Kerala - Kottayam   

`Law has vital role in ensuring social justice'

By Our Staff Reporter

KOTTAYAM, APRIL 9. K.G. Balakrishnan, judge of the Supreme Court, today said the role of law was vital in effecting and ensuring social justice in society. Delivering the Ambedkar Memorial Lecture instituted by the School of Indian Legal Thought at Mahatma Gandhi University here, Mr. Balakrishnan said law was a more powerful tool than economic policies in ensuring social justice.

He said law and the legal system were in the forefront of social change in India. He referred to tribal laws and pointed out that various judgments in this regard were the tools that ensured that tribal people were not cheated of their lands by land sharks. He, however, stressed the need for political will on the part of the ruling dispensation for implementation of the law.

Fundamental Rights

According to him, the concept of social justice was first incorporated into the system through a resolution by Jawaharlal Nehru on Socio-Economic Reconstruction of Indian Society where he had stressed the need to address issues such as poverty. The gist of this resolution, through Ambedkar, found its way into the Constitution as Fundamental Rights, he said. However, the attempt by Ambedkar to incorporate `socialism' into the system was fought by the conservative sections of the Congress party.

In spite of the key role attributed to law in effecting social justice, during the first five decades of Independence, the national policy-makers were more interested in concentrating on technical and professional education and building institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, he said.

Opportunities

However, the national scenario was fast changing, especially after globalisation and liberalisation, he said. The current scenario provides a lot of job opportunities for the new generation who are into the profession, he said.

Though Ambedkar was remembered as the chief architect of the Indian Constitution, he was a multi-faceted personality, Mr. Balakrishnan said. He was a messiah of the downtrodden, a great trade unionist and an eminent economist, he said. The Vice-Chancellor, Jancy James, presided. K Vikraman Nair, Director, School of Indian Legal Thought, M.C. Pramodan and others spoke on the occasion.

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