Book Review: Towards Legal Literacy: An Introduction to Law in India. Edited by Kamala Sankaran & Ujjwal Kumar Singh

Law and rights are often linked together. Law depicts a system of rules followed by a particular country or community which becomes an agent of social control through imposition of regulations upon the action of its members, whereas rights are legal or moral entitlement to do something. Every citizen has the right to know, to be aware and understand the laws existing in a particular system. The law is for all and legal literacy which is the main idea of the book aims at introducing law which impacts our lives and is an issue of both rights and social responsibilities. Literacy is beyond being able to write and read. Therefore, being literate is an important way one connects and interacts in the society. In the present context, the book speaks about legal literacy, that is, legal education and legal awareness; it does not aim to provide legal knowledge one is familiar with, but goes beyond to explain laws as an instrument of social justice, responsibility and protection of rights. Legal literacy empowers and equips people to know, understand and act upon ‘what they consider just’.

The introduction of the book cites how law is considered as an action of sovereign’s will and authority and forcibly imposed upon people. The transformation of law as an instrument of command and dictatorship to a part of democratically constituted society of citizens who are equal in the eyes of law is a product of struggles by various social groups and sections of people in different periods of history. The author’s emphasis on the ‘rights approach to the law’ is gaining considerable importance in the present day. Citizens have moral rights and duties with respect to each other and political rights against the state as a whole, which should be reflected in the positive law that can be enforced if an individual demands through judicial institutions. Law should not be considered as a professional discipline only, within the expertise of legal professionals, as it is also associated with our everyday life. To understand one’s rights one needs to have a better understanding of law, as it is associated with everyday life and law should not be considered as knowledge in the hands of legal professionals but should be concentrated among common people as well.

The book is divided into 16 chapters. The first chapter of the book which starts with ‘why legal literacy? A wake up call’ by Upendra Baxi addresses as to why legal literacy is important and being a citizen of India one should be aware of the law made by the states, whether they intend to break or obey. As a member of cultural and religious communities, it is important to know the norms that define membership to a certain community. So, the identity and obligation as a member of a political society and other diverse communities constitute spheres of both consensus and conflict. In situations of utmost tension, each one of us has to know a great deal about the law of the state constituting community and identity other than the political. So, literacy in state law is important but not enough to understand multiple sources of obligations which constantly press upon another. He also questions of how legal literacy is providing us with resources of justice for all and care of self and for others. Other than this, he also speaks of constitution of illiteracy where he mentions that the success of Indian democratic experiment owes a great deal to literacy rather than illiteracy of illiterate. This means that the more educated ones and the more privileged ones are ignorant of the plight and sufferings of the deprived. For example, the constitution did not articulate compulsory education as a fundamental right (elementary and primary) for children below 14 years; it was rather considered to be a social right. It took 50 years to convert this into a fundamental right. Education’s goal has been mainly to attain rational interest and enhancing a country’s competitive edge in the world market. It has excluded the secular-based learning and education aiming for moral development. The chapter addresses other issues like the forms of constitutional oaths, constitutional and legal literacy (CALL) and the state–law combined production of legal literacy. The CALL in the contemporary Indian development needs to proceed to frame the illiteracy of the literate in many contexts and has to explain why the state or law remains so inefficient in answering the 2002 catastrophes of Gujarat or Bhopal gas tragedy, or public project-affected families. Civic education shapes our common dignity and democratic features, but the pieces of evidence show that resistance to social learning now defines for impossible future of legal literacy projects.

The second chapter of the book ‘The Basic Structure of the Constitution and “We, the People of India”’ by Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer brings up the constitutional law with special mention to fundamental rights and directive principles of state policy, judiciary and the concept of parliament and democracy. He mentions Indian constitution as the second longest constitution in the world with the largest ensemble of civilized values. The constitution is projected in the parliament, and Part III of the constitution has gained paramount importance as it deals with the fundamental rights. India is a country of plurality of languages, cultures, religions and races, where there is unity among diversity as well as discrimination among people also exists. Weaker sections have weaker constitutional protection. India has minority groups too and special provisions are there for their survival, overall development and socio-political status. Democracy, according to him, which discriminates against minorities, destroys the essence of its basic structure. Women are given equality only on article as reality is different where men dominate in all spheres of life from professional to personal. Even the terms ‘socialist’ and ‘secular’ were added during an emergency by an amendment and remained integral features of the republic. The third chapter on ‘Public Interest Litigation’ by Parmanand Singh describes Public Interest Litigation (PIL) as a unique phenomenon in the Indian constitution which has no substitute or alternative in the world. It deals with the protection of interest of groups of persons who are either the victims of government lawlessness or social oppression, or have been denied their basic constitutional rights or who are not in a position to approach the court due to lack of financial resources or disadvantaged social and economic positions. The most prominent feature of PIL has been the emergence of the new human rights—right to speedy trial, right against torture, sexual harassment, right to dignity, legal aid, clean environment, right to education, right to health care, and so on. It creates a new jurisprudence of accountability of the state for constitutional and legal obligations towards the weaker sections of the society. Another notable issue put forward by him are women issues which were brought before the Supreme Court. It also brought the famous announcement of Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, where for the first time the court declared that sexual harassment in the workplace constitutes violation of gender equality and right to equality, which are basic fundamental rights. The PIL has produced productive results in the areas of bonded labour, under trials and women prisoners, exploited children, beggars, and they have been given relief through judicial interventions. This chapter is followed by the chapter on ‘Indian Judicial System’, where Punam S. Khanna mentioned justice is universally considered to be a function of the sovereign, where in early societies courts were not present for settlement of disputes. Modern societies have various institutions for settlement of disputes like high courts, Supreme Court being the supreme interpreter of the constitution, and then there are original jurisdiction, appellate jurisdiction, advisory and review jurisdiction. The chapter also discusses about Nyaya panchayats, family courts and tribunals, and their role of delivering justice. The main role of the judiciary is not only interpreting and upholding the constitution but also deciding on the controversies between constituent states as well as between centre and state. The principle of social justice is duly reflected in the Indian constitution and directive principles in particular.

The fifth chapter is important in the context of access to criminal justice. ‘Access to Criminal Justice: Challenges and Prospects’ by Justice S. Muralidhar emphasizes on the delivery of justice includes not only providing justice but also access to the delivery and then to ensure that every person should receive a just and fair treatment within the legal system. The chapter also mentions about the Legal Services Authorities Act (LSAA), 1987, which ensures free legal services to citizens; in the working of LSAA, it is clear that the major area of activity has been the organizing of Lok Adalats. The chapter has also put forward the issues impacting the delivery of legal justice. The seventh chapter by Ved Kumar focuses on offences against women and discusses various crimes related to them like rape, dowry, dowry deaths, sexual harassment, child marriage, female infanticide, female foeticide, sex pre-selection, domestic violence, trafficking, etc. The shame and social stigma attached to rape victims prevent them to approach the legal system for justice. This requires that differential principles and procedures be applied so that women as victims are not further victimized by the legal system. Apart from defining rape by law which is considered as a heinous crime, the author discusses other offences relating to marriage and the laws regulating marriage in terms of age, cruelty, sati practice, etc. Sexual harassment at workplace is becoming a predominant phenomenon in the contemporary society where more women are entering into workforce along with men. The Vishaka case is a landmark case brought by social activists and NGOs by filing a writ petition in the Supreme Court for enforcement of the fundamental rights of working women under Article 14. Offences against women have roots in power relationships between a man and a woman and referring woman as the weaker, inferior and vulnerable. Though criminal law has taken long strides in facilitating access to justice for women by making various provisions, it has no mechanism to deal with the mental trauma of the victim. The author at the end has successfully brought up the public–private divide and this has broken the principles of equality, liberty and freedom in the public sphere should be applied to the private, that is, the domestic sphere as well. The eighth chapter deals with atrocities against scheduled caste and tribe which is an emerging area of importance as violence against these marginalized groups have increased in recent years. Constitutional provisions assuring equality and dignity to the scheduled castes and tribes have been made legally effective through specific laws. The failure of the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, against untouchability led government to appoint a committee in April 1965 to suggest changes in the Act. The ineffectiveness of the Civil Rights Act to check continued violence and discrimination against the scheduled castes and tribes led to the enactment of the new Act in 1989. There are other laws such as Bonded Labour System, 1976, Minimum Wage Act, 1948, etc. Therefore, the chapter discusses about the laws which aim at eliminating the social disabilities experienced by them, and the rising political consciousness among the group have opened up possibilities of social change.

Chapter 12 on the concept of Religious Personal laws (RPLs) introduces the different laws in different religions like Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and how in a secular country like India such laws are maintained. It also shows how after independence, the constituent assembly was given the task of formulating the constitution with respect to different religious personal laws. The chapter presents how personal laws under different religion are governed and discusses the ideas of marriage, divorce, succession under different personal laws. The author tried to show how the history of politicization of RPLs placed women at a disadvantageous position in the name of cultural autonomy.

The book also speaks on other important issues on laws relating to criminal justice administration, labour laws, law of contract, cyber laws, anti-terror laws and human rights and alternate dispute mechanisms.

The book aims at imparting legal knowledge not only to undergraduate students but general masses as well. The chapters are enlightening and try to highlight various dimensions of law. The book may go beyond covering the situations of some marginalized groups in the eyes of law like people with disabilities (PWDs), LGBTs (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), and men too (men’s rights; offences against men). The book is simple and precise, easy to grasp the principal laws, provisions and other socio-legal issues, thus a move towards ‘legal literacy’ by creating legal awareness.