MENSTRUAL TABOOS AND ITS IMPACT ON HUMAN RIGHTS By Anahita Dube

As the humankind evolves its horizons and spreads its wings in different spectrums of life through technology, knowledge and freedom it is still far away from overcoming the societal restrictions that hinders its growth. The era of millennials as we refer to the 21st century, still needs to overcome the preposterous socio-cultural customs that hampers the overall development. Among so many unscientific and unreasonable societal malpractices, is “Menstrual Taboo”. The thought process where a natural phenomenon is not widely accepted clearly indicates how far behind the humankind is in respect to humanity, development and advancement. It has been commonly observed that the society as a whole feels apprehensive and uncomfortable when it comes to discuss a simple but essential biological process of Menstruation.

Due to so many different societal comprehensions of menstruation the health of women and young girls gets compromised. They feel uncomfortable discussing a simple biological phenomenon due all these constraints around it. With the negative and forbidden approach and mindset towards menstruation, it has affected the society and humankind in some very adverse ways. The abominable thought process has given rise to heedless unhealthy patterns observed in the society.

Around the world millions of young girls and women are not met with the basic requirement of proper sanitation. During the menstrual cycle women and girls are deemed as corrupt and impure. All around the globe menstruation is associated with different ritual practices and these are performed in various different forms on young girls. According to the UNICEF, traditional Bolivian beliefs misinforms young girls and women that disposal of menstrual pads along with other garbage can lead to sickness or cancer1. In developing and poor countries like India, menstruating women and girls are not allowed at holy occasions and places. Women of rural or uneducated communities are not provided with proper sanitation and are made to sit, eat and live separately as from the rest of their family members during their cycle. These are just a few taboos and stigmas people have and practice all around the globe but these belief systems often lead to shame and low self-esteem among young girls that not only has lifelong effect but it also influences their future generations.

It is of utmost importance to understand the gravity of this societal perspective when it comes to Menstruation. The psychological and emotional effect it has on the developing minds of young women and girls is lifelong. They are made to believe from a very young age that menstruation is in fact unnatural. It was reported that 28%2 young girls in India have to avoid their schooling during their menstrual cycles due insufficiency in sanitation and proper affordable protection. At times menstruation becomes the reason for the young girls of rural communities in India to conclude their educational endeavors at an early stage.

Through the journey of time, the restrictions and apprehensions around the Menstrual Cycle has become more perceivable to the community. It is astounding that a natural biological process is viewed as something that can’t be sincerely discussed among the community. When the girl child reaches the age of experiencing a beautiful biological evolution which should be proudly accepted, she is made to understand and believe that it should be embraced rather shyly than boldly and bravely. It is presented to her in a way that divulges that she shouldn’t even talk or discuss something biologically natural in the “patriarchal society” as it is deemed unpleasant to the patriarchal perspective.

The gloomy approach towards an intrinsic phenomenon is not only immoral but inhuman as well. It needs to be understood that this biological process is not unnatural. Every human has the right to be able to express themselves and by considering and deeming a natural health process as a taboo simply implies how compromised we as a society and community are. Even though we have globalized and developed in so many different aspects of humankind, we are still far away from achieving the basic human right of accepting ourselves biologically and naturally. Such practices and customs defiles the basic pneuma of human rights. It is high time to rise above this social evil and break this socio-cultural misconception that has turned a natural and scientific phenomenon into a taboo.

¹ h ttps://www.deccanherald.com/specials/taboos-around-menstruation-in-the-21st-century-741613.html

² h ttps://thewire.in/gender/menstriations-taboo-hygiene

MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS By Bhoomika Pundir

“Advertising is the art of convincing people to spend money they don’t have for something they don’t need.”  ~Will Rogers

An advertisement is a marketing tool which is used for sales promotion and publicity. It is describing or praising one’s own good or services. According to the American Marketing Association, “Advertising is any paid form of impersonal presentation and promotion of goods, services or ideas by an identified sponsor.” Advertisements are made to influence the consumers to buy particular products or services of a particular brand which is also known as ‘branding’. The consumer becomes familiar with the product or services which helps them to make the right choice.

In today’s time where advertising is such an important tool for increasing sales of a company product and helping consumers to buy new and effective goods, there are also some companies who display misleading advertisements for their own profit.  False or Misleading advertisement means, an advertisement that deceives or is likely to deceive anyone that sees it. The result of such false advertisement is that the output which the consumer thinks will be seen after using a particular product or service is just opposite of that or even no results and here the consumer gets deceived. So, misleading advertising affects consumers choices regarding what they buy. Misleading advertisements violates consumers’ right to information and choice and thereby causes financial loss and mental disturbance to the consumer.

Some examples of false advertisements are- claims made about the characteristics of goods and services contain a false statement of fact, the price or manner in which the price is calculated, is misrepresented, the conditions of supply of the good or service differs to that advertised, etc.

There are many negative impacts of misleading advertisements. Advertisements related to health cures and drugs of questionable efficacy are many times very harmful, as they can have a severe consequence on health and safety of consumers; if they are taken without a physician or a doctor’s advice. Many beauty products and weight loss medicines related to misleading advertisements have been reported in the newspaper time and again. They often lead to very low self- esteem, and dangerous impact on the health of the innocent consumers. Advertisements related to height increasing products also come under such misleading ad categories. Mostly no results are produced from using such products but they only play with the mind and pockets of the consumer.

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, applies to advertisements for all products in the market-place. A consumer may file a complaint related to false and misleading advertisements which are included under unfair trade practices[1].

Some other legislation related to controlling such false advertisements are Obscene publication of advertisement of a lottery under the Indian Penal Code 1860, Drugs and Cosmetics Act, Trade Mark Act, Drugs and Magic Remedies (objectionable advertisement) Act etc.

Other regulatory agencies are Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), Advertising Association of India (AAAI), Press Council of India (PCI), Prasar Bharati, Code for commercial advertising on Doordarshan.

In spite of this prohibitory legislation and existing regulatory authority, false and misleading advertisement cases are nowadays increasing at a high speed & is becoming a matter of huge concern. Some judicial decision taken in this concern are-

In Colgate-Palmolive Ltd. v. Anchor Health & Beauty Care Pvt. Ltd.[2]Hon’ble High Court held that the respondent is guilty of unfair trade practice, by projecting their product as the only product containing 3 ingredients and as the first product to provide all-round protection. The court hence in the public interest passed an order to remove such misleading advertisement and to issue a corrective advertisement in which words like ‘ONLY’ and ‘FIRST’ were restrained from using.

In Buddhist Mission Dental College and Hospital v. Bhupesh Khurana and Ors.[3]Relying upon the false advertisement by the Buddhist Mission Dental College and Hospital many students took admission in the college and after several months came to know that the claim made by the plaintiff to the respondents in the advertisement as well as in the prospectus was false, because the appellant college was neither affiliated to the Magadh University nor it was recognised by the Dental Council of India. The Supreme Court directed the institute to additionally pay compensation of Rs. 1 lakh to each complainant and also directed the institute to pay the cost of litigation which is quantified at Rs. 1 lakh to each of the complainants. 

Advertisement in today’s time is a very important tool for making effective communication strategy. But at the same time misleading and false advertisements can lead to many harmful results. So, they must be properly checked and then floated amongst the consumers and special care should be taken to protect the children, young communities and patients from the evil of false and misleading advertisements. Also, it is the duty of the consumer to be vigilant of what he/she is using and buy only trusted and verified products.

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^[1]Section 2(r) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986

^[2] (2008) Madras HC

^[3](2009) 4 SCC 484

GAPS IN THE MAINTENANCE OF ROAD SAFETY By Xenia Khan

People killed by road accidents in India, make up to 11% of accidents related to death across the world, according to the WHO Global Report on Road Safety 2018. India lands itself at 1^st rank in the number of road accident deaths across the countries reported in World Road Statistics, followed by China and the United States. 

Accidents caused by mistakes of drivers such as over speeding, drunk driving, and getting distracted while driving, are the one of the main cause of road accidents in India. According to the report of the National Crime Record Bureau, in 2018, 55.2% of road accidents were caused by over-speeding, and 27.3% because of careless or rash driving

Though the quality of roads has improved over the past year, but the quality of road infrastructure still has a significant amount of contribution when it comes to fatalities caused by road accidents. Even on an empty road, people still cannot afford to take their eyes off the road while driving, even if it is for a second.

Bad road conditions can arise out of natural conditions, like heavy rain, or can be the reason of an awful job done by the workers while building it up. Or can also arise out of not being maintained regularly. Bumpy roads, potholes, or cracks can lead a driver to lose their balance and risk the lives of other drivers, as well as theirs. While driving at night, Street light plays an important role in assuring the safety of a driver; without a properly working street light, driving can lead to a mishap. Road features such as sharp curves, potholes, and steep grades tend to be more accident-prone because it is not easy for a person to negotiate such road features without extra skill, care, and alertness.

Reasons other than the bad road infrastructure that leads to a road accident in India are: violation of traffic rules, not using safety devices (seatbelts or helmets), and possession of an invalid driving license. Overloaded vehicles or trucks are a major reason for accidents in India; it is not an easy job to control an overloaded vehicle, and for other fellow drivers following or driving behind the vehicle, it becomes too difficult to look over it and be alert for the ones coming towards them.

Having strict traffic laws in a country, and enforcing them are two completely different aspects. India certainly has very strict traffic laws imposed as compared to other countries, but implementing and regulating them in the daily life is a tough job in a country like India where corruption exists at every step.

26% out of all the road accidents that took place in 2018 were caused by drivers without valid licenses or drivers with a learner's license, according to a report submitted by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MORTH). Acquiring a driving license is a job way too easy, many people don’t even go through the mandatory driving test or a lesson; they get their license delivered at home. Having the basic driving skills should be a concern higher than it is right now.

Developing 4-lanes or 6-lanes expressways and roads is no doubt a worthy upgrade to highways, these highways are definitely good for cars, buses, and big vehicles, but sadly, the same cannot be said about the slow-moving vehicles such as two-wheelers, animal cart drivers or cyclists. It is necessary to take care of the needs of not just four-wheelers but also the others who need to use the roads. 

So the real question is, will the betterment of road infrastructure help reduce the road traffic accidents in our country? Or will it take more than just a good road infrastructure to reduce road accidents in India?

Blaming government solely for all the road accidents is not exactly right, as it takes two hands to clap and thus, if the government is making a law it is the duty of the public to follow and abide by it, and if they find any flaw then raise their voice against it. There are many ways to control accidents; putting speed detectors in use, in all the states of India, in some states the speed detection devices are already in use, and the device measures the speed accurately and the driver traced with speed more than advised is booked with a fine depending on the type of vehicle he or she was driving.

Giving and taking of bribes is one of the reasons for the slow growth rate of a country. If people pay the fines or challans, instead of giving bribes, and also if the officials refuse to take the bribery, things might get better. With the introduction of E-challan, corruption has reduced a bit, but still prevails.

With a population of more than 1 billion, it is difficult to take control of all the fatalities with an understaffed police force, the biggest hope again lies on the public, by following the rules and avoid giving bribes, and using all the safety measures/devices.

CYBER CRIMES IN CYBER SOCIETY By Neha Garg

“If you don’t like something, change it. if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.”

                                                                                                                                 -Mary Englebreit

In the present era of technology where everything is done through internet, we live a life made of internet and for the internet. Traditionally people used to buy books now they have kindle, earlier they had to stand in queues for booking tickets or paying their bills now it done through a click.

The adage “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” stands true here. This means that internet too has a winning side and a not so good losing side. The positive side of internet is helpful in everyday life. It helps students to learn new things and boosts their creativity. It helps the employees to complete their work on time. The access to internet gives them the comfort to work from home. But at the same time, a not so bright picture also comes into effect which makes things ugly and the internet a liability, a drawback, a disgrace to humanity, morality, peace, and advancement.

For once, lets focus on the crimes that are committed on internet every day and every hour. Crimes committed through internet are called cybercrimes. These are the criminal offences done by the means of internet or by various forms of social networking sites by an individual or a group of individuals which cause physical or mental harm or loss to the victim or their reputation directly or indirectly. Cybercrimes include cyberbullying, cyber stalking, online harassment, identity thefts, hacking copyright infringement, sextortion, child pornography etc. All these crimes are gender neutral as well as age neutral.

According to a report published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB 1986) under the Information Technology Act states that the cybercrimes doubled in 2017 over 2016 with an increase of 77% as compared to 2016. The motive behind 56% of these registered cybercrimes cases was found to be fraud, while 6.7% of cases were of sexual exploitation and 4.6% were registered for spreading malign and disrepute information. Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases (4971) followed by Maharashtra with (3604) cases and Karnataka with (3174) cases. Maximum offenders arrested for cybercrimes fall in the age group of 18-35 years. Hacking the computer systems and obscene publication were the main cases registered under IT Act.

These cybercrimes raise many questions like who are the people behind it? How do they operate?  What do they achieve after doing it? Is their any law to remit the cyber acts?

The people behind these cyber acts are hackers, paedophiles, cybercriminals, threat actors.

Cybercriminals use false identity to trap the children, teenagers, and even adults. They contact them through various chat rooms like the latest "so-called-friendly" apps say Instagram, snapchat, WhatsApp and so on. We have seen a similar approach in the latest case - bois locker room. These people seem friendly and extract the personal information from the users after winning their confidence. Sometimes they start contacting victim on his/her e-mail address. They start sending pornographic images/text to the victim to make them shed their inhibitions so that they feel that whatever is being fed to him is normal and that everybody does it. They further extract other personal information about victims and then drag them further into the net of sexual assault or harassment by using them as a sex object. This is their modus operandi.

The laws that govern the cybercrimes in cyberspace can help victims get justice. These laws make sure that criminals get the punishment for the inhuman crimes committed by them. Various sections of Information and Technology Act 2000 deals with different cybercrimes. Tampering with Computer source documents - Sec.65,  Hacking with Computer systems and  Data alteration - Sec.66, Publishing obscene information - Sec.67, Un-authorised access to protected system - Sec.70 , Breach of Confidentiality and Privacy - Sec.72, Publishing false digital signature certificates - Sec.73.

The Indian Penal Code 1860 also has various sections that cover cybercrimes -Sending threatening messages by email - Sec 503 IPC, Sending defamatory messages by email - Sec 499 IPC, Forgery of electronic records - Sec 463 IPC, Bogus websites, cyber frauds - Sec 420 IPC, Email spoofing - Sec 463 IPC, Web-Jacking - Sec. 383 IPC, E-Mail Abuse - Sec.500 IPC.

These acts are gender and age neutral which means, the criminals target both male and female victim from all age groups. The popular techniques used are cyber stalking, child pornography, sexting, sexual harassment, blackmailing, online grooming, morphing.

The main motive behind the crimes remains diverse. Some of these crimes are committed for money or property, while others for revenge. Many a times a sociopath indulges in such crimes for enjoyment. 

These crimes affect the victims adversely. Their reputation is maligned, they are defamed, and they are robbed of their money and internal peace. Many of these cases have resulted in severe cases of depression among victims and in many worse cases they have resulted in an unstable emotionally drained victim. Many of them have fought the long and tedious battle for justice while many others have succumbed to this torture by committing suicides.

We must identify these sociopaths and psychopaths that are draining our society of its peace. The authorities need to take strict action and maintain strict surveillance on shady activities on internet to prevent this evil from developing its root deep in our society. We also need efficient and supportive laws that help speed up the justice process. But most important of all, we need a deep introspection of ourselves and our society that have nourished the sadistic tendencies of people. We need a fundamental change in the mindsets to stop this virus in our cyber life and continue to use internet for overall growth and progress of human life.

References

http://www.helplinelaw.com/employment-criminal-and-labour/CCII/cyber-crimes-in-india-what-is-types-web-hijacking-cyber-stalking.html

http://www.helplinelaw.com/employment-criminal-and-labour/CCII/cyber-crimes-in-india-what-is-types-web-hijacking-cyber-stalking.html

https://www.thehindu.com/data/cyber-crime-cases-in-india-jumped-77-in-2017-compared-to-2016/article29889061.ece

LAW OF SEDITION- THE RIGHTS INFRINGER? By Aayush Sharma

INTRODUCTION

Offences against the state are amongst the common Penal provisions enforced in many countries. In the English common Law, publication of seditious writing (seditious libel) or the utterance of seditious speech (seditious words) was made a crime long time ago. Treason, Sedition, sabotage, espionage and terrorism are some of the very popular offences against the state. Treason amongst all is of highest degree and is ultimately punishable with death.

LAW OF SEDITION IN INDIA

In simple words, sedition is the offense of organizing or encouraging opposition to government in a manner such as in speech or writing. Though, it may have same ultimate effect as treason but is generally falls short of more dangerous offences constituting sedition. Sedition in Indian Law has been effective since 1870 when it was introduced by Sir James Stephen.

Gandhi when charged of sedition in 1922 called this provision as prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed which suppresses the liberty of a citizen. According to him, Law cannot manufacture or regulate affection of a citizen towards its government. Unless the expression of disaffection contemplates, promote or incite to violence, one should be free to express his disaffection to the fullest. Jawaharlal Nehru also highlighted the provision as ‘obnoxious’ and ‘highly objectionable’ and ‘the sooner we get rid of it the better’. Strangely it has never been pondered upon to cease this provision.

The Section 124A of Indian Penal Code, 1860 defines Sedition (a non-bailable offence) as:

“Whoever, by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the Government estab­lished by law in India, shall be punished with im­prisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with impris­onment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.”

CASES OF SEDITION IN INDIA

Misuse of Sedition Law by government has been noticed in various cases (before and after independence) since its introduction in penal provisions.

As in 2014, while supporting Pakistan in a cricket match against India, some students of Kashmir were charged with sedition. Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) show that 70 new cases of sedition have been filed in 2018.[1]Also, it is being predicted that around 190 cases of sedition have been recently filed in 2019 amidst CAA protests. Hemant Soren (CM, Jharkhand) while withdrawing sedition charges of some protestors against CAA quoted that, "Law is not meant to suppress people's voice, but to create a sense of security among the people. My government will respect law and protect people". The data also shows the increasing rate of sedition charges every year,Also it is important to note that only four cases actually resulted in conviction in the last four years.[2]

On January 14, 2019 ex-Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar and nine others were charged by Delhi Police for the offence allegedly committed during a campus protest three years ago. In case of headmistress, Fareeda Begum and Najamunnisa, the mother of the child who allegedly made the derogatory comment against the Prime Minister were arrested on January 30, 2020 by police and sent to judicial custody. In the very same case, police questioned, harassed and intimidated children as young as 6 to 7 years and other officials of schools for hours for merely participating in a play that talked about the ill-effects of NRC.

CURRENT STATUS OF THE LAW

The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Kedar Nath’s Case[3] held the section constitutional and opined that an individual is charged with the offence of Sedition only when the case arises that the words, written or spoken, creates a tendency of disturbance of law or public disorder. The court also held that a citizen has a right to appreciate or criticise the government so long as he does not incite public disorder or violence against government established by law.

Also, Allahabad High Court in 1959 held that the root of free speech is being struck by the law of sedition.[4]Further in Balwant Singh’s case[5],SC held that mere raising of some slogans only a couple of times which does not evoke reactions amongst public can neither attract the provisions of Section 124A or Section 153A IPC and thus a more overt act was required to bring home the charges under those provisions.

Subsequently, in Shreya Singhal & Ors. V. Union of India (2015)[6], the law laid down in Kedarnath’s case[7] has been strengthened and reiterated, wherein the distinction between ‘advocacy’, and ‘incitement’, and how restrictions under Article 19(2) ought to be strictly interpreted to not include ‘innocent speech’ were highlighted by the court. In recent case of Common Cause v. Union of India[8], SC ordered that authorities that while dealing with offences under 124A, it shall be guided by principles laid down in Kedarnath’s Case.

Recently in August 2018, a consultation paper published by the Law Commission of India recommending to re-think or repeal the Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code that deals with sedition. It has further suggested to invoke 124A only when it is done with the intention to disrupt public order or to overthrow the Government with violence and illegal means.

CONCLUSION- IS THAT A RIGHT INFRINGER?

It is no more concealed that governments fulfilling its political agendas have been continuously using the Law of Sedition to harass, intimidate and to silent the dissenters. Ironically, this colonial relic has been abolished in UK in 2009 but is still effective in India. Also, UPA government which opposes the same law in recent times, when it is being misused by BJP amidst CAA, had never pondered in repealing the same during their rule.

Vague laws like Sedition undermine the rule of law as the door to selective prosecution and interpretation, based on discriminatory policies of government officials is being opened by the same. Thus, the laws like Sedition are rights infringer of freedom speech and expression has no place in a democratic republic like India.

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[1]https://ncrb.gov.in/sites/default/files/crime_in_india_table_additional_table_chapter_reports/Table%2010A.2.pdf

[2]https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/should-the-sedition-law-be-scrapped/article30993146.ece

[3] Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar, AIR 1962 SC 955: [1962] Supp 2 SCR 76

[4]Ram Nandan vs State AIR 1959 All 101, 1959 CrLJ 1

[5]Balwant Singh And Anr. vs State of Punjab 1995 (1) SCR 411 

[6]Shreya Singhal & Ors. V. Union of India  AIR 2015 SC 1523

[7] ibid

[8] Writ Petitions Civil No. 683/2016

Time to bring change; Justice for Dalits By Gazal Gupta

Mahatma Gandhi said “if untouchability lives, humanity must die”. Every week 13 Dalits are murdered, 5 Dalit homes are burnt, 6 Dalit people are kidnapped and 21 Dalit women are raped. Dalits, yes the outcasts or let’s say the ones without whom our homes won’t function are those individuals who are broken down by higher-ups in a systematic and deliberate manner and are kept at the bottom of almost every parameter of social or economic wellbeing. Our unfortunate diversification has resulted into formation of castes, where the upper class violate the rights of the lower class.

Even our inalienable human rights can’t protect safety, equality or justice in this vicious circle of social division. Despite the fact that abolishment of untouchability took place in 1950’s,it still remains intact at various places today in 2019’s and there are still several types of discrimination taking place like not allowed to use same temples, same wells, can’t drink from same cup on tea stalls. Regardless of their extreme poverty they are given most menial tasks and our paid very less for the same. They are treated harshly, inhumanly and our given no support.

Our government has created numerous laws like social caste and social tribes act 1955, untouchability act 1955, protection of civil rights act 1955 but still can’t ensure the safety and security of the rights of aggrieved Dalits. They are still harmed, discriminated against and denied access. Even the special considerations granted by the government aren’t reaching Dalits and the reserves give very less benefit.  Apart from this our belief in police to help us attain equality isn’t very advantageous as they themselves violate the rights of Dalits by not filing their complaints and providing justice. For how long must the discrimination continue? For how long must the lower class lose their lives? Will they never get respect in our society?

These questions for now will remain unanswered but the abolishment of untouchability,not just in terms of law but in reality too is necessary for development of our country as a whole and for the accomplishment of the same, here are some recommendations through which our society can take one more step towards equality. There should be proper law enforcement of Dalits, mandatory provision should be issued regarding access in temples to all Dalits, providing speedy justice to all Dalits, improvement in police efficiency. Awareness is also a key to change, so people should be aware of their own rights, protection of others rights and legal provisions which are in compliance with it.

Although India has made progress in terms of providing protection to Dalits but there rights are still being infringed and they are still being transgressed with. Being a Dalit is like “getting punishment without committing a sin” and the brutality of which we can’t even imagine. Hence, It is high time now, lives should be saved of the “broken people” of India (Dalits) and the social hierarchy should be abolished. Lets voice our thoughts, lets save our owns because “if not now then when, if not us then who?”

Dr. B.R. AMBEDKAR AND SOCIAL JUSTICE-Piyush Kumar Roy

Introduction

The soil of India was blessed with a son namely Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar born in a Mahar caste considered to be the lowest in Hindu social order. Dr. Ambedkar defying all the humiliations because of his low caste attained higher education and established himself as a crusader against injustice in India society.

The life of Dr. Ambedkar was a mission against the prevalent social evils such as untouchability, varna system and degraded status of women. His contribution in the named sector proclaims him the title of modern social reformer.

Dr. Ambedkar’s entire life was devoted towards mankind and promoting spirit of nationalism and patriotism by chanting the mantra of equality, liberty and fraternity which shall be evident from discussion in this article under appropriate sub headings by deciphering his ideas and philosophy of social justice.

The Concept of Indian Social Justice and Ancient Hindu Society.

 The approach towards justice by Indian society was in consonance with performance of duties as per Dharma rather than enjoyment of rights. The two major pillars of Justice were Dandaniti i.e. modern day’s law and punishment and Dharma i.e. code of duties.

The social order was arranged as per the varna system i.e. bifurcation of status into four orders, the Brahamna, the Khastriya, the Vaishya, the Shudras. This arrangement of social order is also known as Varnashrama Dharma which rejects the fundamental concept that every individual was born equal with equal opportunities resulting into inequalities and dehumanization. Dr. Ambedkar on the point of varnashrama dharma stated that this vedic principle dictates the duty of individual as per caste, determined by birth which was negation of social justice[1] as there was no liberty of occupation or equality of opportunity to rise to the higher strata of the society. The other practices of social injustices can be exposed through the Ashramvyavastha and slavery through the varna and jati system in Hindu social order[2].

The reliance must be laid upon the two major oppressed sections i.e.Shudras, who were lowest in the social order was considered as untouchables and denied access to public paths, temple, rivers and normally to everything which was enjoyed by the upper castes and the women who were denied education and declared to be devoid of spiritual potentiality[3]. This two sections attracted particular concern of Babashaeb is highlighted under the below headings.

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: The Crusader of Social Justice; Philosophy and Struggle.

Dr. Ambedkar belonged to Mahar caste which was treated as untouchable and subject to socio-economic discrimination. Babasaheb’s life was no exception to this evil practice but he was armed with only one weapon, his power of logic and thought and consistently fought for the upliftment of downtrodden sections. The contribution of Dr. Ambedkar in evolution of law and social justice can be evaluated from the statement of Former Chief Justice of India P.B. Gajendragadkar who said “Ambedkar is law maker of 20^th century and modern manu but unlike old manu this new manu favoured equality and social justice.”

It is pertinent to simplify the term social justice to understand the struggle and philosophy of Dr. Ambedkar. The term has been used widely by many philosophers and thinkers. According to Utilitarianismtheory social justice is the component of justice which stands for fraternity to ensure fair development of human beings.[4]John Rawls in his theory of justice says “all social primary goods-liberty and opportunity, income and wealth, and the basis of selfrespect are to be distributed equally unless an unequal distribution of any or all of these goods is to the advantage of the least favoured”[5]. In contemporary period social justice was defined none other than pioneer of Judicial Activism Justice Krishan Iyarwho expressed that “social justice is not cant but conscience, not verbal borrowing from like documents but the social force of the supreme law”.  Social justice is people oriented, legal justice is canalized, controlled and conferred by law[6].

The basic idea derived from foregoing is that social justice means fair society and each individual who have been subjected social oppression from several years must get opportunity to live a dignified life.Dr. Ambedkar’s directs the path of Buddham, Dhammam and Sangham i.e. education, agitation and organisation which is the basic requirement to achieve social justice.

It is evident to understand the struggle of Dr. Ambedkar’s life which led to development of his philosophy. At first, he had two fold struggle aimed at exposing the Hindu social order meant to protect the status of Brahmins and other to refuse the argument made in support of such practices. Few measures adopted by him in are establishing Bahiskrut Hitakarini Sabha in 1924, Evolution to Dalit Poetry, Hindu Code Bill in post independence era, abolishing discrimination through Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy in Indian Constitution and demand for reservation for dalits.

To conclude with his philosophy it could be summarized that it was the outcome of these struggle and days of humiliations which gave birth to his philosophy of social justice in which he advocated for liberty for action and expression, equalitywhich binds men together and fraternity for sense of brotherhood in all Indians and said divorcing anyone from the trinity shall defeat the very purpose of democracy[7] and blessed new born independent India with Social Democracy.

Dr. Ambedkar’s Vision of Ideal Society and Present Scenario.

The Ambedkar’s vision of ideal society rests on the proposition that a just society is that in which ascending sense of reverence and descending sense of contempt is dissolved into the creation of a compassionate society.

The concept of ideal society is apparently clear from the philosophy of Babasaheb, therefore under this heading efforts has been made to present the outline of his ideas and vision for a just society specifically through the below mentioned points-

·    The society must be based liberty, equality and fraternity and follow the religion of rationality by rejecting traditional dogmas and superstitious beliefs.

·       Individual must be regarded as above the society and should be treated as ends and not as means.

·       The evil practices of casteism and untouchability must be abolished and constitutional ideas based on Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy must be cherished.

·    The status in the society should not be determined by birth but by merits and achievement and believed in one man one value.

·       There must be division of labour in the society based on individual ability and every individual shall have freedom to choose ones’s occupation or profession.

·       Society must thrive for benevolence, mutual love, tolerance and spiritual awakening.

·       The press is essential part for the development of society.

·       Dr. Ambedkaar was feminist of his era who consistently advocated for upliftment of women through education and access to material and social resources.

The foregoing points reflects the vision of social democracy as Babasaheb believed political democracy can never succeed without social and economical democracy which is very well evident from usage of terms in preamble in order of social, economical and at last political.

The vision of Dr. Ambedkar when examined with present scenario of the society appears to be dormant in nature because few practices which were rigorously disregarded by him are still followed such as dominance of casteism, Obstacle in inter-caste marriage, bonded labour due to economic and social conditions, mob lynching in name of religion, vote bank politics against Dalit community and disrespect to women in form of heavy and irrational social restrictions, sexual offences against women and huge discrimination between rich and poor based on income and wealth.

Today, Babasaheb is not with us to guide the society but his never diminishing ideas still prevails in academic studies and theories which needs to be applied pragmatically in the society and within every individual to attain the dream of sustainable society through social justice.

The topic of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Social Justice is never ending and cannot be restricted within few words under the heading of conclusion as the ideas and philosophy of Babasaheb is to renovated and rejuvenated by each generation of the this country to attain the self determined goals and gift a level playing field to upcoming generations.

The completion of any work based on Babasaheb can never be a sigh of relief rather a sense of regret as his several contribution may go unnoticed and uncherished due to his immense personality and benefaction for the society.

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[1]Jatava D.R.;Op. Cit., p.98

[2] Dr. Ambedkar B.R.; Writings and Speeches; Vol.3, p.25

[3]  Dr. Ambedkar on women’s emancipation, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar series Pub. of  Ambedkar Peeta, KSOU, Mysore, 2005, P.5.

[4]  Nazeer.H.Khan, “B.R. Ambedkar on federalism, ethnicity and junder justice” Deep&Deep Pub. NewDelhi, P.151.

[5] John Rawl’s “Theory of Justice” Universal Law Pub. Delhi, 2002, P.44.

[6]  Krishna Iyar “B.R. Ambedkar Centenary, Social Justice and the Undone vast Justice” B.R Pub. Delhi, 1991, P.141.

[7] Dr. Ambedkar B.R.; Writings and Speeches; Vol. 13,. pp. 1216-17