4 understanding laws
- 1. Understanding Laws NCERT CLASS – VIII SUB- SOCIAL & POLITICAL LIFE (SPL-III)MAHENDRA PAREEK 1
- 2. NATIONAL VOTERS DAY - 25 JANUARYMAHENDRA PAREEK 2
- 3. RULE OF LAW All persons in independent India are equal before the law. The law cannot discriminate between persons on the basis of their religion, caste or gender. No one can be above the law. Neither a government official, nor a wealthy person nor even the President. MAHENDRA PAREEK 3
- 4. HISTORICAL DISCRIMINATION Sedition Act of 1870 : Any person protesting or criticising the British government could be arrested without due trial. The Rowlett Act (10 MARCH 1919) -the British government to imprison people without due trial. Dr Satyapal and Dr Saifuddin Kitchlew were arrested. To protest these arrests, a public meeting was held on 13 April 1919 at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. General Dyer ordered the troops to fire. Several hundreds of people died in this gunfire. MAHENDRA PAREEK 4
- 5. RESPONSE BY INDIAN PEOPLE - Indian nationalists began fighting for greater equality and wanted to establish rule of law. With the adoption of the Constitution, our representatives began making laws for the country like – Hindu Succession Amendment Act 2005- Sons, daughters and their mothers can get an equal share of family property. MAHENDRA PAREEK 5
- 6. How Do New Laws Come About? The Parliament has an important role in making laws. There are many ways through which this takes place. Different groups in society that raise the need for a particular law. (DOMESTIC VIOLENCE) The role of citizens is crucial in helping Parliament frame different concerns that people might have into laws Parliament is to be sensitive to this issue. If it deems fit parliament makes law. MAHENDRA PAREEK 6
- 7. Domestic violence refers to the injury or harm or threat of injury or harm caused by an adult male, usually the husband, against his wife. Injury may be caused by physically beating up the woman or by emotionally abusing her. ‘DOMESTIC’ to include all women who ‘live or have lived together in a shared household’ with the male member. MAHENDRA PAREEK 7
- 8. Process Throughout the 1990s, the need for a new law was raised in different forums. In 1999, Lawyers Collective, a group of lawyers, law students and activists, after nation-wide consultations took the lead in drafting the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill. This draft bill was widely circulated. Meetings were held with different organisations. Several women’s organisations, National Commission for Women made submissions to the Parliamentary Standing Committee. MAHENDRA PAREEK 8
- 9. Process contd…… Finally, the Bill was introduced in Parliament in 2002 .but…..without desired provisions. Finally a new bill, was reintroduced in Parliament in 2005. After being passed in both houses of Parliament (LS+RS), it was sent to the President for his assent. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act came into effect in 2006. MAHENDRA PAREEK 9
- 10. Unpopular and Controversial Laws Where the Parliament passes laws that turn out to be very unpopular. Sometimes a law can be constitutionally valid and hence legal, but it can continue to be unpopular and unacceptable to people Various municipal laws on the use of space within municipal limits often make hawking and street vending illegal to keep the public space open so that people can walk. MAHENDRA PAREEK 10
- 11. Hawkers and vendors provide essential services cheaply and efficiently to the millions living in a large city Citizens can protest, campaign and show solidarity to protest against unjust laws. We must criticise our MPs (or govt )actions when we feel it is required so that our Parliament perform its representative functions properly. MAHENDRA PAREEK 11
- 13. Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man on 1 December 1955. She was protesting the law on segregation that divided up all public spaces, including the streets, between the whites and the African-Americans. Her refusal was a key event that marked the start of the Civil Rights Movement, which led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, religion or national origin in the U.S.A. MAHENDRA PAREEK 13
- 14. Evolution: Process of development from a simple to a complex form and is often used to discuss the development of a species of plants or animals. In the context of this chapter it refers to the way in which protecting women against domestic violence developed from an urgently-felt need to a new law that can be enforced throughout the country. Sedition: This applies to anything that the government might consider as stirring up resistance or rebellion against it. In such cases, the government does not need absolute evidence in order to arrest persons. Under the Sedition Act of 1870, the British had a very broad interpretation of what constituted sedition, and what this meant was that they could arrest and detain any person they wanted under this Act. The nationalists considered this law arbitrary because persons were arrested for a variety of reasons that were seldom clarified beforehand as well as because those arrested were often kept in jail without a trial. MAHENDRA PAREEK 14
- 15. Criticise: To find fault with or disapprove of a person or thing. In the context of this chapter, it refers to citizens finding fault with the functioning of government Repressive: To control severely in order to prevent free and natural development or expression. In the context of this chapter it refers to laws that brutally control persons and often prevent them from exercising their Fundamental Rights including Right to Speech and Assembly. MAHENDRA PAREEK 15
- 16. VOTE OF THANKS 1 NCERT BOOKS 2 INTERNERT AND GOOGLE 3 ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA 4 MY VIEWERS MAHENDRA PAREEK 16