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State two reasons why historians refute the claim that the British introduced the rule of law in India.


Historians refute the claim that the British introduced the rule of law in India on several grounds, two of which are stated below:

(i) The colonial rule was arbitrary. The British passed the Sedition Act in 1870. Under this Act any person protesting or criticising the British government could be arrested without trial.

(ii) The Indian nationalists played a prominent role in development of the legal sphere in British India.
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Write in your own words what you understand by the following sentences on page 44-45: They also began fighting for greater equality and wanted to change the idea of law from a set of rules that they were forced to obey, to law as including ideas of justice.


The Indian nationalists were fed up with the arbitrary use of authority by the British. They wanted to uproot it in order to bring equality. They made efforts to establish the rule of law by eliminating the colonial laws which were in no way justified.

By the end of the nineteenth century, the Indian legal profession also began emerging and demanded respect in colonial courts. They began to use law to defend the legal rights of Indians. Indian judges also began to play a greater role in making decisions. Therefore, there were several ways in which Indians played a major role in the evolution of the rule of law during the colonial period.
 
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Write in your own words what you understand by the term the ‘rule of law’. In your response include a fictitious or real example of a violation of the rule of law.


The term the ‘rule of law’ means that all laws apply equally to all citizens and no one is above the law, not even the President of India. The law cannot discriminate between person on the basis of their religion, caste or gender. Any crime or violation of law has a specific punishment as well as a process through which the guilt of the person has to be established. Example of violation of the rule of law:

(i)Driving a two-wheeler in a helmet is a law. But we find people often violating this law.

(ii)Bribing an official is a crime. But it has become a practice nowadays. It is a complete violation of law.
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Re-read the storyboard on how a new law on domestic violence got passed. Describe in your own words the different ways in which women's groups worked to make this happen.


The different ways are described below:

(i)When complaints by the victims of domestic violence increased, the need for a new law began to be felt.

(ii)Different forums raised the issue of domestic violence.

(iii)Lawyer Collective, a group of lawyers, law students and activists, after nationwide consultations, took the lead in drafting the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill. This draft was widely circulated.

(iv)The Bill was introduced in the Parliament in 2002.

(v)The Bill was opposed by the women's group.

(vi)A press conference was held in which a decision to start on-line petition was taken.
 
(vii)Several women's organisations, National Commission for Women made submissions to the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

(viii)In Dec 2002 the Parliamentary Standing Committee submitted its recommendations to the Rajya Sabha and these were also tabled in the Lok Sabha.

(ix)The Committee's report accepted most of the demands of the women's group. Finally a new bill was introduced in the Parliament.

(x)After being passed in both the Houses of the Parliament, it was sent to the President for his consent.

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act came into effect in 2006.
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