOD ItlllC:S and of legal positivllm, is the concept of '\eSllhy' either wbolly devoid of, or 10 fully identified witb 'justice', Indeed, is it ponible to articulate adequately lhe notioDs on which "Wutem juridiCl\\ fYltenll are based" through anyone eenlral notion, whether it be 'lel:,aliy' or any olher 'I (if.. Jlu;:kion, 1975: 4)

2 LAW ANDSOC1ALCHANGE, THE COLONIAL EXPERIENCE

'High,CIl/ture' lAw and Social Mobilfy

The relation between.custom and dharma, between people's Inw and stafc law, underwent fundamental chnnge during tbe colonial petiod, Both administrative exiaeoeitJ and hiah colonial policy made non-intcrference with religiously hued Ill'wa desideratum. But such a policy could not immuniU! the txitti'na lawl from rundllmentai Chlflae, upecially when colonial authorIty had to create I oational legal Syslcm ror the goyero· ance of the counlry. Such a ,)'Stem, naturilly, "affected the balance between divergent indisenous leglll traditions" (Rudolph & Rudolph, 1967: 269), The Itory of how tbose changes occurred bll becn met,icu101.151y told by many, but pcrhaps mo.t lIuthorillldvely by DunC1l1l Derrett (1968; 22S.320; see also Rudolph & Rudolpb, 1961: Jilin, 1966; Gaillnler, 1964). 11 sbould",Gffice herc to streSS bricfty a few dlstinctiyc aspects of the l(3.nsition. During the initiill perind of administration. dual sy5tcm of courts Were Cllabli.bed with jurisdiction over all mailers-civil. criminal lind commcrcial. The Prbidcncy 10WO courts includcd royally cstnhlished Supreme Courts. witb English judge, nnd lawyer. : thc mofunil (or 'back·country') courts included sudtr (chief) coum, manned by judges drawn frnm the civilletvicc nnd had Indlao pleaders. There wlla ';!eu rormal procedure and leu Englisb law" in tbese 'back-country' courlS (GahllUcr, 196>1: Jain, 1966: 81-192). Tbe applicable law al50 VAried. Notewortby ror

11

50CIOLOOY 01' l.... W

Ib~tins$' Ju!in Clues (palticularly in reh\lion 10 Ihe 5ubsl:'Inlivc autonomy or ctl5te-l'anchayatd on local, communit)' customs. But custom slHi needed to be prln'cci, through Cllien proc~durts nntl alien institutions. JuS! as the wrillen leXIS of rolislous laws anti proccsses of WC5ttrn.st~lt interprCl:ltion Bnd euges!, ltd to hngJic:i7.ll.tion of Hindu Law, so did the neglcct of custom lead to tile Slognlltlon of Hindu Law 1,\1Iring the British periot/. Tilt cus10mllry rulel' were 5ubjected, more or le~s, to the fequirenleot of the tomnton-/llw burden of proof: CU$IO(ll 10 be :1 sourctl or law mllS! be pro\'cd to be "immemorial or Il!l£icnt, unlrnrm, invariable, CQMiouous, cerlain, notorious, reasonnble (or no~ unreasoollblt). pellcenble.obliga_ lory nnd it mu.~t nol he immoral oor opposed to an express enactment ... Of to publie policy" (Kane, 1950: 44). Allhough nOI invo\vtd in every case, thele requirements made (whenever involved) proof of CuslOm difficult. Whenever custom was judicially cogni1.td, illVa$ IIlso trllns_ formed: From a body or oral!y-trnnsmiued preceptS and precedents, subject 10 "ariable interprctBtion-and quasi·!esisIOlive innovation :ltthe discretion of vil!:age noto.bles or elders, it becomes II body of fixed law to be. cOnSltU~bY a profeuloniol court. Judicial enforcement of custOm rigidifi ,it and strip! Il of qUlISi-legi~la!ive ehclTaeter: officIal CourlS ILre re elan! to petmil the. creation uf new binding CUlt om, • Marr. Go/mlll'r (964) The elevation of the bigh-cuhure. Brahminic, Jus/ric low has led 10 elaboration of Ihe claim tltnt "for Some lime in n variety of ways. indi· genous high-culture Iu.w aided In establishing a natlonn.l kgal framework" (Rudolph & Rudolph. 1967). 13y "high-culture law" the Rudolphl menn the "literary law in~Clribed in classic leltts" (the saslra ror Hindus. the Koran, for Muslims) all expounded to the Enl!lish judges by mClIIM, ~nd pundits. This "high.culture la\\l" nourished and developed duriog 17721864, al the "urensc of the populnr law of the pcasllnt socicty" (ibirf., 269). The "popular" or "(!U5toma!y" Inw was difficult 10 ascert~in and il ....'15 "parochial" whereas the high-cuI lure Brahminic Inw w,u "commo. polit:1n" lind "unirorm" based nn relldily utJcrllllnll.ble wriUen tulS, nnd developed Ihrouah interpretation by !cglll notables. Bulthe moderaity of the bigh eulture lnw did nOI lie in ils substantive norm.. Doth parocbhtl cU$lom !lnd cosmopolitan high-culture Jaw rclle~l~d ~D~ ~mbcdi~d "fot mO~l pan" HllutS tbU were "antith~tjcallo

•

I

.

n SOCIOLOO't or W. w

(hole in Western 111\1'." tra511 ptf(ei\ti"tl~', Fi~t, they nNe,

The Rud('llphs brine ou~ Ihe snllent value can·

Ih:1I, whefe3~ En,l ish I.....· vDlued the Individu:al over ":trtilicilll" g,fOUI"', Ihe tr,u!ilie sWlImped wilh alien W$:slern notions bllt the genhu or the peoplelu terms of tbcir projections of law, ,o~icty and stilte I','ill be respected and encouf1lged, The Munro group therefore eneourllged ryolwari &y~!cm, rejected the idea of division af powers nnd with it, Ihe nolioD of nn imperJOnll1 goyernmeQl (Ibid" 8.2S). The potentilll of law as an Ingredient nf IOClal change process thus clearly varied wilh the. ideo\ogical emphasis. Wilh the utilitarians, however, It assumed pre·eminence. The BeOibamltu had Ihtle .ymplthy with Ihe re~iVlllistJ or paternllUsu; and they blamed the Cornwallil IChool for III "flltal national prejudi!:e of esteeming Ihe unreJal med jUlIiee 10 tlle acme of perfection," They uIIgDed II central importance to the role of law AS instrument of plRnned socil,1 ehange, Bcnlhllm. in his ClI.rly years, explained "Ihe source of misgovernment nod pa\'erIY" with reference 10 the "lad:: of effident SY$tem of l:tw founded on Ihe ,cicnet of jurisprudence" (Ibid., 67), Similuly, James Mill thou8ht tllIU a complete deliveranee from the "degtructive anardlY" of judicial proeess was to be found through "an accumte code, ~n adequate judid:lI establishment Ilnd ralional code of procedure" (ibid" 141), Doth for their critique of existing legal S)'5I1:m IIDd proposed innovations (such as on multiplieity of appeals, Ihe notion of omnicompetent local ctlum) utilitarians Ihought cootinues to be of compelli08 tlgnilieance not jUJit for undentanding of lellal SY5tem of fndependenl India but abo for lome much needed renovation of it. Ranjit Gubm'. work (1963) is more clase.!y focussed ~n Ihe , arcbltec~s r Ihe policy of permanent Iclliement. The two Intere,tJn8 find'Dgs of thui detailed ano.lYII, lire that tbere is no "pattern of COOlman interuts" "which can eomfortably explnin "the pllttern of common I'd cas" r 0 the kaden of the Sroup of permanent.ettlement and secondly. "the reeognition of property II' II basic principle of government was the greaten common measure" of agreemenl, at the leyel of ideM, n010nj then, men. While they all broadl)' agreed Ihat the raj wuuld rtlp the benefits of Ihe 10),lltie. of the Dew landlord elliS!, the~r other ideas . concernin~ the benefits of pnrnancnt sclliemcnt, in locml and economic tcrms, did not quite eome true. On Gllha's analysis, whal is striking il tbat mo.n like Dow, Pa.tullat', Francis, Low and Cornwallis proceeded not merely from "diverlent, and ev~o oppoling, intellectulil affiliations" but abo that their overall "intellectual l),mpathiu .. ·CUI across their partislln alliance. \.n,('lhncurrent inlercsls in the same soil." Moreover, tbe conlplexity of vllri~ble interesu pomssed by the HIndu jC'!inl-ramily in land beselllttell1pts 10 physieallY!lcquire or rr:l1t!ze the Interests tmnli' ferred by Ihe legal processes. Finally,lhe "1(X':lli m~nns of t'oercioo" Ifo.diticn31ly available to Zllmindar-s, who were leg.:tlly diseluillcd to their l~nd, prevented cfi'eelive accompliuh ro~nt or the salient objectives of tbe trRnlfer lawi. The c.wermtl in~curily (Ihus I1rislng) of Ihe purchaser of Ihe IlInd \\0115 decrened by the notiolimactic intervenlionin policies adopted by the Government fllvourinll the insolvent 1.amindllu. The reyenue authorities pJnceedcd to restore."(onfiSClIted lands" 10 7.amindar\ who were tempor· Irily deprived of them. In Idl.lition to luch rntortl1ion a/It' laic, Seclion 244 oflhe Civil Procedure Code 1859 empowered the CQllc(.lor "10 lnlttl/ene in the course of contpullory $~le :\nd 10 seck to compromise lhe IronS
or tAW

Till!

.1

txpe~trNcn

of I:ldditlonal mllnrower wett to he recoycred by a levy from I~C &comlly, Ihe very Acl of proclaimlns sro..u.ps aD~_ c~.e!..3s Criminal h(ld symbolic s:LlictioninM imJ'l:llc:.t~ Soeial sanctions were Ihus cO-optcd 10 lhe anenal of !l:g;l.! unctions. TIti,dfy: Ija~~Lu~ ..... ~I_eJ!!!: posed on midwives and chowkidllq, the two ~\JnE:t!oMfies mOlll vtl~llY conncctt'd with the villnge group.s. They were conspicuously punishet! for deflLults; this enhanced the coercivennd pcrsuasive Impact of Ihe ~ the miods of iaiget populations. Fourtlrf)', post-mOrltlllS of dec-e,ned "emaie children were compulsory; ibb meanlthe irksome and humiliating pro«dure .... hereby pannu and rehatlves had to carry dead children to

ptt.. ,w,u I'Tos"a),I1, dltllrllla), morlliistic aod religious eOllJidera' tions and influenccd by "pUblic opinion" to n degree. A mora detailed cODspectus would, bowever. hive to acknowledse a wide v;uiety or dispute institutions nnd prorcsscs in India. There tcem to be three main types of NSLS in rural Indill. Very gcnerally, these Ire caste-based NSlS, community-based NSLS, innoYatiye. reformil! NSLS. The eli.tinction betweeo cllSte and community NSLS is (:u we will.honly see) relaliye. It is ba~ed on the view Illnt "most indlvidUlIls in rural India hQve two lell of predomiollnl IOt.:iIl\ reliltions, oDe tbat tics them to. villa,e commuDlty whieb mll.Y be viewed a~ a Ycrtie.1 Ict or tiel and one ChlLt connects them itorilonllllly to their blradarland JaIl (sub-caste)," Eacb set of specilll n:laliom hilS "norms thlll cao be considered leglll aDd io:.lh'idu~15 and Groups possessing the 50ei:'lily recognized" authority to apply physical force It) enfolce them within tbe loenl communities" (Cobn, 1965: 82), The community NSLS extend beyond the C:Ule to tbe villaae unit ilSelr, though palletnS of t.lIJle domi. o.nce, or of power distribulion here Intrude. InmetimC.$ to II point thol a village paDchlyal becomes tbo ... ery extension of dominant group govern_ menl. The innoyatiyc/reformi"sl NSLS arc dispute institutions IJke the 'People', Court' (Lok Adalal ) at Rangpur whkh are sponsorerJ byateultur.ting IIgents or-agencies. with the idcologiCi which centre upon tbe principle of generation nf LokJllaktr or people'~ {'Jower for social Ir1l05formation, and which, deny, or circumscribe, the IIate power (Bui, 1976b), In additioo, there aistl In some plltts of Inditl, an interesting nCJlU! between ta.te panehoyallllnd reHgious illliitutions, The vllriou. Hindu matltas especially in the Soutb seem to bave an overarebing jurisdiction over .ome upec" or cute paochayall. Dut their role 1$ IlIrgely .dvisory aod in discbarging it tbe marhas generally rcsptct the autbority of caue paoehayat. The palterns of ioterletiOIl between cute 1)llocbaynt lad various religiou! institutiollS bavc n:centl)' becn Itudied by K" Gnanambal (1913); on the whole. this area bas beeo neglected. It is thererore difficult to USUI the spread or lite iDteraclioa of religious in'titutionJ io their adjudicative role with otber type. of NSLS, The domloant f(!frn of the organiUltion in ear;h (lse is set of dispute iostltutlool (cr, Abel, 197]) called panehayats. Pancltllyats. normally' are. sroup of Bye people who hear and decide disputes mOltly when they .re summoned to do .0 but frequently on their owo. Howevu, in neh type or NSt.s. the subject mallel'll vary, Very Generally. caste (Jotl) paneh~yau dc~1 with, con6iclS of intcrcsLS .nd .... Iues within jail Gr~upl,' Induchng rnettonal all18l1ee$ withIn those groups, Vitlaae or territQriJd

"

SOCIOL()QV Of' LAW

p'~chIYDIl delll willi cantliel. of 1011:'rel\ cUllinl l\llt051 casle

facton, bou,h Ihose vcry fllctars m!ly .1'111), often II truch,\ role In the 'ruolution' , 1 rarticuillf con n"11:1. (If PIIlC '.yalS vnry cnornll)ullyin Structure IInti Icope. llcrnurd Cohn

,,,,1

bit losighlfully grouped the sirLiClure lIod~cope of j4ft

p30thll)'illI

in

termJ of Icrrlturilli units liS lIIelllll pnlletn' ,of (ilSIC sharp as some wrsh it to be. The breach of

N:orU'Sl.AW, DFlVI!LO,.,I!NT AND JUSTiCe

,

pre-exiiling 'cusloml'Lry' law h ;\IWllYS;\ lU~jor gradient In the con\'ening of jQII p4ebaYlltl: iodeed,jotfNSLSsomelime make law priOI to occuiool of IIdjudleiltioo. For Clt.ample, it hIlS been frequenl\y noted tbat untouchable)I,,1 groupJ. in their dMperale bid ror fodal uplif', lU'lVe adopled regulationl "for whole lections of a cUle forbidding practices believed 10 be responsible for their low Itatll5. " Cbamar1l1re prohibited from removing dead caltJe" (Colm, 1965: 108 !lnd the Hteralu:c ciled thtre~. There is general agreement tbat the proce$sCJ of dlsput~ bJ.odhog, howsoever complex, in jUfi and vil138e paochayalS share commoo features of informality. flutbllity. democ~atieity in dec!!ion-mo.lilO&.cIl.t least IlwlYI io $lyle ir oot in lululanc·e) by conseDSUS The state law SttlVC5 to atlmin justke inter porfu III rough 'imp;utial' judles aod elabOHlle pro· cedure. for ascertaining 'truth'. lodlgerlous dispute inSlIlutiuos promote juitiee with notorioul informality Ibroulh ",illal;e notablCl wbo koow dispullntt personilly. The adyenlry systeml (broildl y IpeakillS) ot: .. u.te law teek to 1lldividullhz~ justice: ",illag~ IllW llnd Justice leek collecllvlled ju~tlcc, Village 11\\1 and jusilce'lcek social group harmony wherells illite law, rollowed to itt end, rests 00 "wioner-takc·i!-all" priociple. The flexibility of Jail nnd vilblle pDBeh:ayntJ eoolisl$ in n wider SCOle of r.el~. vance, not the 'trlit-jacket nOtloo of rc\evance. The village elders. I~ I~ often observed, assembled to bear ODe dispute wilt "dlsclW aoother whIch lies behind it" (Cohn. 1959; Rudolph and Rudolph, 1967). Thb is p.artl~ II functlnn of demneratlcity-that is free-wbeeling public particlpallon io the hearina proc:w-of the proceedings, ao clement fast disappeariog in Itllle Iu.w lyllcmS, Indeed, the democraticily has oot pte:o confined. tQ ,andom p~bllc 'say' but it bas Il dininotly egnlitunlll character oblerves David Mandelblum. at 1easl in relation to jotl panchllyats: The egahtarilln aspect of the traditional panchayat .. ecms 10 po,e a parlldol. The need for un.nlmous consent .and t,he ril~t of every mao to be beard appear diUooanl to tbe leitmotIf of hleflleby ... The Inswer leems to be that molt deline Ii joti councUftS .. council or peeu ... eveD n poor man will.peak if be fceh moved to do '0. David G. J,{alldciblJum (/966: 191) While the iubstnncc of Ibis accouot is correct, it remains ideal·t)·pical. too. The prevlI!ence of the 50·called traditioo of consenrus in Inditt need. "ery critical examination. 00 malt vital Issues, lbe appc:trllnee of consenJUS may well be a mulc for dominatioo, The conscDsualllyle of dedsion in sub,tancc, oft~n ,ervCl dominnot InlerellS. One may lU5ume that in most situations con5Cn5US would be "pre-fabricated", ".:outrivcd" or "manipulated" (Sui, 1967). Yet, all in all, indigenoul justice, iu structure nnd process arc tbus al fundamentlll variance with tb05e of tbe IllY jUltice. The jUfl lind village plinchnYlIlJ bave II repertoire or $Qnclionl whicb include flne, public een,ure, civil boycott, ostracism. aod varied publi...

•

I II

llQttOI,OOV 0' !..Aw

l'I!Orl.!!"I.AW. ocvtl.OI"MI!NT AND HUrlCH

opinion prusufcs 8y vHl:agt' notables anc! sometime by prctlominmnl &1l.!upJ in the: Irca. The jail pa.ndlllYDtl, additionally. howe the vu)'

pOlcllI sanclion of "outcastIDS" and "tJ!:communkation" bee nl.a Andre Delcine, 1965: 6).64). One ,!riling unsnplc of \I nolV killd of unction is pro\'ided by the uk Adalol III Rnngpur. Wbeo tll~pptllnlS ate lent an invitation 10 join Ihe mecting of the Ada/ai, the 1:1.11 pi:lfa~ph of the notice

rClds: "You surely know (apprccialc) that expensive' lind frequent vilits to law cnutl!i are Dot in the intereSlI"o( us poor formers." One may cODccplUllhzc Ihis kind of aqnlonilloo as a lanclionlng device Jlnlr. Indeed. In tlte intcr·subjcciivltic.s of the villa8cu. such II statement lI1ilhl imply that if n paTly doCJ nol cven appear be:fore the i.ok Adafat the. Adafat it,elf may CDeOUrIIse court octlon or, lit IlOY tlllc, il may not discoutll,ge. such oetiOD. Conceptually, thea the tlm'at 0/ rreoursc to thll (/UtrumI'll/DillY o/tht Slott 11',01 system Is i/.IC/f Jlft/sed alUl apl'truircd as ,sanCaO/I, W/lOStll'Cr)' probafii/{I), gl'.lIllfotes compliollc~.

This i5 II lalhe:( unique phenomenon wherein the: non-stole Ic:ga\ syste:m appropriatcs the: laliDlidatlna paraphernalia of Ihe Itate legal!) Ilem to JUJuin and cnhanee lis continual efficacy. \·iabiIiIY. Ie:citimacy lind e:ven bege:mony. Of course. paralld processes may be: perceived in connicl tCJolution through out·of· (ourt selt1eme:nt, private arbitration and olher fotms of mediation. But the. striking peculiarity of the Lok Malal is invocation or formal Iili· plion as a selr·consdous sanctioning process to an ulent lh:\t the range or choices for a)teroallve muns of re50lutioo i$ endeavoured to be effec· ti~e1y diroinRled or at leut tniaimiled. TIll. indeed is the very definition oC'Corcc', To the Cltenlthe threat to recourse 10 IitisatioD oe/llul/y opuatt! to reduce parllu' choice ofnction, we hnve lurely an operilion of unction (Ilnxi, 1976b: 83·86). Tbe effectiveness of "Detions i. AO empirical question, which has not been closely unmined in relatioo to NSLS. Racalcitranee il both con· ceivable and likely: its incidence il however unknown, bolated cumple. &lJO IUlleS! that the domin:ml grOllp member. or fuourceful pelion. elln by .cll of defillnce occasiotl chnnces or bypusing or IlVcn momentary collapse of sanctioning proccucs. But overall. the streogth of collective conscience or sentiment in the vilJage (and caste) contexts cannot be pinsaid. Explanaffa/l

'" ~

:1

Thcre Is considerable evid~nce of multi.lca_lIlm or autODomOUJ uittencc or two or more dispute resoluhon systeml-at level. of norm. bahllviour. lAd cullure. How J. thillo be c:a:plaioed 7 Before referring 10 pouible lell oflllfWers in Ihl.section.let us recall that the answert arc dIrected in tbe !ttt place 10 the uolveno of Itudy. Even in select universe. the answers

I

I )

may not rurnish rull cxplllDnlions. as disllact from pointing to factou relevolnl 10 ,ucb c:tplanlHion. And further, Ihtre is the con~14nt problenl of gene:flililalion on lin India·wide scale. n. g. Cohn (19.59) mltlntnin$. rightly, Ihnt "I he wily 1\ people settles dis. pUles 19 part or il5 lociaillructure ami vulue s)steru."· The mdlsenoul and the "orfl.cial" leg3l systems d!:Ter rather drastically on both these aspects. The constitutionally desired social order leeks to foster (in plrt) Ihrough the legal sY'tem the value of equality: wheren "the North Indian society operate! on lhe reverJe value hypothcsis: men are not btI'n cqulIl and they hltve widely differing inherent worth." Cohn COmmcntJ: The ndvcrSBry 'yslem hIlS developed to equlllize perSOnS in courl. To no Indian peasant Ihl' is an impossiblc 5;tuallon to understand. The Chama! knows he is nOI equal to Thakur. , . The Th~kur canDol be con"ioced in any wlay thai Ihe Challl4r is equal, but Ihe «,Urt aCI. as If the partiu 10 the dispute were equlIl. S. Cohn (J9J9) Moreover. Indian villages nrc "multiplu" societies: nnd the "nelwork of rtilliionshlp'" Ihll, iovolvcd ~annot be "Iummnrily CUt by a deciiion of the eourt." Cohn nota: Two Thakurs disputing over II piece of land are not only buyer nod seller wllh a contraetull! til:, bUI in classificalory kinship terms arc brolhe:fS or unele and nephew ... So decisions of the courts based on idells of contrnct do 110t 6t in tho value system and social 51ructure of the Indian village. B. S. Cahn (l9J9) Nor do tbo notions oFre1evlincy eogendered by law of procedure And evidence Ilnd the winncr-tukc-il·aU principle or the adversary system rhymc witb Ihe 'Iraditional' prefFronu fot seltling dispules tbrougb COlUenlUS lad with liberalism io the nol10ns of relevl\ot matters shown by the indigenous Irlbunill., Andre Detcillc 10me ..... !J:1I limilarly finds (l965; I64-65) that in the Tanjore village the village panellayat. under .tntutory protection and political patrODJge, is leu effective than the do IOClIJ ehal plll1cbayat, wltbout til her, The vill:lge paDehaY:H is rdatively wcaker bealuse II il an attempt involvIng "imposition of a democratic formal structure on a soclnl sub· stratum which is segmeotal and blerarchieal in naturo." In contrast, the effectiveness of the cheri panebllyat is due to "iu: social homogelleity and tbe pervasive nature of tile moral bond' whieh uoite itl members," The "vitality" of these panchayntl lie! 10 their "correspondencc" with tbe Gtruc!ure of tbe "community which it represents." As agalnu Ihis type of distinctively cultural uplanatioD, Robert L. Kidder (1973) proposes ltD uplllnll.tlon which stresses the limiulIio!)! of Ihe formlll legul provision. as IIriling from "the social structure or tho judicllli IYltem rather Ihlln In their Incon,ruity with indiaenollS YlIlu(J." Kidder anlllY'Clln some conliderllble delai] tbe bureaueratlz. alion of the sYjtemof judielpl jUUicc leading 10 a delano U1RlIirnizaUOD of

n.

/ &oclOl.OOY OF LAw

·l.Idicilll pur5uh or f;'QnllJronlise Ihrough n lit jllre. adveri:IfY sy.tem. ceRUlli (aCtor Is u~lay in juJicilll dilp:u:t1. Kidder finds thu "in M),S('IfC ItMe ... the 'llvcr:lgc durntion uf cllnksteJ Ilriainal 11.1115' dis· po,~d of durins 1966·67 lJy jUdicill1 decree Will ~liShU)' ovcr leventcen yenn." In some Inuanee,. dc:hlYI extend OYer 11 littk over two decades. Sui this dday. und (ru~lrl1tions lHteudllnt upon 11, seenl to be re~nrdcd by most IitlganlS "as being Ihe intentionlll product of 11 shrewd" adversary; for other litigants. delaying. proc:edure$ were a pan of a war of attrition nimed to termil1ille in II.. compromise. NM does the uHimaJe resolution favourttble to the pl:tintifJ' (who 5hunl co,mpromise)mcan Il "flnlll yiclory" ror him. Kiddtr nolts: Ooe I3ndlord 'pent fIve years seuing an eviction decree on his Icnaul, only to have the 'uc!CI1ted' tenant disappear lYith the kcy. IIc thcn karncd flom the police that the tenllnt could tnil), keep him aU! of the houIo for ~t lensl tWQ yens just by lDanipul~tln& police cVlction pro~cdures. Me~l\while, tbe IlIndlord eould 001 evcn . collect lent on the propefiy. RobliN L, Kirlrler (J9~J) Over-recourse lind non· recourse to courl$ is thu, rdated 10 whnl Kidder caUs "the railure of the .dJudieative idcnl." In his view Ihis failure is beller uplalned by referenec to the .trueture of "adversarial rel:atioosbips" ralher Ihan through v.lue·incompatibillty ~ypothesl. lik.e Cohn's, This is so because the pattern of tOnlpromisc lind delay IJ eeither "expected" nor .....alued.. by the court·useu lind because ,ucl1 a pattern is fllr from unknown in practice to American and BrlU5b lilillloli. The opposilion belween 'culluml' and 'Jochal structural' approaches hn been a f3n1l1iar theme In le&1I1 anthropology (Moore: 1966). In the present COOtut, Kidder', analYIl1 does oot quite join ilSue with Cohn',. A, Kiddcr hilllseJf lIatei. his research was conductcd ",n tbe courll of B:II~Blllore My.orc ,late, with lupp1cmenlary olncrVltllona made ill kSl(~r couns in ~utlYlnB dl&u/cls." How much the "outlying dIstrict," opprollilIlate Coho', Senlpur "illale remains II mllUer of conJeloturc. De that , m., It mU$! be emphuiud thllt recourte, non-recoune 10 courll a• I , • del mu,1 be affected by II myriad of factou, some of which Kidder In OJ In nOle. The language of the law, phy,ical distance from court·sites, ecouomics or litigation, the nature of contention Illlu-partl!J arc a.lso 'ome of the relevant vuiablel bere. Kidder is ce:tl!.inly correct 10 question Cohn', "sertion thaI io a. cultureeoonieUituation the "Iudi:r.ns in response thought ooly of maoipulatin& the Dew ,ilu:ttlon Aod diu net \1$e eourll to settle. dilputu but to further them" (Cohn. 1959: 155). Such a vieW, IccordlllS to Kidder (with whom Ihi' writer agrees) miljuug.eJ "the imporlUnee of cOamel.,. cnnitrucu ... e fOlce in IO~III laterlction" ud allo ignores "the opportunity ,tructure wbleh il crcl1t(u by 'yllem, of formnl ndjudlcll.tion" (Kidder, 1973: 31). The. lIuportance of confllct as a "conltructivc forec in locil!.l

~ne

I'I!OPLe'S LAW, OeV[lOr~II!Sr ... NO JUSTICl!

J

IIcllon" Ilin been ImagillJttil'ely eltl'loreu io IwO rtcent worh by Ananu Chakrnvuty (1975) nnd Miriam Sharma (1979). TIIl:se 'tudlC! depIct Ihe celiltion between tile nllture o( dispute and their procCl$iOIl witb rden:nce to power r~lntlons anu trllnsfarml1tions of power relation! and structure In rural India. Growtb of new patterns tif leAdership and authority becomes signlfitllnlly related ta dispute behaviour lind ..... Ilys of ch:mnelling and eontrolling it. Ability of II faction leader 10 delh'er 'justice', by atUlcking bial or Inertia or hostility on the pan of other ludcrs (who 1c3d or influence communilY IIdjudication) seems an importlint source of legitimnlion of lelldenhip IInu Illlihority (Chllkt3Vtltty, 1975). This i. what ,eems to bc happening when we: look at dispute from II $oeil11 slructure Itandpalot. Whtll we look at dispute process from the IIctor's point of vlcw we lind .omc tendfQcies towards '(orul11 ,hopping'. In other words, di.putaoll in m05t cases do teelll to retllin till:: finlll Option whethfr they will resort to II third puty intervention nod if they 50 do whetber the third party agency would be 11 cUle pnnc.hayat or a village one or nYll1tJ panchD),Qts or offici31 eourlJ (Sbarmn, 1979). Of course, Ihe choice is cjrcum5crib~d 1301 only by lhe 'cultural' or 'pollticnl' factors but also by 'cconomic' ones. For vcry often, recourse 10 any third parly intervention cosis moaey (even calling of b,;otlori or panehayal is in same cases expen$ive); and recoursc to SLS agenclestriblll police ud courlS-oftcn requires subSlantial Investment for al1 Ihc parties involved (Sharma. !97f1; Chakravuty, 1975 mention at mlloy places the example. or bribery and extortion by agenls of NSLS).

E,o/liotion The ul,leQec of mulli·leaaHlm in dispute letllemenl i, a problem caliing for expllanlltion only becaule of lomt undedylnK value prem i!e, not very often made uplidl. The relationship between fbe "loclIl law-wnys" lind "lawyer's law" (Cohn, 1965) can be (j) marked by contplemclltllrlty lind reciprocally reinfotch'c co·existence and (ii, characterizcd by eonftlct lad tension. resu!tlna in a millcl!.rlrage of justicc·yalues embodied in ehher or both. One', unaflieulated perception of this rellllionship (which inevitable must be a mixed rather tban a pure type) lod the bedrina of it to the nttninmcnl 01 vnlues of the eODslituhoosl1y desired 'ocial order, is cutain 10 inDuenee Ihe evaluatiOD process. AI the Ihruhold of evaluaflve procclS. ooe is certainly confrOtlled by Coho's thoughtful observation that "Ihe greatest PI' in Ihe study of haw in relation to lociety in iudia Is, gencrally .peaking. in the area of the relation of local law-ways to tbe all Indill lellli t'ulture lad Ihe sludy of tllb cuI/loire by nothropologlus and ~odoloilst!" (Coho, 1965: 118). In the face of such a gnp, how is one to formulaic 511tlsfilCtodly II picture of the relationship between ·'/Oc.,llaw-ways" find

• SOCIOLOOY QP L...

..v

"tbe c:vnlunlh'll process is {",be conslucnt

the "Inwyu'slnw" in Indil! 7, Oul prcci~dy luch n picture b requited if wilh the minim!!1 (:osnilion of the subject of cv;duation.

True, ODt! citn c:.nlt or dcnil!.r~tc 'loc31 l>lw.ways' in p~tliculnr in5t~nccs. The inddent of n cowherd who comnultcc.lthc motU.! ",in" of I~crclly tohu.billng whh the l}rnhmin's young third :-vife unt! who compounded it by teniag the landlord's hOUle by the /fO/l/ dnor (in)tc.1d of the usually permittcd bl1ckJoor entry nnd exit! ',csullins iu the youth', cllSlratioD lod murder, is II shocking iostance of the lynch·jOilicc of the IOCllI 'laww~)'$' tGoui". 1955: 40: Cohn, 1965: 90). Contrus( this, however, with tbe almost idyllic manner of dilpute settlement in 11 single cllte Imlln village of Maillna, iavol'ling n kind of pnrticlpa.lory democracy In teaching. substantive outcomcs in dispute ,itulllioni (Cohn, 1965; 83). Conttast thh, lon, with the oil· India legal Iystem demaDdioi almost heroic p:lIience and fortitude fot the jU11 plaintiff who is rewarded with 1I judllment which he: find. so diffie:ult to enforce:;u in the handlold'i ClUC delcribed by Kidder. But conflicts of value AD even deeper tban those contrast, between .tate and nOD-St:t!C law indicale. R. S. Freed (1912: 4:3.35) has presented onc aspect of such eonnlcts in her study .of village, Ii,f~ in North India Ihrough tbe case of Maya. Maya, II. mllmed bUl IlliCitly pregnant girl. WIlS killed by her father beclluse he believed tbat his Dharma u father oblit:ucd him to do $0 for the spi ritual well·heint of ber ,oul. The looner ber .,illful phase in the cycle of births and deaths wu terminated, the benef would her prospeeu he. in the. eodlelS cycle or birlh aDd rchilll!. He: rtasoned alia thai Maya, if allowed to live, will be ex_communicAted from the village society and eod up as a cheap urbllD proilitutc, II. life full of unmitiptcd misery. Every body in both her in-laws' aod village Igreed-so m.uch 10 that two or the kinsmen of MI.)'a', father who were poliee eonslgbles did not do anYlhing to aeti· Vita \egal process, The police visited the "jllalc twice but did nothing. Village law Wlls here in shllrp antithesis to state law: aod the Illlter, more or less yielded to the (ormer, D/lormo thus conccived, is tbe legi~lmatlD& principle of this NSLS which di'lerges sharply frnm tbe democratic belief . ystem sustaining the SLS. . ' . Not all experimcnl~ in local law and justice rlllse perplelllag pbilolophical eonnielS as the ease of Maya. Some: iJ!Uslrate merely unredr~ed forms of Iynch·justicc as the well·documented ease of tile cowherd 1,1Ius. tnttl. He WAS first ustraled nod thcn killed for this "sinrul" behaViour; no official uction followed (Gough, 19jj; 010 Cohn, 1965; 90), Eumples of lynch-justice abound. These indicate: tlte coun te rvlliling power of Ulle and locn! not.blu over the state It8111 .y~lem . On the other hand, \\'ctl.orpniled local legal sy'l~ms mllY often ~lmo~t altogether 'ousl' titt IInle legal ."tem' and provide An almost Idyllic

rtorul'$

'1w, Or:...t:I.0r~I£NT AND JUnlcr.

altcrn:tliv~ u is Iho~n loy l.ok AJ,s!at (l1curtc's COUll) in

77 R.-.nBPIJr,

North OUJllrot-o tnh~1 b~lt of nbout 10,000 villogcs mOstly irrndialed by the SamlliaJa (/il. uplift of 111) ideoloJ;y of bh"DJOfl and ,rQ/IIt/a" ("oluntary gifts of land nnd villllGes for redistribution for common lue). Almon ,II di~putes in Ihe region IIrt referred to the uk iMoll. In the lost 2S years, it has settled mOre than 2j,OOO disputes. The Vet\' factlhllt ~he: case Is brought before it is often enouth II Valid ,round fo; IIdjourn. 109 proceedtng~ in omeil\l courts. Adjudication is nltlrked by substantial public partl!;lp:uion ; ea!;b ,enion if IIttended by 300 to 400 villagers. The Court', decision! lire nre1y dIsobeyed, This Is because of their intrinsic fairness nnd community involvement. 1.0" Hne WllyS, Ihil Court I1chievcJ a quality of jUJtke ,till ~ought ror by the IIAle IClal system: for example, it more effectively protectl womcn's equal ri,hl~ of inhaitance, matr,imorUol properl,y, etc, The Court', criminal justice I)'$tem already pro\'Ides for effe(lIve com~n5.iltion for the vi(tinu of crime, which is still on the lellishllive anvil of lite "lite legliisyslem. lIS rehubilil31lve techniquCllre much more advanced in $om~ r~speclJ: a murdl':rer is ' punished' to look nfter the widow and minor ebildren of tbe victim for • term of yellrs under close iupen'ision of the 10(81 community ..... 1t~rc3s b:s impri5nnnlellt in Ille officialleglll syJlem would have rendered bOlh families dutitute. The !.ok Ada/al cxperiment also iIluslrates other dimensions of ~ela.tioDsbip between the 5131e and non·Sl.ate lepl systems, Often, dispute institution. ,eoeTine nnd 6u&tnill broad·bllled lender~hip pill/ernl whieb promole developmelltal IFti'itks-both economic and loda'. It WIl) through his ro le M n medilltor in ,'illnge disputes tltut the lender of Lok Adalal, Shri H. Parikh (nn eminent Sancodo)'o worker> Ilinined legltimncy, nnd II dcgreCl of eharl'ma. In turn, he uSed uk tlda/at to tranllale hir vision of loclo-economlc reforms by maklog it • vehkle of reform· oriented ndult education. He. made thc adjudicatory occasions inlo educlltional onel, both through fU;lual decisions lind plain preaching on many themes-fltmily planning, iII·cff~ts of overaonsump_ ~lon . of ~lcoholio drinks, honesty in credittrllnSAction., ch·jJ IibeTties, ~ rratlon~IIlY of belief in wllchcrllft. equality of women, I\griculturlll mnovalton, CIC. Today, the area of about 1,000 \'illagC'.!l ha$ wilnc5!icd re~n r.kable soclo·economie changes partly fOltered nnd sustained by tbl, kind of didllclic adjudicalion. In Ihis sen.e, perhaps more has been nehieved by mobilization of lay ju.tiee for development than by Insin. ence?n adoption of professional justice, III is illustrated by the stlltc', abort/vc a!tempts lit formalizinG "llllIge jUlti!;~ through the Slatutory IIYoyo pont},oyars. (.ce Uni, 1976:1, 19112). . The lAk Ada/at is not no isolated phenomenon, althoullh it may be in le~et.l respects, unique. On II ltlser scale, qulte:l few luch uperimenls eXISt. Moreover, oat too diuimilBr functions {of promotin8 welfar!!,

"

SOCIOLOOY 0' LAW

developnlcnt, II alII! mobility) have been nnd lin: being flerformed by Jail panc:haYMI 'caUe dispute ;n~tilUtinntlllS noled lIy Stvet:tl ItlciologiSlS :and anlhroftO'ogi1!i, When Ihe;; flcrrt~lm s\lch functionl, 111 they increllsingly do, both in 1l(\judiJ;4Iory llnd olher contcxts, lhe jail pJllchmyals supplement thc role of ,stale: in.bringing nbout soci~\ clltlngc, ~llhough they do so on Ihc blui. of calte loyalty .nd patronngc. It would be mislelldlng to aSSume that conflicts between Sill Ie and IOCR!

Ie,a' orders 3fe merely conflicts of ,:.luUi there nrc also contlicl' of

,

i

root'LC's L\W, Of VI LOI'M~1'IT AND Jun lell

.r

y

!;ell~:e~~~vye '~fc of ~nCiliotjon IIUnl$ the growth :lnd refinemenl u life; It dul1J Ih: :~i;~:~uA:r:~C too;uII;/n complex, communIty

illlerem. Adoption of conJlitutionni values naturally calls for J3crilkc of pCrlon:a1 or ,roup intere," which ,m: c\cllrly nOlllcccpt.blc 10 th05t 111 positions of higher dillS, status or power. Some would even lay Ihll.l wbltille spok~n of as viliutl art nothing mort than tlltionallxations of inlere.sll of vcsted interest groupS, We must al.o note that the limits of $llIle pow~r, aUlhoril), and law are 001 sctjusl by vlI.luts and lnleresLS but lI.l,o (and p~rhapJ no 1m decisively) b), Ihe level or organiutlon of efforts, Most'develupiIlB' tQuntriCli lire poor (appallingly so. lIS in the case of Inub. where :r large aurnbtr of people do not have menns of bare lubsistence); we immediltely perceive that the level of properly affects adveue1y the reich of ,laIc IIIW nnd Ihe quality of its justice. (nvcstnlcnl In Adminis· Iralion of law lind jU\lice is not (and probably C:lnnol be) a hiah priority item in nluiOllll1 budgets of poor lOc1etiu at the very time when they havc to resort to the m3chinery of Inw 10 fusler locial change in dcveloplng locieties, All this mcan., of course:. Ihal there arc not enough cOllrlJ, constable. Ind lawyen-cnrrien or offidal la\ll-In poor locielie" Thu,. ror uampie, In Indin (according to one estlmllle) Ihert IIrc only IS3 law· yen pct one million nr Ihe populalion III Oillinst 507 lawyers In the United Klnp,dom, 1.595 in Ihe U,S,A,. 947 In New Zealand. 638 in Auslralla. and 769 In Canada.. Indeed, lome ItTell1 In India h3ve no lawyers It .11; nnd /J1I~r I~ dislribullon of Illwy~n within India reveals even 'Iriking di.parities (Galanler, 1968·69: 201). As regard. pollce, in 1911 accordln! to the official estlmotes. there wllS one policeman for every 800 penons in India; bul the distribution is uneven belween the ruml and urban cenlr~I, The llveraac jurisdiction or a police. Ita lion is about 200 squ3re milcs covering 100 viHnlc5 and II. populallotl or appro:dmlleiy 1S,OOO peuona. It waf rslimlltcd io I'> 50s that pollee lIallons \litre, on Ihe IIvclage. about 8 miles from any viUlIge (Ollyley. 1969: 19·80). The ilate \cgal ,y~lem, pelvl\~;ve in urban lI.rtn. il only sltnderly present in rurailireu. The Inw Yi~lbilhy or ,late lellli ~yatem, and its 5lender prnenee rende,. officiall"w (ill vlillue, and proctlscs) inltCcouible ~nd even ifrtlev~nl for pcople. Olhcr facto •• huch III Inc I.nlua,e of Ihe law, which if :\Iiel\ 10 ahoul QS rercent of th~ 1,coplc) compound ..... ~ I...... n,1 neoole,

"

All these vndnhles make the relntionship bttw~cn SLS nd NSL.S very COn'f1r~X 3(f'Jir Palling cmpJriclllly informcd cnlu ~ rt recourse to nprioriuie or i~eDl08icnl b:15iA, IVhelher in l:rm~t~Ut' one ~,n .deal of Ram·Ro/J'o or In terOlS of Ilcnderson', an31' sll Gn.n.dhl 5 d,m ,', '" of Ir:ldltlC"r.~1 C'oncilintion and the .rowth o P . , . .. ')cra IC tga tly, • • Henderson Ii crlll4lUc or Ihe Japanese SI!UIJlory "oncUj~tio m (Chotal) may weU be extendcd mil/otis nIllland,S" to Ihc iOdige~ou n/ysle settlement proceSJes in Indin : s 'spllle-

of I , ahl . cuenlJlIl I to Ihe alii. t mny nl50 allow old rulel , , preJudiCes. which nelll ruin a.nd •11l I I . .l nnl 'Deial t(l nbolish. 10 innucnce the OU1C:: o/g;.llIl on , have _soughl .1I0w II new rClime to ignore Ihe law in rl~pules, . or I~ mny olhcts word" con.:ili:ation is fie'lh our of Its pollc)' .. In e prinCiple; it is simply Unptin~iP~~dcon,',crvativ , nor p ro 8 re nh'e In 'h' . may avour Ihe P'W Cu, o~er I e weak. In thc nlme or ba. ,. " " cr lilTs to discount their e\3ims' It TI:unlng, II ordltllltily rorces plain. mn)' opernte to com pro ' I vind1c:alion

IClIlc Rroup interests which migl'lt be mIle arge re-form legiJIarion In Ih,,, '.""1 ' b,eltcr h:lndled by forthright " . , I 11\lon I only an ad' " lubstltute for • II le.,1 ord~" Junet ' to, nOt " I re Ie upon u.c: ss'" merely nnn.legll-il hIlS IIntilegal I e I\e y, It Is not g work 10 protecllhe voluntary n le 31, nol volunIIlT),. conelliatlon will lik I t b . on and If 11 IS II. standllrdlcss ule or f~rce e y 0 ecomc In prllclice simply

,.d"r "d

charlc~~ru ~~"~~n:~~et~

fr~m~.

Hcudenon ouHinc.s live si,ua~ion' (lhI'd 2"~':j,/~t"dt,~o,, (}9JO: 141) "will produce quiek and' .." In which condliatioo Incxpenllve fC~Ulti" h . to secure through IdjudiClttion H' Ii p~r IIpl dlfficull clement, numely "Ihe ractu:tland I I~ ]Ve,Silu3lions have one common clear 10 Ihem dU~inllhe pr~cc$~," ela P051110ns of Ihe flJrtic.s become The above sott or ~flprai$lll can b

tOotl'llSlS between 'concililltion' and

'd~ 5:~n t~

be based on idelll.typo OT. between (in our emerging Ilre clcar Ilnd common he baSIC Ide3(-tYI"leal conll1lst$ thus settlement processes mllY ," enoug • namely, Ihlll indi{:cnou5 dl'JtUle· " . ow room for 'p 'd' d' pnncil"letl" .Ieterminuion Ihat', rCJU ICC Tilthcr thlln between pllrties. that In I~me ~II ~~r ib~ 5w~ycd ?y power cliff'm::nlilll, lypkallevlIl. the cnsc rorslructllrln }' Il S Ilnll!egal, And I1t lin ideal· the OIltionRlle&\l1 order is el , g nd co~finln8 locallnw.ways through

conle~.t) NSLS lind SLS orden, Thl JU ~en,llon'

o

car y II. compflhng tine ul ~uch a conclu.lon need5 to be ehcckcd II .

Icgal systcm IIccent"",' •• d'''' lIalnll a model tlf MlrOnnl luerenl n,pccU (b h ' , reill/ly rather thnn my",) A 'd" e ~V.tlUT (.!Iher that vlllue . • rc 11,1 c nl nnd! .,' ,. . enllnenlly grounded in 'prln . I . egiS :HIve deCISions prc· CIP e (lither than in 'prejudice' ? (Whnen

'0

SOCIOLO(;\' OF 1..0\ v.

,he Incollduslve but \Jnending cnnlroveny over 'rellioned clubQftatlon' Ilid 'llculr3.1 principles' In Amcrirnll CQn5tituliollni law Ii'crillurc). Ale the nlltion:'IIl.lw.W:t~S sub!llInliatly (rcc of 'old prcjudicn' c:lnccltinll the objcClivd of loci;!1 (It:!n.!;!: through lotIY? Do no power dirrerentials between advcfSnriu aWeet leg1\ initintions [Inti outcome)? Does nOI Ihe volume of Qut-or-court seuicrncn15' in civil CoUtS, lind of picabargaining in crimill,,1 mllners, (on trust sharply with the adjudicative

.dvc:rs:),ry ideal 'I And can one ignore the ,.rowing blilk of evidence. of 'lyoch.juSlkc' in lodino police ~ll1tion. Ilud jl\i15 ? Thul: arc bi, quulionl but sociological studies of natioollilegal ordefs hllH! beGun to point 10 the glent gnp between rhetoric nod re:llily, between Jlrocl:lirncd objectives and dysfunctional procenC:5 and fcsull1, The loson 10 be drliwn from Illesc parliallllld unaDilla tlploralioos is not Ihn! thert ore no 5isnificsnt dirreren~s between nalionallnw· w nys (lnd loc.I1aW'WIlYs f/lll Il1nt Iflue: dljfrftllCC1 em." p/ "tgrtlJ fallu" ,ftIJIl 1'1/ kflld, Moreover, the He~denon·t)'pe critique of indiaellous dispute·$cU!entcnt 'system,' demands $ubsllntlal nttcmpls at empirical veritication, resdrd· len or Ihe poulbllity thnt the contrllSl between SLS nod NSLS m.y hllve been OYerdrllwn. The relevant question, arc: 1. What features of communilY life nccount for, even if partinlly, the persistence of llnd chnoges within ind igenous legnl systems (NSLS) 7 2. To whnt ektent are tbe NSLS tied to p~tternl of loeal dom;n{lnce 7 To what eXlent do Ihey approximate 10 Weber's plllrimonifll lIod trndi· tiona\lJlic authority types 7 In otbcr words, whal is ~he diltance between these systems And the legal rAtional luthority ttructuru operative on the 'wider' community 1 3. What .orts of ehloget ocrur 1I'(,h/lI rhe5e indigenous legal sYltefllJ 'I Arc some of IhCl~ such as to IIttract the hypothuil thlt le",1 chlllil: doel no~ occur in reilltlvdv simple soelelle. (Posp1511, 195") 1 Wh(l.! typcs of ethnographical materials do we need toellp\ore the dlmenilons of quali. tative change. within such legal system.'! 4. Whllt is the r~I:1I1ve inciden«. on Il.Yailable data. or the ",I;lndard· leu use of force" (Ivnch·justicel II IIgaillll the incidence of the 3pptic~. tions of the stlndards of subllantive legal ntionillty (hdl.justice) '! s. Is there nny evidence_ in Ilvlliloble IitWllure, 10 support the view Ihat indigenous adminillration or justice lends to blunt the 'dghts· consclousneu' of the members of aiven communitiu. 6. Whll impact. ir nny, do the indlgeooul legnl ,ysttms hl'le on the developmental objcclivt5. resources and mCII.,ura of the 'wider' commu· nity (relion, Itale, Ilnd nalioo) 'I How do such .ysttlUI .rreet, ror example, (a) the communic.tion of national and 5talewide le,.1 valueS, stllndllrd" precepts. and norm. (sec Irvin Kaplan, 1965); (b) the intcirit~. morale nnd role structuring of the 'agent" of the

rr.ort.I!'s t.Aw, DI:\'I!t.OrMCNT AND lusuer!

81

'wider' le~n1 community including lawyers (sec Khl\re 1912)

~::Im:.als~;~)a~y lind

police (Dayley. 1969;

Cbakm~·lIrt~.

1975;

(c) 'wid the attainment or Ie 11 . . sa y pur5ue d dCYelopmenl~1' 80als of the er community say. HI rellilion to agrari(lll reforms I\. . welfare measures such 115 the abolition or 'unto!lchabIJiI,~r1 social s Importanl as the studvordisp I . I . study or fivoid3nce fl.v 'd' ~ ID5! lutlons and prOteS5C$ is thc • • 01 IInce 0 disputes nr reeou ,' d Inlc:rvc:nt;on in disputes' "fi rse to t tIT pany transrormation. A the~U I~nt bearing 011 the alubt, ,hi,ISoan ideal picllHt. Ncverlhclen, "in theory publicopinion don not allow indlviduob to fiahl out their quarrels by themselves, and any mAjor outbreak of violence normally resulu in proccedings before II competent panch" ({Md., 111). The Sanlhuls of nihar (notable for their 'lioo~' rebellion of 1885 uBainSl fraudulent moneylender., rapacious tux collc.c/ors, including police) hue been, during landlords. aod eruel lind corrupt lhe COllrse of long history, an "encapsulated" !libe, which bas been able to maintllin. dupite intensive tontllct, ils own culturel identiry and herilage. The headman, mostly hereditary, perrorm5 a key leadership role among theSanthal. Ilt the village level. The role of the hetldman is indeed very complex II he i. IIOt jUJl the key adjudicator of dispultt but he Is alJo an 'adminiSlrator among otben, of the vililgo and also an artieulatio& link bel ween Ihi. community lelr-regulation and lovernmental development prolramme: he in ract act. also .. a village pradhtJtI, II bUrellueralic ageot (Somers, 1918). !lut io terms of our prc~ent concerns the headmllo', role specifically requiru (i) protection or collective rights, (iI) protection or individual rigb!), (iii) eflSuring perrormllncc of collective dulies, and (iv) containinl devlllDce lIod eo.uHin, commitment 10 Santhn\ community and culture ({bid., 193). The headman workl tbrough villilge leaden and in collaboration with his counlerparu in olher village., The "Santal headman is 1\ reeogniz.ed catalys\ in the process of attoining conscnsus," He represents tbe "customs lind ex.pecl:ltlons or the IncellOTS whOle rule. of behaviour afe considcre(!- corrcct"; the customS of ancestors !lre considered "guiding principles." Htadmen hove often rcsianed their position when thoy ,cern to the "administrative ciders" or to the people unable 10 perform thIs role, In mllny way_, Santhnl cullure happily combines egalitarianism and participatory decisIon-milking. willi ddereoce for sse and soniority, and for the call1.lytic role orlhe he' lilian. Tbi. cur!ory overview prescnts a proBle of the rich vll.rlely or rejimc.t Ind illstitutions of lodigeDoUJ cu.tomuy [~w. Tho DIl.IUre and runction of dispulc inJtitutioo, "rc rehued 10 the variable of locial organiutioo,

,'

8B

1JI.1IlAL LAW ... ND IUSTtet

!OCIOLOC't OF YW

.!;uri.n enterprise, culluf,,1 values ,md even cosmogony. Anthropoloai-

jf nt all, the jail motleb or IIIW, adjudlclllivn and jU5liC"c influence $uett CJ[crdsCl in hJcn\lty realignment 1 Thc fo/eaclOa indiCJl.lionJ and qUCf,lions undcrscorc the need for. 5u5uincd IYllematic cxami[llllioo of Ille relation belwecn people's law nod stlltc Inw, and the under/yioi: v"lue Ind ideology conlideratioDs. No genuine understanding or the .otinl chlnge dynamics through Icgal pltualism is po5Sible without sueh clTorlt.

ca.t studies do nOI, by lind huee:, anAlylt the nature and scope of IDtcreclion between indigenous IriballoSlilulionJ And l.1w lind the 51:1.Ie law, We hive a few tidbil$ of Information concerning iOiCrlc:lion between the two legal IY$tCrril. Introduction or cluh flne, represents 001 just the moneliz!ltion of ulbnl economy bUI nt!o the 1mI'm::! of the stille legnl ,yuem 'sloek·ln trnde' rntituilvc nnction. The prevention of tbe practie-I: of hend·hunting aOlollg NagRs, Dod the actual disuse of Ihis sanclion, is I dirtct eonsequence or the imposition of ,tale law as on ioiti;ltOr of chllogc in the indigenous 1uw. The refercnce, in most situatioos. of murder to Ihe .[~I~ criminbl justice system by the ind!i~nolll .y.tem i. '" fair meuure of acceptllllce of the hegemony of the St..S in certain areu ovel NSLS. Out I' the Santhal situation I\lustrillu the Sl.S 1111$11 negative face for mo.1 tribal! perhllPJ not bCCl.UIie of tbe problem of differiog culturlll mode$ but due to the maDlfnl corruplioD ilnd cruelly of iI, Ilon-triblll ngtnll-the police , pro,eculor' lind In some CIlStJ even the COUIIS 'alto see Onxl, 1976b, 1982 on the R~lIllpur uperience; Elwin, 1943). We also Icarn from Ihese 51udies eoncerniDg the differences Ind simll.ritiesln conceptions of ju.tice nod its relatioo to power. The moral and jurnl double staodnTdl of Kooyak Nagu :lre pcrhDl'I1 atypical: but tbe SUi in iI, enforcenleo t of low aod ndministratlon of justice is not mucb removed from the Ittuified justice of KODyak Nagu. in 10)' calil:, the concern for harmony. favouring the resourceful over the underprivileged througb a careful elaboration of the law found amongst tbe Raj Goods olTers almolt a paradigmatic description of the Indian Ilnte Icgal,ystcm (SLS). H is doubtful If there u.isu for the enlire tribal popuilltioo or India lIny dillioctlve conception of jUllice ; there leelll to exist. however, dinlnetlve types of cooceptions of jultice among tbem (Furer·Haimendorf, 1967). These need 10 be examined in rclation to conception. of jUltice manifest in the vilh"ae Ica;aJ system. and those manifest in Ihe SlS. The impact of the constitutional .ollcltude ror tbe .cheduled trihea over the internal political and judicial procelle. of tbe tribal Iflitem, abo remalol to be uamined. Aothropoloaical studies h....e rdtcrated that tbe "clear aod expcctable" dire SOCIAL cosaOL

sententinl behllviour, the practice of plea-bargninl", (where the accused p!ddl Builly rather than r~ce fulllri41). orgrH1i~ed crime, jails und olher ~todiat instltutionl, police:. etc. The5t $ludic, lend to show that the 111l1n~'C:n1ent lind npplicalion or ~:\lIctietn$ lind the: working of the overall

apparatus

or the IlIw AS. means of social cC!ntrol

IS

far from neutral and

lmpartialnnd works very un~yeDI)' a$ amongst various seeton of popu·

lation.

97

5OCLQt.OOY 0' LAW

,6

We cannot cnler this realm of deb ale here but inICrC5(ed rcaders

rnay find recourse 10 the (ollowing urdu'l: L. Taylor tt 0/ .• 1973, 1975; C.t. Relloo, &. R M. Rich (191$) ; R. ~rown ct al. 0978), G. Hawkin. (1978) ; 1. Radtinowicz &. J. King (1919); T, S. SlIlSZ, 1963. 1970; K. Mconiler (1968). II ;s in thi, conlcJ.t IhlU one docs hayc to lament the pant-ityor litcrature rc[lccllog scholarly indifTtrcllt;e 10 the Ttlliity of Ihe law nllI PleIn! of ,0001DI conlrol in In dill. Much or criminoloaieo.l literature is llon-empiric:J.\ and obul5cd with '1uc5tlon~ like Ihc 'cnusnlioo' of crimu Ind 'theories' of puoidlnlcnt. Eyco hcre tIle literature ~encnlly repro· duces Weslern wrhiogs wilh maraloal rderences to Indian situations. The r~suh is IhlH we Inck original or critiealthinkins concerning the fole of Illw in it& ordering and conltol RSpects as well of ongoing empirical e7iplOralion of Indilln socia-legal reality (sec, c_g., the 'stllodard' tutbooks on Indian criminology by Sethnn, 197t; Siddique, 1976). There has begun to emerge lome broadly empirical work in recent yenrs in India on some typical criminologlul c.oncerns, to which we now turn. PdsollJ

The literlture on prisonl is rather vlried. Some of it Is autobiographical eHber 00 Ihe lide of prison adminiuratorl (see Jor Asaodbo. 1975) or on that of penons dela;oed in jill (sce, r.,., Tyler, 1977; Na),ar, 1978; LewiS,197S). This body orUtcrature provide~ lome very worthwhile insiJ,hts of life in prisons from a tOI:11 pen;pectivc which, in the Dalure of tbings, empirical work cannot often provide. The other kinds of literalure is provided by du:criptivc accounts of prisoncr's \"crccpttons concern· iog prison resimes. NOl3ble works in this genre include S.P. Sriyutava (1977). N.H. Advani (l97SI and VidYIl Dhusnn (1910). To thil list miCht be added Ihe enrly work of n.K. Bhattacharya (l95S) aDd the molt recenl work by R,N. Datir (978). The third 'sroup of writings on jll;1 condition. are found in tbc Ihapc' of occllIionlllartic.lel lind nolel, moltly in PIlICS of lhe Economic ami Political Wctkly. Notable lImong thcle In m:enl years arc the uposc of .Iub·jail tSlraihla Jail. Slnlbhum dISlric\: SInha, 1977). and Seeml Gubll'. note on non·eriminallunll;t,I In Indian jail. (l97S). And the fourth catcgory of Htertllurc is provided by orocln! rcports, e.g .. Il huge number of repom of rfccnt eommluionJ of cnquiry, repom of jalllldministratioo and .tudy tenm! and gtoupll. The 1937

rcport of the: lIudy 1~;ITIl set up b~ the Centr.,1 Goyernment il or

5OCIOl.Q(lY

O~

LAW AND SOCIAL CONTII.O[.

LAW

lu\l:ll1, 1919:1). or these three nrt:!$. we h~rl'cn 10 have iome literature on Ihe IirS! ucn ; lhe Iwl,! Dlhen :lro in n Siale of relllli"'l: ncg1ccl.

Even liS fCa:I1dl the tribes. duiBnnled by colonial powers .1 'crimilllll' first Ihrous;h n RcSuhnlon in 1773. then \Hldcr the Aet 30 of 1816, we hid: ~omllreh"'l1si\"c und .. rstnndinj; of why were lndh·idllnlJ

"

or grou('I$ so dc.IIILlJtcd "ltd what precisely W;'!S their prellious 111I.\U5. Some lIulhorilies in~i~1 th:ll groups Ihus I.ksign,llcII \1Ierl': indeed the ori2in:11 inh:r.htlanl. nml 'owners" of I~C territory. We do nul him: any authorillllivc Ioocio·kaal anlllYSi$ of the pre.hislory and history of the legal contral o\'cr 'criminal' tribes or the o(IpctJ:llion of the 1836 Act. Nor,

lioee Independence do w~ b;\V~ liD)' sy'tc:nmtie studies ofihe imj»let of the I~w rcpeahng the s\Jtu, neribed to the tribe. by the 1$36 Ae!. ID whit follows, wc rcfcr 10 lomc 1l\'1Ii111b1c liter-Hulc. P.C. IhtWlt (19(.0) ullmined the Saulis of thc ex· Delhi 5!lIte. It is a rigorous cnlpiric:al mltly but does not discloJSe much dllll! concerning tile iml"llet of the Act. lis aUHislie,,1 profiles of crime by Silulis is an agarcanled one for the period 1935-1951 (IbM .• 9S], )JUI it docs c;obtllin some inform.1Lion on Ihe plluern of crimes nmon" the S~n,il U at 1960, One important findioB is that the frequcncy of "habitu31 offenders in the adult males of the whole Sonsi popullttiol1 is not very high" : it "comu dowo to only 3.06 p.:r et:nt". BUI we do nol know whethu Ihis represents II 'Dormal' stale of nOniu or it arises as a result of tht fact thai the police Irtalthe S:msis 115 a criminal trihe although they hnve Ix!eo denoli. 6.ed. Tbere is nlso 0 "ugsution that Ihc SlInlis arc becominG aware of tbeir new ~UUUI nnd have rrol~'iled, on oCClilions, ngaiost police bigb·handedness and corruption (ibId" 161), Oul lheEt l'I'peeU receive II. ranln; menlion aad it Is dlnicuit to work out.my genernl mellsura or legal impnet on Ihis kind of nlSertivto~u or indet:d on fhe overnll ch1tnge in lhe 51nlus of the SlInsi,. Sh~r Singh Slier', Ilud), of Ihe SnnslJ of Punj~b (1965) provides intercUinl mllillical inforn1:lll00 C()ncernina reh,hili. t:uion of denolified tribes In Punjab. OUI it conlains no rilorou.llnaly.11 of lbe impact or Ihelr new lUlU! upon tbe oyerall patterns of ·crimi. balilY' and 50daillrueture of the Sansil. In a 'tudy of Ihe Yerukuln tribe in Andhra Pradeah, Y.C, SimhOldrj (1919) finds that eonlrlny to "tradilional opinion. all Yeruxula famllles arc Dot cr1mlnoI5," Indeed out of 11 tOlal populaliou"of 1.426 above fourteen years of age "only rHtecn pet ccnt nrc engnged in crimina l aClivlry." Also, Ihe tnle of crimlnnlity "Iecms to be deelining in the lensc tlUlt Ihere ure small number of criminal. in the younger tI~e groups." lie further finds IhnlllJndowncrship '\Ioes not help explnin I::rim;nality" as aboul fixty per ccnt of Ihe 'criminll' II well as '000' criminal' fllmilics OWII Innd. On Ihe other hand, "Ihere Ire 00 toJlege cducaled youlh amona Ihe criminals" suggCllin,1 ro»Ible eorrelll.lioD

,

\OJ

bcl ....'een rehllbilita.lion throush education:sl opportunlllcs ~nd criminal bchllyiour smollllhe ex-Cflmin01llribcs (Simh;ldrl, 1979: ISO-51). Simh· adr;'1 Ilu..ly nl$n hlahlighl' lhe eurrcnl I:n,ion concerning $ocllli statu! amonG the Yerukulaa: "while on the one hana, culHln.1 nnd socinl !>fcuures cOl'llpcllhcm to rej!!ct Chrlulanily und become II Hindu Cristo group, on the oth!!r hnnd, the PQlltical and cconomic benditi incline thc Yerukuli1! 10 bccomo a Schedl,l\ed Tribe" (Ibid, 154). While th~ author do<s not Ice the lignificance of this very obiefY"I;On in n~gating Ro'ocrt Merton'. theory (1968) of deviance to Yerukulas, be docs Rceepl that Merton', analy,i, m~y be relCyaDt for the ruture 10 ease "tbe innicution:sl means ror social lind \'I:r\ical mobilHy Itre not comnlen5urate witb Ihe cultur41 g0411 or ..pirations as enunciated in Ibe COll5litutlon" (Simhadri, 1919: 159). 00 the impact of Ihe repeal or thc criminallribC! legiilation, ~imha. drl'. tlonclu.lons IIppear ambigu,)us. He lind! elenly II. decline In Iminllllty amnnli Iho '{efukulrls. But ho also find. that the denotln~ ~~tion of ctiminal tribes hns, IU (ar II' the patterns of crimin,,1 behaviour life concerned, led only to changt: of locale: "with the repeal ... Ibey as a group were no lon8~r r~quired 10 report to the ('Iollee. Consequently, it became C4sier for them to travel any dis III nee In sm:1ll groups npd ind\llge in any type of criminal ,aelLvity" (ibid" 155, lJ6-32). He abo finds that thcre is "some eollu~lon between tbe pohce aad eriminllb." The Yerukulu "commit erimes nOI only to cllrn tbeir livelihood butiliso 10 pay fine'S and bribes to Ihc PanchaYllt and the police and a good proportion of their boot)' in thefl and bUralary. go~' towards mlintenance or tl'ttse aaende," (ibM .. 161). tn elCpoJiug Ibli aspect. simhadri Ilclps U$ underm,nd that the impulse 10 lead a life of crime of len may IIrise e,loacnously, and indeed through the acttvities of tbO!lc very iO$litutionl suppose.d 10 promote [!Iv.: and order. . The mlllntt:nanec of social cootrol wllhlll che Irlbal groups (dcslgn8led 115 'criminal', 'ex·criminal' or 'denotified') i. an ASpect which bas allo Ix!en touched UpOtl rathcr descriptively io IInlillble li\ernlurC. B,S. Bharpv, (1949) ba. bi;hlighted in his monograph the s~c~ia~ p~ob!~mS or maintenancc of collective or group norms among cnal.l01l1 tr1bts. The tribal p:anehnyatJ playa pivotal role in mainlaioing cohesion and mlln.ging eonflicls, The pllnebayal, ulong wilh the "gang organiutioa" (tho two being so closely coonected thaI "the one would nOI be. possible withoullhe other") wields "praclic"l1~ unlimited power oyer Ihc~~ person and property," The triballaw5, admlO!sttred by pDnchaYllts, provide for .eltlcment of disputes upto seven gcnerllilon5 to Ihe saUsfGeuon of all concerned." Thus, no tale is "time barred" althouah this mlly work to thc dlsadYllotalc of Ihe lU«euors who may well be innOCcul or Ihe offences such as n "the maldi~lribution or Ihe booty, lC:.1iUltion of lo~n

'0'

SOCIOLOOY 01' LAw

LAW AND SOCI .... L CONTM.OL

mj~lIl1derMunding" (ibid., 4!)). It would scem Ilml the pandusYDt'l principal50urce of Ilulhorit\"/ies ill the way il handle. dispute's concerning 1n~ldbtrlbudoll of Ihl: booty. The ilngs who pcrfvrm dn.coity mlly have entered into n Iptcilllllgn:e.

or any other sud,,1

mCI\I[ClShnrc the ~poih: .... hel1 IhM i'lj;fCemcnt is nr'It tlb~uyccl, tile p:lnch3Y;uS exercise [hdf POWCI"£ to resolve the dispute before them not with ref... r~nl;c 10 illdhidunl eontracts hut rather IhrouBh DI"PC;lls 10 lite lang-standing lrib:!1 convention, allu C."stOlnS, of which they ore nccepleti u true: custudinn$. Thi,. it has been 5pccul;lled, tcnds to "streoglhen the gllna orgalliullion" and fw:tcrs ~me kind of equality of bargaining power Among the vuln(':r:t\,J1e sroups In relution to the puwerful and domimull afOUl"' within the Ilibe•. I'nnchnYQt$ also administ~rconwen. !lons relnfcreiwe of tribal aolitbrity, In "well regulated aangs" all members I1Te individually lind jOintl), rupor..iblc for mu!ul1l $Dfety," indeed to lhe extent Ihllt in lome eues there exists 11 tariff (u nmona the Dbanlus) or cOl1lp~nllllion for injuriCl 10 nltnlbcri of Ihe Gaug. The custom;uy 13w preKribcs detailed descriptIon of injury IInd'tht; amount of compcosalion due (ibid .. Sl), 10 IIddition, tht: pancbnYl111 also administer outonOIIIOU$ bodies of tribal CU$\orru and laws. Disputes often invol\le questions of inlr,Hrib31 morality, adultery, outcasting and recalcitrance in obeyIng a paDchiLyal deci,ioD. The range of socil11 sanetions, p~rticul:Hly ,acini humilintion aod c~o,ure , Items to play an imporlJlnt role in the mllintenan~ of the p~nchIlYllt', authority. Among the aroups I!udled by Bhargsva, convening of pancllaYlltJ ca.n be In ellpensiYe affllir as the p(lIrcllUS lI.'eli vcned in tribal eUli!oms chllrae fces aod often tbe prllctice of hiriog advocates or IIsentl competent in tribal law and CUllom 1110 prove e:cpeollvt. 8hllrga. va. concludes that one of the lourcCl tlf panchlyal lIutbtl!ilY liu in the fact that the proceedinll beJote it arc not c1reu.p: indeed , hl$ lrJbnl respondenl$ ellpreued a belief thlH "if Htiplion before the panebaYllls is made cheaper, the efficacy of the judgmentl will propor!lol,lalely be reduced" (Ibid., 59). Simbadri'. IIudy of the Yerukulns (1919) also supports the for~lloing generul deKription of the pre-eminence of tribal pnnchaynts. liowever, he finds that Ihere hu been ao emergence of 'polillcllleaders' among the tribe. who handle mll.llUj relating to the tribe _with go\'ernruent aod the outside pollticlIl lcadwihip, lellvias to the ku/~ panchayat Ihe more treditional dispute handliag jurisdiction, He 0110 notlees the IS$OClation of poitlh:alleader' with ku/~ puchay:HI, White panchllyat members ordlnarUy dilcourase eommiuloo of ednlcs, Simhlldri found occalioo' where ID the face of inability of members concerned 10 pay (lnes (to be &hared by patlehayal meruben) "Ihe raoehllyal IUSICSlt thai I eriminal could eUBase in thert in the eUluina dark J~ys ill order to CIUD money" (Sinlhadrl, 1979: 1:2.-11. This 100 alfords I\n IIIl/sWIIIOD

,

lOs

of 1I1I1;11:001,lic rdatiun bctwcen ~tule II',~I 5)'\lcm' an.1 non'5lale leg:!l sy&tems. Crlmf'

,

~lld

PUl/blmwlI /11 Triball/lllla

Crimintllog;Ils lind penolog.ists in Indi:! h;\Ye 81~'ell $cnnt nllention 10 the problem of internction hetween "nle law and L1gencies on social cOnlfol and tribal settlements, While In many reif'ccU tbis can be said 10 be an area of culture. conOicl, one may also see the ",lithology of the !ltntt: locinl control system m05t aculely ill iu dealings .... ilh tribal populalionJ, Verrier Elwin's clll5sie MQr/~ Murder Qml SuIcide (943) i5 rarely referred to by Indian criminologistl whell they deal whh general problem~ of social eontrol through the lllw luch lIS the 'ell.u5:1IIon' of crimes or juslIllealion or punisbment. This senoeidal neg led of a sianif!!:ant 'eclor of Indl"'n people 001 merely dwnrrs todal understanding of distioctive fI:r;tors of Indian legal uptllence, It !lbo makes po$siblc n Illrady irrelevant Itlldllion of EUlocentric leachinlllnd research inlo eriminololY and penology 10 continue to thrive. For el[3mple, Elwin identlfiu the 'causes' of crime among Marias nOI just beliefs in the supernatural Of in witchcraft disputes over property, familial relationships (e~pc.:iall)' selluat relations) and alcohel but alro tbe phenomenon of "fatigue", fie describes fltigue as an "important indio vidual and mcsoloiical caU$e of crime wbich Is: largely overlooked io dis. cussion of the subjtt:t in India ," Flltigue is Ihat condition which ariscs as a "result of environmental conditions, "'ork or other circumstances that ,train the working cllpal=it), or and wllilngneu of Ibe individual and Olay in lurn produce leriuut changes, ~ome!jmcs of it palhological kind," It is only Wllh rererence 10 fatigue as (I fllctor that he is able to explain "&OOle of the .ttppuently ino",plluble aborilinal crimes In Bular" (elwin.

1943: 244). Elwin's analYlis of why people concenl murdcn from police, althouih made in 1943, it mOit ccrtalnly VII lid today bolh tn rcilltion 10 tribal population in r:ltticular and village people In leneral. The factors wbicb in[luem:c tbe Marin behaviour may well be typic~1 of mllny tribal groupinss, e,g., the feat of B "supernatural danger" of it "polt·mortem" ~nm. ination" and in l\lowing a corpse to be "buried outside the propel terrilory of the clan" or Ibe unwillingness 10 Icsllfy ngainst "powerful priest or It mltgic:ian" who il pOS$CSsed of effective powers of aVellail)1 But Bside from luch typical cultural facton, the otber reasons b:l\'e I more geoeral rrlevance lo.n understllnding of justice in triual aod rUrll India, Ffmly, Ihere i. tbe fcelin, of nutonomy in couDict baodlinS: the fcelinl tbat the group "sbould settlc cvcr)'thinSlhemlelvCl." SUDlldly, thil senle tlf aulonomy includCJ Il.uumplion or respon,Ibilil)

106

sOCtOLOOY Of' LAw

•

(0 decide thnt n murl.!cr nI~)' ~c JUllified in the light of community norms; EJ\\in flott' Ih~t the Murin ore. quite unwillina 10 "Quillihe pollct when the)' believe Ih~t:\ murtler lin. been Jll\lificd." ThirJly, Ih~re is the communicatIon gnp nrl~illC r~tlly out of n ~enle of the priv:u:y of the collectivity as well ;If diU/u.i1 of "RIc CourU. The lirat Is uprused by Elwin thuJ: "'he real rcm;Ul' ror cdille il $~lmelhlng

which Ihe Maria dislike rc\'cI1UOS in court nnd which they dC5p;tir of making out.sidc.rs undentnnd," The ,econp-distrust of cDurLs-ticl in the perception Ihnl a "distOlnt courl" con nc\'cr find oUllhe "re31 factI"; Daly • tribal courl ciln n$cert~in "rul (IICU" (If n silu:ttion. Fourtlr/j'.there is rnnge of purdy economic considcrlHions nrrecllng recourse to police, Thcre i~ the upcnse. for ualllple, or Dvoidin& Il postmortem e:'IlImtoalil;ln of the viclim; 1I0d the clf'(n$C And "w;lJte or limc" iD\'oh'cd in goin, 10 courn I1l1d the npcn5e and o.nnoYl1nce 4t "ho.vinlJ police subordinate. quartered on them," The c)'!;le a,ricuhulal operlliion. is aliO tl rdevanl factor: ":at the more busy periotl. of the .,ncultunJ year" Maria would nat her deal with murders Ihlln call poli!!e Illd fllce len8th)' intcrrogation and judicial procen disloetl!LnS productive work Ichedule (Ibid" 192·93). Fiflhly, the quality of law enforcement ood judicial prOt;e$Ses often contributes to the justification for dealing with crimes, includinG murder, It the levcl of :I group. Wben people whom the tribal .roups have 1m reMonS of beina Guilly arc held innGCent by courll, or 'ice Velsa, the a[«ted group bcgin.$ to distrust the alien justice inUitulions. Police corruption lind high·handednclS, typical of pOlicing in lural areas, also contribuleato the belier thaI the indigenous s)'st~nI is superior to thc .tllte legal sy,tem. Elwin has nl.o made /I sludy of thc _aborigilJ~1 prisoner, Unfortunntely, Ibl, upect of his anlly.l. has abo been i,nored In correctional IIter-lIure. An Iboriginal pri050IJer, be "ya, "suffers in a~ule lind subtle ways" in jailS as compared ..... itb the non'l1boriglnnl prilonen, Inearecratlon ;, a punishment unknown 10 Ibeir laws and Ilfe; and thelr cullure Ind lif(. . tyle make prilon impact n truumatic experience. Elwin, recording thit in ~ome detail, also paiou to the need for ,e,reiution of auch prisoners aod providing them with Dccesfary education and .kills, rdeVllnt to their pOSI-,eotenee life. "What is really needed", he 5ayS. is It. "specilll prison for aboriginals" to be run as "ctImp" r"-ther tban as "ordinary prison." They .hould be taught crnft. useful upon their relellse ami nOI "oc~'U­ pltioDS like ~ellVina wbich lite tllbeO," Disclplinllry rulu "bieh ngiment luch prisoner.. 5llould be avoided: Dothina "should be done to mike tlu: ',borlSiDIlI iervlle end obsequious," His "Iplrit should be re.c:rcll.ted, nol broken. There is in him II 8relt fund of nMural ionoccnce on which to build" (/bld,,220-21, 208·2LS,) As rllr D$ we know, Ihi\ i. the only

101

LAW AND SOCI .... !. CONlI!.Qt .

or

I.

rleea of scholl"ly Ilnaly\il or abnriginal pris,. ' S. Sc/lllllttl".'IICI' (1968·69: 316) Gradually, It number of III wyers "who had been only pllrt time [elldcfI of the nnt ion\\1 movemtnt" begtln, under the influence of Gandhi, 10 give: "nil of Ihdr time nnd energy 10 this link." Out this had the errcct of redudlli the role of NOIctising lawyen in fhe potiljc~1 arena. The: lenderlhip or the nMIOMI movement comprlnd people Imincd in Il\w but they wcre no longer practlsing lawyer". And during the 19301 "Ihe nllional movemelH h:r.d nn Advcnt effect on Ihe h:gnJ profession' by discrediting courts nnd campeling for the intcrest of the young men of Ibe country" (Ibid., 381). The pOll· colonial piclure is captured in 1""'0 .entences : "No longer did the: mast talented men of tht country (tudy law. The prCltiSe of the profeuion has greil/ly diminished" (lbld,,381), In this way, tlte "monopoly it had on tbe leadership of the eountr), for over a century I, gone. In a WilY, the rest of the society has eauCht up with tbe profession" {tbid., 382). nul of course any Ccneralization cOllecrnin, thc decline of the rule of lawyer. in conlemporlr), Indit 11111 to be qualified by the contexts, both biltorlul Ind sociological. Thul, for example, the facl of dedining representation of former praetitioners or practillna lawyen in Union and Slate leaisll1uru mlty DOl necessarily mean a dedine: in the political in. nueoce or role or lllwyen I\J a group (•. g. , mallY lawyers mishl be enilged In promoting ioterem, nt lesislntive levels, of certain ptenure groups or lobbies of, say, busfneu and industry). Similarly, in the Irt:a or penonallaws of Hindus, il might have been the case that the "pa.I.19S2 drastic d'.::linc In the lnlluence of lawyers as lawyefl was signified b)' and directly related 10 the commensurate decline in the prominence of SlIns. kritie argument." II is also true tltlll liS "the legal ptormionl'li Sanskriliu f10udlhed under the British by .ucce~5funy cllLiminll ellpertlre aboUI the trl1dltion and the pllst, Ihe lawyer.politician thrived aHt:r Independence by lueceuful1y clalminll expertIse about modernity and (uturn" (Levy, 1968·1969: 31S: d. Onl~nler, 1912b). As an occllp~llonnl aTOUp, the IC8111 profession has ccrlnlnl), been mosl tealous and errective in comballng proP9slIj. for reform of tht rro((uion aDd reorgllnizatlon of available

ADIUD~CATtON

USO£R ITATD LtOAL SVSTBM

ju~!!Cilll

lIS

remedy SlrUClurCi whenever the~e Ihrc;lIen the mOlleri.l l inlacSl of the bar, Tlte errective rcsblanee to the re.udetion of the writ jurisdiction of the Iligh Courts e~cn during the ertlergcncy {If 1913·1917 il nn 3pl example af this phenomenon. Vct} few empirical sociological uudiu on leeal profession lite 1I\' aill1bl~ nnd wilh the 'olito.ry exception (Gandhi, 1984) mn!! of these ale produda of o~erseas (or exp"tri ••e) scholars. Of thcse most Ire to be found in n special symposium on hlwyers In developiDS societies publishcd in the Law al/d Soc/elY Rt~lt"' (1968·69). Of particular interest nrc the papers by Petct Rowe who e"ays tl description of Iliwyer~ in four dimicl towns and Charles Morrison who fOCU5!es on .oej~1 organil,.ll.lion and rc1l1liC:llllhips in n dimict bar. Mare Ol\lnnter provldu lin overview lind point' to the need (or resenrch. in se\'c!(:l.1 nrc .. of S0c10toSY of lelln1 pro(euiQn, l'In tll;eodunJ which stili remnin, III pressing in 1980s liS when it WIIS mnde. Robert Kidder's Jludles of Indian \cgal profession (1973, 1974a) contain many iotere:stlog ioslahli InlO the dyoamlcs of lawyer· client relation5hlps in Dangllore. A notable feature or this rclalloO$hip$ i1 whO\! he clIlIs "client ambivalence" 10 law and lawyers. "There were nlnlost no interviews wilh Iitiganl5 in which the respondent failed to roluntetr SIiW:ments maligning his lawyer" (Kidder, 1974a: 22). Indeed, the "Iawyer's routine ruponse to I client is .. ·one which regularly lIimulatcs hostility And suspicion on the part af the novi:e litigllnt," In Ihe client's perception that lawycr is lOad, and eYOKcl hilloy.liIY, who is a "good liar who will use his $kills on the client's beha.If" ((bid., 27). In ather wards, both lawyers and client! need neh Other; but their encounlers and relations 3rc mlrked by deep distrust nch olher. In effect, their relation is often bued on "co-operallve deception" 'nd the image of efficlentl(pJ serviccs and le,lltaleol depends on the lawyer', "demonstrated ..... illingness and ability to carr) on pubic deception" (IbId., 27.) Kidder maintains thlll leall pro(csdon in Indin hns to be viewed alainst the failure of the 'adJudico.live ideal' or 'adjudienlory norlTlleu_ oen'. Rational adjudication under third patty managemrnt should ordinarily provide "a firm base on which tbe lawyer clln rest his claim to expertise and 00 which the client clln rely for predictnble, conclusive aDd rule determined oUlcomu" (IbId., 30). Kidder nrgucs that the "rules and norms nrc ineffcetive" and it is beCAuse of this 1h:lt "Io.wyera become 'e~pHI5 in deluy', fun(;tioning primarily ItS unnppreci~ted midwives of compromi$c" (IbId .. 33). Uecnulie of tll!$ 100 "Ilnngalore lawycu life unabl", to find a true ba!jt or UAbic legnl knowh'cg..: wit~in which to fOOl their oJ,afm$ to uflC"i,e" !Ibid, 3S). Instend of orrering "the \clnd of either/or decision" which, on lome viev.'s or It, is "thc cnence of adjudIcation", the adjudicative .y.tem Qf Indill offen "bolh sides ..... ith nn inexhau,lible ;trSCOlll of delaying techniques." open to

or

,

IIG

SOCIOLOOY

or

LAw

"consltlnt iol1o"o.Jion by lawyer. who aprrc,tach the lelal i1rUC\lIre with:!. manipulatiYe athtude." Willu apillins ':ldjudiea,ory normtenoeu'1 Accordini If) Kidder one main C"lUIC of il is to be found ill II correct $Ol;int undcu,nndlO&

I j

of liligalion: "h1iglilion", he $8Y$, "is better undentotld a5 the expression of ongOing connicts within social £-roups," He subscribes 10 Costr', \'jew that "cOnniCIS IIrc: belttr understood 001 IS deviant cllSe disruptions of normal rdalloD!, bUI loS significant dimension by which normal relations are idenllliFd" (Coset. 1964), In this scnse, "lilia'llon don not 'disengllge' ,"onnic!" : mther. "litiGation bccome5 .nother area in which conflict devdops" (Kidder, 1974u; 34). The underlying focial relutions IIfC muUlplcx in character, Connlell In .uell relallon, involved "comple:a: inues" which "t;'Iolivllte the litlgaou: 10 fHolona !llilltl!On n. Olle item in no ongoing con"iolu:\1 reilitionship" (/~iII" 31). Naturally, "the nnrmatlve impact of lhe collrLl dlSiolvei under the prcJSurc of two vllrin!,)lc5." One Is tllC "relational charllcler· iSliu of Ihe ftotagouim" IlncJ the lecond II thc "balanac of re~ourcel belween them," It lilhe former which "determinellhe relative Ibi!lllc~ 10 susl:lin ~ ch05rn 51f1mgy" (ibid., 34). Kidder is aWare of the diffieulllcJ in gencralir.lng his find!ngs and vicws to al! 5cctors of Indian legal profeuioll. Tbe principal poinls he makes conceraing the failure of the 'adjudicative ideal' ilnd Ihe 'lI.djlldicltory normlusness' arc indet'd unimpeacbable. And In Ibc .reu of llti8lthm studied by him Ihe understandiog of Ihe nature of litigation may indeed be borne out But the unde~landlng of liliplion in lerms or conflicled multiplex relationship m.y uplo.in properly, ramily and other relutcd 'civil' lillgalion. Other treu or liliialion tueh u in the criminal IllWS proceedings or public law aod the helitlltlnJly emtrient 'pUblic interesl' litigation m!l.y not be opeolo .lmUIr Ir:iod or IIndentandlng Ot ClIplanatlon, Cllldu M )rri"n hllJ roeuSSed especially on Ihe role of panaprofessionDis (I972b, 1914). He finds Ih~1 one kind of ~raproreulonal-the munshi -contrlbutcs "significantly 10 the doily organilltion of a dlslrict law prnetice ;0 India ." LiLe Ihe lawyer-client relationShip of nlulual dlstrUSI which Kidder discovered in Blngalore, Mord!on 111'0 finds B pattern of mutuII sU'ploion and dial rust between lawyel1 and Iheir munshis in Norlh Indln . Munshls Ite suspected of prOl'iding information on Iheir lawyers' prnctice to their rivals in. the bar. There arc IIlso conOictl oyer the fccs (lr commil1iotl to be paid 10 munshia. Munshis undOubtedly act I. 'IOUIl'; orten IU 'underground counscls', \lIlorin& or coaching "wltncssu in the slYlng of biased or dellber.lely r.. brleated eyidenee." How often, nnd how .ucceufully, ate they able to perform thll runction is. nccordin. 10 Morrilon, II. matler of conjeclure. But he poln" to the (lI.elllllll "lnterOl~di41Ion is lin Imp0rlant clement in Indilln 10=!11 lire"

ADJUDtCATION UNOU STATS Li!OAL IYfTI!~

r'

"I

111

whcre opcn conrrontation with kinsmen il generlllly to be avoided; heoce 'loulllm'ls uQderstandable. It hili, howevcr, II detOI~IOry connOt3tioD because it is thai form of "interm~di"tlon" ~hich " IlSlUmcd I~ be "baled on pecuniary mOliv.:,," ignorins "such ~dctNS as I~~al pol~tleal p:l\ronasc or the ordinary utilization of loclai nelwor~s (M:lfrlson, 1974 . 47). BUI he poinll OUI thlt 'touts' in tbe sense 10 Viluch that Illbel . is used "by those who denounce them" are "har~IY IIce(55ary at " 1eve I" (Ibl' ••) . Hc IllfO drilWi our U.ticntlon to another th e d "IstnCl I. , .. 'H' kind of p:msprorrnlonals-the nlllktldol1lfl ba: o~ 'chro.lI~c hl.I,SIIOI. ~ IS II peUon who hilS acquired "the repult'llion of being 1IIIg',~UJ • and be~n~ involved "in the prosecution of eRIc, :H n.n end In H,elf. HII ,acc~ n or I"~ 'netnji' in I !'hrynM villase provide.t an In(efuting. Ulsliht 10tO Ihe nnturc lind role of this Iype of parllprorcnionnl, by, no means confined 10 India (Ibid., 55·58; leo Khnre, 1912 : 97 for II Ilmll"f study of 'se3 lalvyeu'),

,, ,

,.

9

I'QSTSCRlPT

CONCLUSION

CampensDlory

At almost c\'try l'Ioinl in this IUf'\'ty, we have lamented the paucity of ... lllciOltl,i"" tescart~iEIO~&!!.p'roee5J~ -;nd inllilulionJ. And yet we have been able to '"C'lIte considerable materilis 10 warrant an extended Survry OfUlcmU. problcllU lind Iiter:llure pertaining 10 sociology Dnd anthropology of law in Illdia, Thil conjuring trick. as it Wtrc, hilt

t:ccn partly attAined by rcrcttiol oul, Dod often even .upcrirnposing. le~lI[ JOt'iolo~iclIl thcmu lind frameworks on most studiu which were nOI directly or lelf·consciously concerned with .oclo·1I:&111 reality. 1M II we look b:tck upon the ground thu, lravened, it il clur Ihll\ in mllny arCH of locilll sciences there txiJt, even

ir

1lenderly. unacknowlc:da cd

Ilartin, points for sociotogy and anthropology of Indian Illw. Even u we fnvile the nUention of academic law~el'l tlnd legal researcher. 10 this rllelnaling bod~ or materl,ls we would be remiss Dot 10 pointedly dl!C~et Ihe attention of sociologists, economislI, anthropoloaisl5 and political Icienlills 10 Ihe faclth:st m:sny of their concern. do diltinctly involve I more sophiilieatcd grasp of legal procusCl and Inltitutions Ihan whllt the~ hllye so far displilycd io thcit work. Qne. hopes Ih:1I in the coming dccades thcfe will evolve in Indillalru(I f~lIolVshfp of sodol scl(',JCfI IctJrII/lfg where nlen of law will share the compleftlenlDr~ concerns of lhtir fellow 60ci.l Icicntlsl5 Ind the laucr regain the ceOlrl1 inli~hl' or the founding fllhers of lociolog~ concerning the importance of I11W In social lltructure Ind locial tranarormilion. Unlen a dose fctlow~hlp or this "Mute emergeS, neither lawperrons nor locinl scientists tin errcelh'ely lusiS! the search for .oclal development nod

wm

I !

justice.

"

Dlscr{mlnatlon Pollclu

The Uterature on the poliein and practices of compensatory diicrlmloatioo continues to grow. Indian law teachers hue beguo Clploring th~ roblematie of reservations olic wilh becoming 50dolosical IDII.lurity(Parmanan Singh, 1982; Anirudh Praud, (980); the junifie:Uion of these polide. at a philosophic or jurfsprudcntlnllc\'el hos 61so begun (Ice, fO., .. M.P. Sinah, 1981-B2)_ In add ilion, ofcouue, the well· known work or Andre Deldtle (19&2), continue. to txplore the eni,nll of equ3.llty at the level of social philosophy and practice Thert JS olso a notable ;rowth of Icholnrl), fCHIUi 00 vlolco~e a$lOclatcd with, mOstly, anti·

rc.serv:l.tlon movemcnts (Desai. 19B5 : Dul, 198~.). If, in ""hat folloWl, we hlahlight Mlrc Oidantcr'. Comptf(nr EquaNt/a (1984), the justification iI provided b~ the pouibilily thnt this importa.nt work will influence nol jutt further tb.:lugbt lIod research but more immedialely Iff(ct judicial policy-mlldng io the area or (e.lt/vations. 10 Comptlfllg Equalities, Mnre Galanter (1984) olrers a mooumental account or contemporary India's struggle against the n (rltage of dee.!. vatlon" (po 239). This work wi!! continuc to provide for ye/IrS to come ao authoritative louree book of ioformalion concerning the law, policyaod administration of compensatory discrimination progl'Rmme.s (CDP). Whallt more, a discerning readIng of lhe book yicldll)lternntive strale,ies for lillie and looinllclion. Il'Jth the prolalOnislJ aod aotAgonists of COP will find ;0 thil book ready rotuerlal for Iheir Clmpaignl. In this &ense, Marc Olllatllcr mo)' lind both rulfilment and frustration in the wanner in which tbe book it read lIod used, In thls seOlC, too, the very Itrength of the book con,tJluttJ ilJ central weal,;ness, It .eeks ~o prt$ellt a bafanctd e.apo'itlon or policies and progrnrnmes of compensatory diserimj4 4

1

I

12.

posne."r

SOCIOLOOY 0' LAW

nAtion. It docs not leek 10 n\uch to justify. phlloaophiaUy or iJcQ' \oClcail)', to"'I'I:IIJ;\IOI)' di!Crimi03lion: but rather explore. it I I . ',fling concern' In cont~IUJIJrII'y Jouu, Nor doc:s \I offer a critique (in Ihe ~13.rli::ln scn!d ll( tilt j.kulogy and inniluiions of compensatol), di\crirni· DaHon. It IIvolds "Jv"CJc), tiS well lIS critique. What II offen i.:I dininlly ruthless accuunl (21 points close 10 being value.free) of the IUCCCUe.s and failures of ""Iky and implcmClltillion. The book tbus provides an Inen31 of m11(11 .. 1 for both advDt:lcy and critique; and oITerl ~ fine illustution of the rCli]icnl but in the:. tradition or the liberal ,oclology of law. P~lh.l"J. the reason why Galante! avoids idcoloa1cIlI critique of com~nsalor)' dis(Tlnllnalltln i. Ihll he finds til Indil G 101 of Ipprolu;:btJ tow.ud1 n wllque but vcryil1tlc hu\!·bc.. de\! 1000i .. 1 Icienllfic annl)s!', liis work CUII\lllutes a comprehensive indIctment of the Indian soclill scicnce (includlnl loclo·leSIiIi rClelfch utilblishment, Time Ind a,ain he IlmenlisholtfJII. in scienti"c dlUll for policy; and urlel Siudiet in I whole \';lIi:ty or \!irectionl (lbfJ., 50,52,54.51,63. 64,69,90, 91, 105. 110, 113, 115·16. 229, 2).1), In contrlSt, opinioDs aod value·judgment. concern;nl compensatory polieiu abouod (Ibid., 12), Conrronled with this l;IUalil>n, the bonk ends up luue1ting a rtJearch aaendum Ihrouah I rairly illl1.S1DJtivc i!.l~nlincation or 'alleged· benefltJ Ind cosu or COP (ibId. 81·32) : uth rubric in Ibil identification offers wortbwbile arcoll ror soci:r.1 u:ienl;e reselfeh and anal}si •. Male G.hlDter overwhelmin,'y demonllratu the ract that compeou· tory pJliciel Ilml prolrllmmu hive not e.mer,ed II I priority fClcarch Irena in .oc.iAI IciencCl (a theme by Itlelr In the lOCiolol'l or IOl;illl lcieoce' io Indill In parlicular, Ind an Illdian 10ciolol1 of knowledle In teneral). l'nil,lps, onc reuon ror this II tbe flct tblt "too much" law accomp;anics the evolution of compensatory policieJ. ADd the Indian .ocial s,ientis" notably the lociololisu and economists-findinl the Illw somewhll arC'lne--have taken the euy path of Iinorln, it altoaethcr. Tbey blve, by and I'fle, ignored its relevance to .odal structure Ind trln.formallon, In the procCJs impoverish in; both law lod lociolo&'l, Galloter·' llUJy if an inlpirin, Icslimony to the .eope or mutuality of Ie,roioa between law lind other ,ocillscieoen, This constitutU a lecond levtl at whiC'b the bonk could be rewardlnaly "udied by lodal selentists III llldia, The third level II whkh this boole ml;ht be equally profitably rnd il tbe level or Inaly.is of authoritative dilcoune. A few hundred words of the lut of the Indi;\n Constitution flbld" 569.574) and a couple or hundred thous'lId word, in 113 judicill decisions (Ibid" 501) coratitute the realm or dikoune. Cindy. this is a di,course io which "COUtU are accorded. lead In, role"lInd a dilCC)uuc which is ·'eh ... ra~teril;cd by con.iduablc Ct"· pitive tllutuy" (ibM. 356). And )'el this "eo,nllive diUlrray'· is highly

,

I

III

functional: Ily permitting cltceptionl that blur bound"riel, by accrediting v.:ariations tha' disloeate hienarchic mar~ers, And. by rdusln,a lin&le lIouthoritGtive picllolro or the eroup C(lnl"un c,r Indio1n lockl}. the courts help to disestablish the traditional picturc or IIial 'OClety, a picture which provided ICliti~lacy for traditional relati.on~ or domina· tion and hierarchy, Mart: Gala"It:t (1984 : Jj7) It is notewotthy that Giltanlec is able to arrive al this dtep.llfUcture undentlodin, or aulhoril~li~e diicourle, without reCOU!1e to Iny explicit theary of power, ideolol1. insurrection aod I.nluale wbich are constitutive or discount (FouCllult. 1917, 1918, 1910; Ollbil, 198J). And this lut future provides us with a roureh level or rlC.1,din, this book. It is a notable uample of policy .cicnce analYIII. In thil,eore, the prlneipd rOi;UI is on a let or aUlhoritative dediionl term~d 'publio policiu' wbieh lenerlle (and leaitimllte) ·prolrammCl'. It dClclibtJ in fascinatinl detllil the com riCA Clrter or compeQ5alory discrimination policies aod prolrammtl. Itl prime conclulion tbat tbe plo,/eulon of policies-Ilttir enuoclation, elaboration, development-is, on the whole, commendable (c.,., Gallnter, 1984. 534·38, 352·59) but the implemen· u.tion or prolrammes is, on the whole, deplorable (ibid., 40·&3, 546-52, 522.33). Galanter providu many rtuons why tbil is 10, Perhaps, (ulde from mutability and ambivlleoee of policies themlel~CI) tbe mOltul(ent Is the d.IJa (twice'DoHI) explanation: be (;(Iostaolly rcllerates the ,ulr between IOphlltie:ated judicial policy.m.ktn and the ".dministrllon alld detkt" who hive 10 imrlement tbe prOlr.romtJ. These are reople with "Icu tduution and lophlstieltion, (ewer resourceS ror rllet·Bndiol, 1m time for delibcratloo" (lblJ., 5"5). The book celebrllte. the prinCipal !.hemn or policy sclencel. Polldu achlevc tbelr loall ooly if: Ibey arc based on ml1imum relevant 10dii knowledae, they Ire rormulated and dissemialled with elarltYlod cooslnency lind not liable to .bifu, tbey ,enerale ptoarammtJ wbich are oriented to loals or thc policy and oot just luks aDd tbero are oraanie linklau between policies and prOlram· meso Sucb Iinhlel, in turn, are possible only wheo "lldminiltralOn and clerk..' become worthy recipieots or policy.messases, Aod when the opti. mum mil, aenenlling sustaioed judicial intervention. of "orlaniulioD or I"lrtlu, supply of lelal ler.,lces, doctrinal inveotivcoell aod cbaDlu io io.titutionallncumbenu" (Ibid., 596) beeomu lvallable tu ovenee proIrammCl. Put another way, mIssive lrao,rormatioo or polic),.maldo, Ittu(.turCi. and or Implementiol.tructure. (iocludlol the lel.1 prorculon aad tho judidary) .ta oeWllry, If Dollufficient. condilioos for tho IUCCCU of eompenlltory dilcriminllloD policies and prolramme.. It lIel clearly ouUlde flolley lcienee approach to cUlyan ellmioation of tbe flrc.hiltory and history of relatlool or powcr, ideololY And conflict, wbicb alone nn furnish tbe mntive rorce or objective condltlollJ for .ucb tranl-

j

j

m

SOC[OLOO\' OF LAW

mentation .

Marc Galnntc:r orrers us an absorbinG account of agonized altempts by pOllcy-makcn, including courts, al the: i,denlificalion of "backwaulness (or the purpose: of determining the bc:nc:fic;i;uic.s or tbe COP" (Ibid" ISS-

domICile nod tehSI?n. Thc value. recited in the preamble Gre also fUDda. ~ental to BUy n:adlbg, and theory of reading. of the Indian ConStitu. tlon.

181). Articles IS(4) ~nd 16(4}o(tbe Consticutioo spellk respectively

. From all thb, it is clear thal the C(Hlltitution forbids recourse to 01111 In recoo5truetfns "bllckwlrdoelS" for the purposel of .Holt Qctlo". Wb e It commands Is recoune to "cll"" in reCllnstruel/,. b.ck'wllrd DeS). " Glliaoler orren an excellent account of how "clau" is conceptualIzed 'Dd r~eonceptulll1zed by the Ilale agenein, especinlly the Hiilh COUt15 Dnd b SupreDle Court. t e

doub15 whether tbat term rCOIlly clpreJSes Any eonelusive cOll5lihUionttl intent (Ibid., 209). , It it, pelbnps. necll-nary for Qaltlnler to m91nlllin Ihat the. ConsliulIioD neither "comm30ds" oor "forbid'" recourse 10 ClUte (Ibid. , 208) in tbe reconstruction of "backwardn«s" for Ihe purpose of mdioraliYc st"'( aeriol!. He asserlS Ihal Iho ConstitueDt Assembly debates do DOt mean "clau" in Mllu.illn or Marxist ,cose ; claues rather DlellO "communities", which m~y include all sorl, of JrDUps, including caste aud "caste·lS·clu,". But his analysis of the. dehat« In Chllptcr 6 of the book docs not compel Ibis conclusion ((bid.. Ch. 6: rp. 204, 1lote 69, 208). Tbose who deal with legallnlerprct:Hion and exegesis know that Il is difficult often to maintain the dislinction between 'discovery' Ind 'ImputJtioo' of inleot to the: ambou of A legillatlve text. TbiJ problem is, of eourle, eommon 10 hlw 111 wcll III hUffinnitie. and otbcr tocilll Icicnllts. But In InlV, lit lUll, there i. DO tueory of read Ina wblth could disclpliue exegctical elTort or chatteD interpretlltlon. We unnol PUClUO Ihls aspect any further here, But tbis much It tolernbly cltar. If ODe looks at tbe only two placet whcre the exprcsslon ;'uackwlHd clauu" occurs, namely, Artlele 15 (4) Iud 16 (4). Ihere would be at lellSt lome room for • ~yiDg, with Marc G.lanler, that tbe coostitutioo·ma.lr::eu used the term "cia.," gtElerically, inclusive of all loris or social groups including ClUte, communities and chl.u, However, one inclines to II radically opposed view WhCD ODe looki at the Constitution as a. wlwll. The Coostitution dcsilna.te. groups for which it sbow. spcclll solicitude in distlnclterms, Illpeaks of sehwuled castes and !tlbcs, educationallY lind socially backward eillucs, other backwnn.l clnses, religious aod Unguisnc minorities, unloucbabl~, those Ipeclally vuloer.ble to exploililtion aDd the we.ker ICctions of the peoplc.' The conllitutional text il elaborately written; the choice or phTltfCI is carefully mlde. These phmses have not been amended aWIY. And indeed uoy amendmenl to tbe Coot!jtulioo

I

I

I !

12.1

~,epluclol [be. wo~~ ."cl4I~" by "cute" io Articles IS (4) and 16l4) for weaker sectlops In Article 16 would be IJnblc to judicial iO\'illJdlltlon on Ihe gro~nd that II viui:JlcJ tbc essential features of the basic structure of Ihe lod!:!o .Con: titulion. This is so beeOluse the ConsliiulillD promulgJtt. jill e~a.llta.nan sO,el.i!l1 order, frec :>f distinctions arlsing from etute,lc:JI",

(ormation. It is Illus no ;u:cident Ihl1t a 62S pages book on law lind back,,'atd cJusc:s in Int,lin l1a$ not devoted even 1\ marlinlll Ipl.CC: 10 'casle IUtH,', 'llolrotiliu' nnd 'asilatlon(, 'if not on their own termS, trt'llII vnriables affecting the progression of policics and vidhitudes of imple-

of "sociallY nnd cductltioDnlly backward cianCI" and "l)lbcr bllckwllrd (Juses". Galanter IIcknowledges that the: cfuclaltcrm bere: is "chlss" but

I

•

Jl03lSCII.II'T

Allbc IIIme time, he offers a eootrlU, tbe!is . Because Ih' Co-' , . uSUlutlon I oellher commands Dor forbidl the recoune 10 casle it it all a" pOrc "('brd 20.tl h ' ' q u c i l on ,I, y '.. " '" w et ler, how much in what ways and for how long. caue may be taken to reconstruet bllekwardnen fa, ' w · purposts or stale aCIIOo. hOlt IS more, he finds tbat "C;ule UDlls" arc "useful" ; and tbey should not be cODdemn~d pl!r Stl (Ibid., 214). The argument gOel! furlhe r : oot merely iJ recourse [0 cl5te "useful" o[h . , r 'd . ' er compctm, crllerll' .or I enlllkation and mCaliuremeot of backward ' Dot good eoougb. . Deu 8rc limply

or

'b,

But whlll docs one mean by "cute" in this con"" 1 G.", nero d van· Cell n OnIlCCp[UIl IUlnt!\on' betwceo "calles" AI ",ommu -I OJ d " I I 0 " ('b d 199 nc Y In .J ,,' :I us Ir, u~~ , I ". ,222). J( cluses are (0 mean to Includc commumtle,' ,elll~ reLDClrnate themselves al 'classes' (ibId., 188,204) Once determlnatloDs arc rnnde that entain caste communi1ies lit "b !C. wllfd", the furtber determination Ibu the, arc also ",d"",' ' , , " d" "b' "IOnayan SOCIIl Y ac ward, oftcn requirCi reeourse to caSle III st"", n h f . " sroup . ut t" e concepl 0 ItalU. II quile problcmalic Ilnd even when it is sorted out, the qu~stlon of relation between 'low status' nod soc/a I backward. ness remBInS an unsettled, Rnd unscnliog, question (ibid., 229·240), Galan,ter, bowe\'et,lea~ us to Ibe conclusion that "Ihe trcod is to tblDk ~r,loclal batk,.'drd'!:u Hlterm! of bcrilllge of deprivL!.tioo", visualiud M tIe nccunIU alt e"eelJ of low position In n .oclal hierarchy" ('b'd

'd

239).

'.

I I

,

Why should 'ealtc' be used significantly 10 delermine back\l'lIrdneu r?r the pl~rposes 0/ statr Dcflon 7 May not income a.nd oecuplltfou P(OVIde " stgn!Oennl mtOlure of backwlltune55 7 O.ll1nter an!wcrs tbIs last que~tloo in tho DeGalive. The heart of hit objection to eeonomic lIS dillinct r'OIO ~mmunal c:ril~rill pulsAtes in Il curious p3rnsraph(lbid., 275). GlIl~nter maLOulnJ Iha.t ' when backward communities lire designated the liDO'S lhnle of bcndlt. would 10, or Course. to Ih,. ",nO".. ",.. II ",;.

I I

j

125

124

members of Julina,,'" c,utes."

SOCIOlOOY 0' LAW

Even

50,

there

i5

"sonIc fcuon to hope

for /I 'tric-klc·lIowl\' thltl will ,prel1d ltnd multiply the btllcnt~", since the rclD.1i1cly b~ucr·oiT mcmheu 5uch cutes "aro linked 10 11u:ir

or

Icss.r",rluMlc (.'Isle-fellows by tics of kinship. loynlty nuu mulut'll 'Uppolt." Onlotntcr instslI thill the well-olT recipients of benefit! "rniJlhl be cxpctlCU10 pll}' a rcprescnulivc funchon." On the olher hand, tl\l:fe Is "no 5clr·c"idcn\ reuon to Ihjnk Ihal the recipient' under AD c;conomic lest Will .;r~e tim \tind or rcprc5cntnt'ive rl,lflc\illn, tangible or synlbolic, for ,lIOit ;1'1 the lowell Sruups," And when an "incorne UII i5 usci.l. there l~ lillie fCiltOn to think thil\ those 3' the !>ottom will be indircelly b~ndilcd." As 10 this tnt point, (lnt would hnve thoughl thot the 101t: function of incomc/oC'tup:tllOn trHerin would be to benefit Ihose 9.1 the bollont of Ihe heap. Thai It hns IIn\ occurred for"h1ahcr eehtlon bcnclits" (like admissions to Ihe medical lind lechnolosy courses) is true flblJ., 274). But enn this f;tilure be cle ...:ued 10 nn onlol08ie:11 principle 1 It CllnrU)t be snid IS II mailer ('If firS! principle that im3sinnti\'c reseasting of COP 011 tbese criteria, ilnd a matching rectificatioll or administration, is to be o prior( ruled OUI. That \CIIVCS us with the "trickle·down" principle. Here Glanttr in4 vests cUlc with m),lhopoetic charllcteriStlcs. Caste sentiment, caste consciousness wil1l1omehow eDlure Ihat even those who pre·empt II lion's sbare will enllble them 10 be legitimate repruentatives of rcdimibulion. NOlhina in the book ,ubltnntiatcs this Clpect.tlon. Indeed, III the dati given prelellls grounds for contrar)' cXl'lett.tions. For CJ{ample, Gllhloter laments thc "liltleliliocu" of .dmlni'lrotioll, i!Jl "tl1oughlleuueU about ao. ls" concernini the COP. lie goes further lind indiclJ .11leli,lalors includiol the leheduled aroup [e,llilllors who hllve "paid little attention to the reportl of Ihe Commiuioner for the scheduled wles and tribes" (Ibid., 69). Other siudin (cited in Dad, 1984) haYc demonSlroted Ute cOllclu.ioll thaI legislative reseryation., Ille dcviees to co·opt, tontrol and depoUticize sr.hedliled castes and are, thererore, more nf an e)lereile in .social control than in redistribution, Even if we were 10 lIuume that ti,ySe who benefit substantially by COP perform. repre5entative function, it i. not cleu why they should .be performinl it in relation onty to the COP benefit.. Indeed, if the bcttef-olf caste members were lollcltous of "their len-fortumue Clute fellow''', the laUer would 1I0t have c:ontlnued to remain 10 less rorlunnte. Alld, iodeed, io dhL:h:arae of e.ither their symbolic or tansible "rcprcsenIlltive" functioD$, Ihey woulll have been the chief a.rlkuliltorl of policies .od prollrBmmcs which beoefit their" lell-fortunate brethren". Tbe. rejection of economic c:riterlD, lind the "IS", Ir Ihis fails. If): tnlluil'c rcprcuiOD. Thi, recipe is heavily utilized by independeDt India's admioiltntor•. Bul the. nco-colonial role of law. its proceuC! aod institutions, neting in sharp conlrndiclion to the value prcmlsel or the Indian CDostitulion i. 8n aspect which needs to be fully undtr5tood. Indeed, one wonden whether Jubailern studi!:', in relAtion to contemporary Indio. can bypass the centrality of law both to the structur,tion of lublaternity and of insurgency.

r ~\

Soclof Actio" U,fgaliolt

l• I I

1

Normatively, the lodilln Constitution .,snifiet a great auauh on lubailif' nity ; it Idenlme5 the marks of I!c,antive elaS! consc.iolllneu BI a part of tbe gcnetie material of Ihe IndiRD leglll sy.l!:'m lind 'Yltematically proceeds 10 delesitimnte these. Caste, creed, colour, ,ex and religion ore oot relevant to the status of a ciliten in n free 'OciDH!! dtmoeratic republic; locial blekwdrd~e5! is to be rccoDllructed 00 new "cular terms; the hilloric.lly disadvantascd sroups have to be helped by VlriouJ specific mCIlUUI. The in.ignln of lIarCltio 5erfdom (bonded labour) lind untouchability are 10 be vl.lorously discredited. The Conllitutlon is the source of le.ilimation of IIlUe power; snd tbe Itllte power m.y not be lOY more legilimated wholly on the Bround, which justify the lIructuring of subaltcrn 50elill identldet. The Constitution thWi selJ the ltate in cODtradlcllon wilh civil .oeiety Ind Ihe I.w (1owl08 from the Conltitution atlackl structure of subaltern reproduction. AI the same lime, there ariles a contradiction between IOciltl identity of the makers and implementer. of the I.w; if the lawmakers c.nnot continue 10 claim constitutional legitimacy by using law overU\' for the purposu of structuring subalternity. they can, as the next best, seck to $0 nlfect the working of the law IS 10 perpetuale aDd reproduce IUbalternity. The 'law' thul becomes II hl&hly contradictory r(ality and procen (Blixi: 1985c). In other words, Itllte law crt'ales ,rtat expectatloos which, in ju aclual Implt~entltioD. it does not onen enough seek 10 fulfil. People" move· ment, fOf the ful!llment of these expectatiol:\s create furthcr contradiclion$ ; the constitutlonallcgitmacy of such movemenls clnnot be openly denied, ytt to wholly conee.do ihese elain's would be to brina Ilb041 qualitalive chlln¥e~ in the struclure aod ml\nagemenl of dhlrlb\ltion or

!

.'lr

III

p(llitic;1I1 flower. Reprtuion has to be praetised aill.! al, o jUt! iOed. Out it Is not tnsy to justify stalldardlen use or f-Iegal commissions of Ictivj51S and upcrtJ. upon whine reporiS funller IIrgurncnls proceed. The Supreme Court docs not proceed 10 judgment in most eDsts ; ralhcr, thrOUGh a series of intcrim orders, it cnsu'res effectivc protcetion of rights (the "crce~io8 jurisdiction"). The Court has now begun orderioa bolh financial compcnsllllon (damages) and other compenSilory urangemenls in kind for proven viOlntionl of rig,hls. The Cour\ is not nlwilYs effective ; I~C intransigence or loul autbori· ties remains a problem in few sllu:uions (Agllrw;tla, \98.5): heilihy deve· lopment of con tempi jurhdlclil)n looms lArue on the SAL lIaendum. So fllf. the C",un hn "dopled II non'lIdvcnMiQI npprollch: SOC/III action liligntion is dHrcrenti~led 1I111lillllion Wilhoul winncn or losers. IS In act of pnrtnership bel ween social a.clivl~u. justices and tbe n:eeutivc to sol'le, as rar nI pouible, nmitllbl~, problems of IIIII/Jenneu of the Slate. To expect the SAL rroceS$e, to transform immcdlately the 5tructures which engcnder ,,~ie hmleuncn /, 10 upecl 100 nlueh of II fledgling innovlltion. But the process or accountability, n luk to which appellale JUdicial pro· cess j~ admirably suited, hu begun io right carncsl ; 105\ C3uses J1Rve been rccovered ond lire at the centre of constitutional adjudication io coni em· por;uy Indlll. Annlysu of SAL which condemn it for relalive inefficl\cy in ehllnain; sttuaturu or il)verllnce or focus on doctrinal probkms or queilion the inilitutionni compelente of court! raise important problems tequirlog lInnl),51S lind remedial mehures. l1ut they leem to filii to locate the overall .IBnilicance of Ihe poi1liclIl economy or SAL. We highlight this aspect, Qlb~lt briefly, In the concluding part of this lumrnllry reyiew. SAL htu, fir;t of all, done inyaluable function or exposinG Ihe contrldietory reality 01 Inw. Dnmely, the CQ'pulellce of rule of law whh tho fcian of terror. Whether it is the case of undertrLlllllanlui~hlDg in Blbllf pris1)n5 for an eternily without trinl or the bUnded men of Bhagnl; pllr or the tottlJrtd b(ldles in jails or women', remBnd or children's home, or fBlce poliee encounters with 'Nax:shteJ', dllcoi!s. utremists or rBpe by public officials of women in their custody or bonded l\Ild wage slavery"'! 11I1!lese 5i101l11on$ brou;ht beforc the Supreme Court of India by WlY of SAL demoostrate. II M:tu: used \0 call them, the "circumstances of reekless terrotism" lind the pollufllonlac chllr~cter of tbe lIate. EyeD the bare. fuelS of the reian of terror c;oexilling with thc rule of law 10 for unknown to (osmopelitAn lodian jUdscl, leldc" of the aar lind other. now eonhontcd Ihem with Ihe chllcnge of underllandlnl the conlrndic. lory reality of the Inw (Ill rule of law ~nd III reign of terror) and tq planipulille if In wa.\I~ ".'_hi~11 IYould anht the lubaltern people.

,,

,.

133

SrcoIIIII),. the appellate courll, and especially tbe Supreme Court, bas begun to appreciate the true menuing of the rehl.th·c autonomy of Ihe l:1w It adjudication. Althougllthc laW-liS ideology and enscmble of iosti· tution5-U leili~llllive. cxecutive and judicial po""er repre51:nts tbe "centrlll1l.ed unity" of Itllle: power (Pou\lIntzas. 1975J, adjudication mny be relatiyely lutoDomOUI of the u.ecullve CBnxi, 1985dl. The denlnl thnt judacs make Illw 11 In 3t1empt to perform an itieoloBicnl task of preyeo!· ing ndjudication as emcraing from an Irena of expreslioQ of clau tllrug· glu, of urticulatiOD and dynlmics of Inleraetion between the h:sislaturc and the e:ueutive. SAL iD Indln Illustrates this dyuamlcs 3111 crueilll juncture of millurlitioo of D boufacoJ. pOlitical order in Indi.l. Tbe prosrenioll or SA L Ihould be of Interest 10 IIny IIHious Itate theorlsl for this reason, IS 1110 for the many inyc:ulon. il entan,. Not the leut among then invenioDI i. the fact tbat the ideology of the wr{t/l!/I coo"jw Illlion is being used ., I counter.ideolog)' to thnt of the unw,If/ltn constitullon (lee, fot fuller analYlis, Dul, 1985d; 1·20). Titrrdly. Ihe dcvelopment of SAL calls for Ideologic-a! reorientation of adjudieation towards a jurisprudence of emaneip3lion. and legitimlllion of, struggle for liberation by (he opprC5sed groups in tbe IlIdilin society. The' SAL II, IIowly but perceptibly. restructuring the tnd!lln judicial discourse (Baxi, 1985d). Thi, is an unprecedeDted and remarkable deyelopmeDt' quite likely to survive the onllaulhls against il by those wbo were aecul", tamed to the usc of Judlclll power and prPtuli ooly by n pmilcged few 10 protect /lId, inlerClU aDd YIIJut,. . Four/hly, for thol~ in\'o!yed In strug81e against lubullernity the SAL' proce,"'c, create a new liiad of politicil .pace from reign of terror nod toften the rClprel5ive UleJ or the law lod illite power At mlcro·lcvcl.· where thuc IJlrugglea are ncceuarily was,ed on behalf of what BabllJaheb Arnbcdhr u.cd 10 cill the AlisudrQS (tbe real social and economic prolc-' terlad thi. I. I .1,0IfitIDI Dew lain; It help5 10 auaull oeglllive cia.. coolciouSllCJS fottered or forced by local power·eeotre$ and iotroduce:: chaoges io tbe po"'er relations and IilruCturC5 at Ihc local level. In lhis senle, it has been demODUrated tbat eveD wbeo courts \.om it mny, It the end of the day, dcpohticiu: populir conscIOusness, create new dcpcndcnc:ic$ :;loll rob the movcrnerit$ of sdf-rdilnt, panicipaloty character. Such duo,scr& II~C always ~rc~cnlln an Inlln·s),stemic war ng~Jn5t subal.

ternlLy. ~'!1Stor) IS 3 conStlcnllOUI IlbJeclor to all predictions. Awnffncu oftllCSC pitfall, of SAL must (cmnin cYcrp[C!lco! : nnd tliere should be no CO~luSion Iha~ the drDlI/tis ~t!'JOIIOt do not write the ,trlp!. They artrculate, ultll'Date!y. the SCript; Ind the script is written by mcn as Igcnt, of ~\a5Sive scelnl (orCel aDd ItS' C(c:alor~ of fUch forces. At tbe present conjuncture, IIlIlh:1I tao be l:1.id conctloing tbe Ichiellcmen! of tue SAL pro.cesses is Ihal it leeks 10 inhibit produttion lind reproduction of ,u~a1teroll)' through tlte 1a~. by Iharpenin, the COlltradiction •• moOllhc ruling blots lind by d~prlvlnB them of the raUler tls,Y roroll oflcailimu, tlon or pOII'cr,

III Dhlrma Kllrnl',

,I "

,,

,i'

REFERENCES i.,1I'W,a!., S.K .• Pk~lI( /tlUf~# (1Ii,a"alf: A C''''qll~. New DeIhl: Indl.n Law Inlll. IUle, Ill", Amln, S., 'G.ndhi II ~bh'lm.: Goralc!!pu! Dhlrie!. EAsleln U,P., 192121' 10 R. Guhl (ed,I,1fI Srilllmll SllIdtu. Dd!ll: Odoi'd, IIIU, Hil, Aroold,D" 'O,collY Ind Runl Crlmlilin 1-bdr•• lIiSO-l~O'. Moderll A,ta" Siudl, 1\114. 1, 140. ~,

I

~,

I

,,,,d

II

M~djcv.1

South Indl.'

Faueaull, M , CI.rll'lI", II~J "UII/4i!, Lonlloll I AlI~n ~IHI, 11117. P'oueaul!, M,. Tit. IlIlrar;, II/ S"'"(lII,)', l.Qndon : AII~n L'nc, 191•. PIIUc:ault, M., PaWtr/KIIIJwltJtt ; Sf/ttle.1 1"'u~I~~J aH,! Drlo" 11""'"';1, 19/J·U17, (C, OOldlln cd.I. IJflQtllofl : The l-lar~cltcr Preil, 19!1I Golla,,!er, t>h,e, C.,mptllllr Eqlldllrlu, Dclhi : O.•Jord. 198 1. Gandhi, P K (cd.). Sar/,.t Ae/(r;m TlrraullI Lllw. Ddhi: Conect'l [tubl;lhln, !lout ••

t985. (iutvlteh, (j , SQd"I(>1;/ "/ La .... l.Qnilon : Routled,c .nd Kt,.n r.ul. 1\141 Ouh&, R., E(emclIla,y A'p,(IIII/ I'tlllrMI III1"',tllry ill CII/"~II" IMfa, Delhi: O .. rnrd, 1983. Gulla, R {till,! S,lhalfctll: SI,llln. 1911: II SuliIJlurll 511141t1, IIln, III Sloba/urll SIIIJit3. Delhi: o.. rord. 1"4. Ouh~, R.. 'Th~ p"U~ of Countllr·ln'ur.~ney· ill R. Guh (cd I, II ~/i",,(I/I"~ SI"JI", Deihl; Odord, 1'11l. 1.42. Blldlm.n, D" 'Al,lluli Ai,"tlnn In South Gujant : The De~j Movemcnt' In R. Oul;l (ed.). III SuiJlI/ltlII S11I4111. D~lhl : O.rord, 1984, 1~6-2l0, lIenn(,hlm. S., 'Qul1lndll la DlIII! "lid EIIICln P,o~lncu : The ou.1 Revlllt' In R. Ollha {cd.r. 11 SIII>a/llfll SrI/JIll. Deihl; Okford. 1981. ~ J-tllrowhl, M.J., TIlt Tta~qll"',allr;m p/ .(111,,/(#11 Lu", : 111JIJ..J8MJ. C.mbridlc : 1I.,.,.rd Unl~nily Prcu. I~n. HII15I, J.W., Lu.,.. 1I~4 u,.lIamk G,,, ... III: Tlrt Lttlll Hlllo')' II/ Ll!mu, /Ilrilll", I~ Wlmmlilf: 11~(PJj, C.mbrld,t: BelkN.p PICIl 01 HafUtd UniHIIII)" 1964. MellddJllhll. 0 .• 'Tbe i"Ilbolol1 of lhe lud;~11 Syllem" Mod"" 14111111 Sllldlu, 1911.15,8li·lll, MUley, I.P" Aamlllllf'ol(re /.II ... , ed. 2. luek.oow: Ellltcl~ Book Co" 19U. Menon, N.R.M .. '[tubli'c lnlelut L!11.atloo : A "bjor Brdkthrou,h III th~ Dellv.r)' or Socl.l Jllltl~1I Jllilmal p/ Bllr Cllunrll, 1912. II. 1'0. P."de. n .• 'Conlro'Uln, thl Workln, Clan Tilrouip PenDI Meuulu III Britl.1l IIsdl. {18S7.ISI~11. D,IIII l.If_ 198'1·12., 10-11, 94-106. Plndey, 0, 'Pulan! Itcyull Ind Inilian N~dcnlltllm: The PUlln! llevol! Moverncill In A~clb, 111/9.1912' In R, Ouha (ed.). I Sul1~"t'" $wd/n. D~lhl: o~rold. 1982,

H,.I'"",

Imll Pdllllca/ /YUK')',

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'PrI'I~tc

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ISS

SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Uombay. POPUIIloT PrakBSbnn) i, IImong the few lociol08ical studies or agrllriaD reforms, whlcb !tislsn importance to te,"! 'y.~tem an4 proccn vllrlabtes. O( spetial lignifiCAnce is Oammen's' finding thllt Ihe introduction of clements of "public pattic:ipalion" tnrough I\grnrlao rdorm Icghll1lion had the effect. ptrhnpl unintended. of d~priving the "lJgrarian movemeot of its moblization vitality," Proponcnts of beneficinry participation have bere a striking example of bow it could be systematically den:uured by bureaucratic management. nlOAI.. I..A.W AND

NOTE: Addf,Jullal matcrillls reld''''8 10 ,/lrml"$ Qrld (SlUts diJl"llJstd 1/, ,Ms lIIonograpll (It I" hyf(l,( bdlM chapkrw(lt. Rr/l"rl"lICts /0 thl" POJtstrfp, I1fl" not rrptou_d IIt',e: IIIcJI" aha f.tftml to frirruI/I pub/irMiO/l! III thl! p('riml 19S0·85. Rr/trrllus to ptr/tII/{cal/juuTno/ IIUratuu orr n!)! provIded I" /lIiJ Stllter JlIpp(rmtlllary bfbliol(nphy. Tht "1"11' rtfl"\'OII' mn/ulnl.r lUI" also hrttd be/Ok! ; (ill adJu/t",o{ Ject/(m droltng wilh pMlosophy 0/1011! IS Q,/di'd Ullhe /'nil of rlils bibliogrophy. Cl.,\SSIC,l.L iUNOI) L,,\I-

(CII. J)

EXtf'lIcat textual aDd tle&l"tio:al mtllerinl5 on dassical Hindu law have been mlde IIY:lilable by Justice Rnm:l. lois in usnf 01/1/ COl/sliwllonal Hlstoryof I"diu {19M; Oomb"y, Trip3thn. I"rdbhnv:\li Sinha's Smrttl Pof/litel Dlld u!lol SysulII (1982. Delhi.

People" Publishitlg Uouse) pravidc.s Il much needed struetufllol critique (If prec;;ept. nnd Institutions of dusical Hindu l:!ow. Some conlributioulto the/l!slJcitriff for Professor Duoclln Derrett in ",dolol)' alld um' (1982 : He[dlcberg, Institute o( Soulh As/an Studil:): cdited by 0.0. Sonthcimcr lind P. K. Aithlll) pro\'ide frelh perspectives on dillS/cal Hindu law as well ftI AlIglo- li indu law developments. LAW At-ID

soc, ... t.

CHAI'lOE: THe. COt.ONt ... t. EXPERII!NCII

(CII. 2)

Justice A.M. Bbattacharjee" Hlndll LAw 011// COIIJ//Im/Oil (1983: Calcutta. Ea51ern Law Houscl criticaliy ~ur'·ey. the developmcnt.5 in AngloHiodu Jaw from tile standpoint of the lndil1D ConstituLlon. To tbis must be addcd the contributiooa in this nren In JlldoJor:Y a/1d UlW cited above. L ... w ... NI) 50CL",_ clI .... Noe TI'I CONTeMI'ORAIlY INDIA.

(C/!. 3)

Profcs.or T.K. Oommen's From AflJbllilolion to /JuIIWt/onoll:olton : J1le th.: 20tll Cvrfllry Ktrafa (1985;

Dynamics of ARror/all MOVl/lllllt III

....

JUSTtCll (Ch. J')

••

Kusum aDd P.M. ll11ksili, Customary Law alltl ""'tice itl tilt' Tribal Artas of Mtg/lolo)'o (1982: Delhi, Indian Law Institute) Dnd P. LcelnkrlshDilD (cd.) Trlbol IVll/afe (lIld III~ LA!I' (1985; University of Coeh/a) nrc welcome addhloos to Ih~ spoUfe literature in this field. ... "luotC,\110N UNO£k STAT!! l.CQAL S'YSTB~I (C/!.~)

Some fairly interestinl work bearing 011 Ihe actors aDd ideologiu of nationnllevel adjudicators has emerged in the last five years maioly from the pen of (ormer juS\iCC5 of the Supreme Court. Of special interest are works of M. Hidayn!ul!ah, JUrlgC.T Misullrncy : Fourth Series 1984; Dombll'l, Tripalhi)-nnd The R;gllt 10 Prapcrt)l Und" Ifte Indion ConstitutlOIl (1983; Delh., Arnold Heinemann) ; '·I.R. Khanna, TIle Making lJj tile indlorr C(}'IJtiM/on (19&1 : Lucknow. EBSlern Dook Co,) ; K.K. Mathew, Thrtr UCtu~f!'1 (1984; Lucknow. EasTern Book Co.); I). 1IIsan Mohau Reddy. We /lol'e a Rrpl1blic: Cd/! We Kerp /I? (1984: Tirupati. Sri Venkatnw:1rl University Itress): and his Libert)', alld Property Under Indloll CanSt/lUI/an (1982 : Calcuttl. Cal.:utlll UniversiTY) i Justice V.R. K.ri.hna. Iyer" lullclal Justictl : A Ntlll Focus IQIVords Social Justler (1985; Bombl1Y, Tripathlj : l1nd the Supreme Ceurt of Indio, Thrrll Ifftcrnatioll(ll Con/utllU (1/ Appeffote Jmfgts: C4n/trCIIU Pap"" and Procecdinr:s (1985: Delhi, Supreme Court of India). A full judicial biograpby of Justice V.P.. Krishana Iyer is made available in Justice Had Swaroop, For IV/10m tht Law Is Marie: TIt(! Mind and Forth of Julliu KrlshnQ lyer (1985 ; Delhi. Veeoa Publishers). K.L. Sharma's Sl}(iQiog)l 0/ Law and Ltjol Profession (1984 : Jnipur, Rawat Publications) is an excellent IInalysis or profile or legal profession in RlljaSlhlltt within the Hberlll rramcwork. coneerning which some questionl hayc been rahed by thit author in the introduction to the bOok. 1'IIILOSOPII'r' OP LAW

PhiiolOphiclll And theorclk'al works 01\ law by Indlao scholan have

----------------~

1

ngh, Law From Anarch... If' UtrJpfa (IP8S; Delhi, Q"rord); this rcpre. nts a major contribution tb kgul thc(,)J'}' withill lhe Fint World IIbcml idit!ons. U. Sui's Marx, Low IJlld J.mlc~ : SOl1lt ImJlo11 PtrJPtJ'f(~~S mllcoDllne; Ilombuy, Tripnlhi) i~' pcthup$ Ibe first attempt by an lndhll.l thor 10 tltpJore Mi\t:Jt's, Mnr.1lin(l und Marxist approaches to law, society d justice. V,S, 1.J~gde'li Ga"t/lr!':; PMItWlpfl)l nf £nUl (1983: Delhi, lIltept Publishing Companyl is the flrst &yslemlu]c endeavour to artj. IIHe O:lndhi's Lhou~ht on law ;lnd just;ce. R.S. Bhnl!ll, rile limlilif/o" p'(jP~rt)' (1984; LUcknolV, Eastern Book Co.) offers, wilhin the our of analytical philosophy. welcome' theoret/cnl IInnlysis o f nOlions property; Justice M,H. Beg Iraeea, from the stnndpoint of bl$lory ideas,lhe nr:!ticn of secularism In his Imflae! 0/ Sodallml 011 LIfe (liltl

SUBJECT t NDEX

... (I98S; Delhi, People" PUblishIng Bouse),

A b'~",ee Ilfldownert, 49,l2 Abyulnia. 32 Aet or S.tttcme"t, U AdJudIcation, 4, "'II, 74,1!}, a9, 109, 112. 113, ItS, \)3 ; Iyltem, III AdminIstrative- l.tw, 109 A~mlnr'lT.toU, 121 Advefauy System in adJudlcillon, ii, 73; .dveru.rilll relptionlhlp, 7D, 91, 93, 10J, 104 • Pull.menl.111 PJIIJI,16 ('ellUl, 26. 019. 116, 118 - Indebtedllt.U

" , • • ,' 121,4 : mOVemCIII •• 129; .ubaltetol .. -To

MJllltur. School, 7

Penal Code, 22, 23, 24; penlllAw. 21 MllbUhy. 14, 17,IO} Pellolo.llll. lOS Modcrllity, 8Z; mcdnll I...... 86: modern People', Courl, 6', n; people's lallI. ( Iccal prorculon, &J: modern ItIIlllf'II, 19, 20, 66. 81, 83, 89. 101: people', tern, 82, SI2; moVemcnll. 1)0: peoplc'~ power, 69 Modelnll\i11lo~, 1.5: A,ent of, 16; PermlnenL Settlemenl, 21, 22, 13 Indlaa hw, 20. 25 : of iC1l1l1 mlohlotlY, PCIIOnllllw. Il. 14, 20. 34, 36, 64, II.

or

]4-37 I PhYIICQlllbour,.' Mottcy eCOhomy,14: monollutlon, 18 P1lnnln, Commluion •• .i. $0. $I ~IOneYICl\dCfl,16, 27.18, 29. 33, 34,17,46, Police, 4~, 76, 78. 80. II, 87. 97, 102. .51,82;87,1)0 103, ]0',107,121, 129: corrup!lcn, MOl1o'lmy, U ]02; Ind crlmlnlls, IOJ: rlkc CDcoun. MOI.tlIY. '. 6; frIOra] law. 10: mo,.1 Icrl by. 12'1" IJ2· Informers.'7' ........ ~ , . . .oC ,

n.

dfnlt, 101 rollllcll, con,doulnc", W, culeufc,n; f~oomliU, :ll l e(onOnll', 19, UIi, 111: Ic • .Jtu, 106, lud~lJhll', HH: morllity, U, Pllllcy, 6J; power, J&. 52, III ; pown .Huclllfe, 51, rU(rva, : 'lionl, 60. 61 ; IClent!JI •• 10'1, 1/1; will, ~I, )2 Pollution, 126; polrurfon /lnl! purlll', 70 Poln,ml', 61, U rOlhlve IIW, 10 Power, 71, 14, 121, 126, nl, Ill, ":tle • PIIwer, 128·30, IJl Pf~.CIIlion ofColluption ACI, 101 PfCvclllive detenllon, U Prielt, lOS P"IIIO/I, 96.9S: IdminlutalOrJ, 97; buruutracy, 91; open, 97, pd,one",

'06 Prlv~

Council, 17 Plol;Ill;on,91, U; proMr~mnle, 98.99, , IC'VreU, 99 : 'nlcnl.!I' I'roducllon rd.tloqi, 35, 36 Pro.n:n, 31, 33 Propelly, 2].13, 62, 61, 11. i3, 9~, 101, IlS ; HIndu concept of, 24: mobility of, I~; prlvale, 21. 27, 4i,14: priv.,o rllhl. io, 38, rel.llool, 36.31, rishll, 21,26. 111 Prareeliao or Civil RI,h ... Act 1976,60 Public oplnlan, 41, 63, 68, 69 Pundlu, 12 Puntlhmeal, 97. U. 100, 101, lOS, 107, 116; caplt.l, 101, 101 PuQjlb, 17, 11

R.II...,., n, 31, J] Rlju'hln, 92, 91, IlS Raj Oond., U, loS, II, 1$1 Rlolde, 41 Rcbellloo, 125, 127, 129 It.ccidIYllm/recldlyl'II, 100 Reddt.,81 Reform., 41, 48 RcI,a,of.lcrtor, 132, I)J Relillion. 18, IJO; .nd nlorillty, 6: rell. alOli1 dUly, 6; reli,loul In,pinllon, ~ : rel/,lolII Institution •• 20, 69: rell. Ilou.IA ....., 10, rclilioli, leaden. 10 ; • rdi.lnll~ movementl, 41; rdlslout . ,UI"~" 12 ~tOrl.nlutlon O(Sllt~l",

Repre'ulon, Ill, III RClICrvationl. S9·61, U. 119, 114; Inri. re'nnllon, 119 ltc.~nllt, 32·lJ, 90: COUrtl, 34, 36, J?: 1~,,'1. JI, 31, .6 'Klct, 3J, 14 Ili,hu, 8T, 131 Rilual, in1lllr;rtion, 6: ""IlI,1Ii Roads"29. ]1, J}, Royal power, 6 Rule I~"', 21, lJ2. IJJ RUf.1 areu, 60,61,18,106: rural credit, 26, ~6; rll"'llndia, lOS, ruril m~lb. trac1. Bl; rurll Pllllu. 107; rural fac/el)" 21,:9, $9 RyotlOo,.ri. leU/ement, 2j; '),Ilem, 22, 16

or

San Iii. 102 S111lkrlr fpCinn, IS, IIi,

,"

19; San,krlllll"

S,nch,I" 83, n, U SuvOdYI, 11, 97 SUlr... 7, t, la, IJ, II: Ifll/r/c, precept., 6, 7. lawl, 7, 12, JJ ; norms, 16; rulu, 9: lex II, 6,1 Satl, '0. 2J, 4/ Scheduled e~J'e., $11, 60, 122, 124; le,b. 1'lIon,51 Scbcdlllcd trih«, S9. l2, IB, 10J, Ill, 124 SeCUlarism, 110 Scnlendol. 99, lDO, 101 Sepaltlloo or PIIWCIll, 21 Shalll School, 19 S~.,c erop~rI, 47, 49 Shlll'a, II, 111fI', 11 Sharl',t Act 19lJ, II Shllllbn. A.hul SchooL, 19 Shirtlnl culllVilion, 8J Sllvcry,2J; bonded, 132: Wlgt. 131 SodllaCllon 1111,11100, 1J().]4: Sacl~1 Chn,«, 2, J. " 10, lJ, 21 , 22, :24, 26,40,4,,44,53.51,6$,66,78,119,93 ; IICOIS of, In Sod~1 contrOl, 4, 60, Ill, 95.96, 91,101, 10J, 103, \24 Soelal developmelll, U Soda) equl1,. 11, 28 SocIa, hienrehy, IH Soel:!.1 hlalot)', 20, I JJ; of 1111',24, IU, 118: locl.1 hillor/an, 121 Sotlll knawledle, 121 Sod.llell.IIIIOI!, 20, iii. 126

So~I.1 Ju~lIcc, 51: loci.1 iojIlJt!~e, 63,

"'

SocII' mo\lUh)', II, IS, 16, 17, 103

SOCIIIIllOV~menIJ, 41

SOCIal order, 2, 11,29,61, 1J, 15, 14 Snel.1 Or&.lnj~llnu, 81, '1, lIS SocI,1 {)hllolophy, 119 Social plannen, 6) Soc;al p(ltie)" 6' Soci.1 rullt)', 1,44, U6 Soetal rcrorm/lerormeu, 40,41. 42, 127 Soclid rdauolIJ, 27, 30. 69, 116 Socl:tl rcvollllJon, 29, $I Soci~1 S:an~llonJ, 10 Worl-..ln" cllI~el. /25; unorUnl~cll ",or1-..1:", 131 Wuk~r Iccliolli. t:!2 Wotkm~n'a COmpcl'l~llon I~w, 64 WUI, 1.1 , WUlero ctlmlnDI law I}'tlcm, WO/ld ~Icw. 6d ,W,: WUICID conception at lilli', 5 : W,lI pelillo"" 1]1 .Western concepllOD ofpropcrly Tlahls, 26; WClICfO law. 10, 11; WtJlCln Y"Jnl~llk)'" 6, 10 ICI.I 'y,lclU, 9, HI, I.!; WCllerQ Yc/ukulm, 10}, 104 IIqllODl,12 : WUlern '