Sharma and Pareek on Colonial Constructs and Legal Myths: The Erasure of Hindi Jurisprudence and Dicta on Criminal Law Under the Shadow of English Legal Superiority

Prakash Sharma, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, and Animesh Pareek, IIT Kharagpur, have published Colonial Constructs and Legal Myths: The Erasure of Hindu Jurisprudence and Dicta on Criminal Law Under the Shadow of English Legal Superiority. Here is the abstract.

The British colonial enterprise in India restructured political and economic institutions and fundamentally altered the subcontinent's legal landscape. The systematic marginalisation and erasure of intangible Bhartiya heritage, especially in criminal law, was a crucial aspect of this transformation. This chapter examines the colonial imposition of the English legal system, viewing it not only as an administrative mechanism but also as a cultural and ideological initiative based on the belief in the inherent superiority and modernity of English law. The chapter examines the evolution of colonial legal discourse from the late 18th century, highlighting the portrayal of English criminal law as rational, secular, and progressive, in stark contrast to the depiction of Hindu law as irrational, archaic, and overly devoid of logic. The colonial state selectively codified elements of Hindu legal tradition that aligned with its administrative requirements, while disregarding extensive bodies of nuanced jurisprudence, especially those found in Dharmaśāstra literature and community-based justice practices. This chapter examines the suppression of Hindu criminal law as an aspect of broader epistemic violence, in which legal modernity is aligned with Western legal norms, thereby delegitimising non-Western legal systems. This chapter examines legislative developments and judicial opinions to elucidate the lasting effects of this erasure on postcolonial legal consciousness in India. Ultimately, the chapter contests the herrschendeErzählung(dominant narrative) that the English legal system represented a neutral or inevitable advancement over Bhartiya systems. This necessitates a critical reassessment of the influence of colonial legal constructs on current interpretations of law, justice, and legal modernity in India.

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