NCJ Number
79940
Date Published
1979
Length
222 pages
Annotation
The historical development of India's legal institutions and values is discussed, with attention to the interaction of changes in the legal system and sociocultural changes in India.
Abstract
This interdisciplinary work traces the evolution of India's legal system in its dynamic interrelationship with the changing nature of political authority, shifts in the economy, and the contending religious philosophies. This study, which is the product of the collaborative efforts of a sociologist and a Sanskrit scholar, focuses on judicial institutions and procedure, inheritance of property, law of contract, and criminal law. Topics discussed under criminal law are abuse (abusive statements against persons of various circumstance, class, position, and office), assault, theft, crimes of violence, and adultery. The study shows how rudimentary prejudices generated by the clash of races and cultures were later legitimized in sacred and secular law. Further, it is shown how the judicial system responded to the growing needs of commerce and industry by developing a high degree of complexity and sophistication. Footnotes accompany each chapter, and a subject index is provided.