Historical and Contemporary Deviations from the State Legal System in India

Abstract

In late colonial and early independent India, with the consolidation of the modern Indian state, the two domains of the state and the non-state legal systems took shape. The pan-Indian drive to create one uniform legal system was rife with exceptions and contradictions. This set the base for continued operation of informal systems of law outside the state domain. The colonial attitude towards informal or non-state law in India could be seen post Independence as well. Both the colonial and the newly independent Indian state attempted to maintain a rhetorical stance of national unity, but could not do so effectively.