From Codification To Contestation: The Rise Of Legal Nationalism In Colonial India
- IJLLR Journal
- 59 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Mehak Jain, BA LLB, Thakur Ramnarayan College of Law
ABSTRACT
“An unjust law is itself a species of violence”
– Mahatma Gandhi (Gandhi M. K., 1922)
Under British rule, the Britishers mapped out the legal system to maintain order and reinforce control. Codified laws, structured courts, and formal procedures were introduced to regulate society and repression. However, the use of these laws often showed a significant gap between legality and justice. Dominating provisions such as the Sedition Law (Section 124A IPC) and the Rowlatt Act illustrated how the law was used to criminalize political opposition and restrict citizens' civil liberties (Roy, 2010). Therefore, while these provisions were legally valid under the colonial structure, they lacked ethical justification, thereby opening the door to resistance.
By writing this paper, I aim to discuss how colonial law was used not only as an instrument of imperial control but also a tool of resistance in Colonial India. While the previous studies have examined the dual role of colonial law in maintaining British authority and having nationalist resistance, limited attention has been given to political trials, courtroom practices and legal debates which helped Indians to develop political awareness, legal understandings and constitutional ideas during the freedom struggle. Thus this study seeks to fill this gap by examining how Indian Nationalists used courts, legal proceedings and constitutional arguments to question British authority and political ideas during the freedom struggle.
Keywords: Legal Nationalism, Colonial Law, British India, Constitutional Nationalism, Political Trials, Sedition, Civil Disobedience, Nationalist Resistance, Constitutionalism, Section 124A IPC.
