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Law as an instrument of social change

What is law? What is social change?

 Simply put, the law is a collection of  In sociology, social change
policies used to administer or govern
is the transformation of
the community. It is always important
to maintain a balance between processes within the social
society and the people who live in it structure and is defined by
so that people can depend on each adjustments to cultural
other and contribute to the progress
norms, behavioral codes,
of society.
social structures, or value
 According to Austin, the law is the
systems.
Command of the Sovereign
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There are two main ways that law may
be utilized to bring about social change.
1)Laws bringing about social
change
 When someone says that the law is altering
society, what they mean is that the law is
compelling society to obey it to make a
difference or change the atmosphere. For
instance, untouchability has long been a
social issue. Article 17 of the Indian
Constitution states that untouchability shall
be prohibited. In this way, the legislation
altered society by mostly eradicating social
issues. Untouchability will continue to be
viewed as a violation of the law and will not
be tolerated.
2)The law is changing as a
result of society.
 However, when society modifies the
law, it shows that society is adjusting
the law to suit its purposes. As part of
the sati custom, the women were
expected to be burnt alive alongside
their departed husbands. The Hindus
were required to adhere to this ritual.
The community enacted changes to
get rid of this custom. Therefore, in a
sense, the community changed the
legislation already in place.
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The social problems listed are among the most significant social
problems now affecting the world, and the only way to solve these
problems is via law.

 1)Racial Discrimination

 2)Climate change

 3) women's and
children's exploitation
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Law as an instrument of social change in,
India
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1. Abolition of Sati System:

 Sati was a long-standing Hindu tradition. On December 4, 1829,

Governor Lord William Bentinck officially banned it in the Bengal
Presidency by enacting a law declaring that burning alive a
Hindu widow was wrong and subject to criminal prosecution.
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2. Remarriage of widows

 To safeguard their family’s reputations and assets, Hindu culture

forbade widows from remarrying. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s
efforts persuaded the British to adopt legislation permitting
Hindu women to remarry. This led to the passage of the Hindu
Widow Remarriage Act in 1856. allowing Hindu widows to
remarry and providing legal protections against losing certain
inheritance rights when a Hindu widow remarries. As a result, it
gave a Hindu widow the ability to survive.
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3. The abolition of child labor

A serious offense is depriving a youngster of the enjoyment of

childhood. The First, of its sort, the Factories Act of 1881,
prohibited hiring children under the age of seven and set limits on
working hours. Due to the Child Labour(Prohibition and Regulation)
Act of 1986, child labor is prohibited for anybody under the age of
14 years old.
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4. Public Interest Litigation

 To promote a different approach to law on the side of the people, the

Supreme Court gave individuals one such instrument, public interest
litigation. Using public interest litigation, a person can approach the
court on behalf of a group of people who are affected by something
that has to be stopped to prevent further suffering.

Public interest litigation has occasionally had an important impact on

society. Among them all, the MC. Mehta v. Union of India case stands
out. It was established that these claims fell within the ambit of Article 21
of the constitution in this public interest issue, and the Supreme Court
was urged to provide access to clean water, fresh air, and a safe
environment for individuals.
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5). Disallowance Of Child Marriage:

 Prohibition of Child Marriage This practice of child marriage was

vehemently seen in Indian society across various religious
communities. The Hindu Child Marriage Restraint Act was
substituted by the prohibition of the Child Marriage Act 2006.
This act enhanced the punishment to up to two years rigorous
imprisonment or with ne up to Rs 2 lakhs or with both
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6)Free Education is a Fundamental
Right:
 The Hon’ble Supreme court ruled that Article 21 of the
Constitution declares the right to education to be a fundamental
right. The five-judge panel found that the right to education is a
basic right under Article 21 of the Constitution in the Mohini Jain
v State of Karnataka case. But only children up to the age of 14
have access to the right to free education. However, following
that, the state will offer free education within the constraints of
its financial ability. Following that, the legislature modified the
constitution by adopting Art. 21A, which made all children
between the ages of 6 and 14 entitled to free and compulsory
schooling.
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7)Section 377

 In the significant verdict of Navtej Singh Johar v. Union of India,

the Supreme Court decriminalized all forms of consensual sex
between adults, including gay intercourse. The Indian culture,
customs, and beliefs underwent a dramatic change as a result
of this Supreme Court ruling. The majority of individuals, notably
the gay community, welcomed the ruling. In a sense, the
Supreme Court re-established Article 21 by holding that
everyone has a right to life and personal freedom, which should
not be restricted because of social mores.
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8)The abolition of slavery:

 Slavery existed across the world up to the 18th century. All

people were regarded as commodities and did not have any
rights as people. Slaves were not considered to be people. In
India, bonded labor and slavery were prohibited by Article 23 of
the Indian Constitution. The Bonded Labor System (Abolition)
Act of 1976 is another unique law that brought social change
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9)Muslim women are entitled to
maintenance:
 According to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of Shah
Bano Begum (Mohd. Ahmad Khan v. ShahBano Begum, AIR
1985 SC945) if a divorced woman can support herself, her
husband’s liability ends with the iddat period. However, if she is
unable to do so after the iddat period, she is entitled to
maintenance under section 125 of the CRPC, which sparked
debate on the Muslim Women Act of 1986. The court further
noted that the CRPC provisions are secular in character and
apply to all religions regardless of whether the spouse is Hindu,
Muslim, Christian, or Parsi.
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CONCLUSION

 Coming towards the end of the discussion regarding how a law

be used as an instrument of social change, it can be said that
law is already an instrument present to bring in social change,
and to be precise it has brought in a lot of social changes but it
still has a long way to go in order to bring in societal
transformation.