BENGAL RENAISSANCE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE COMMON LAW SYSTEM
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https://doi.org/10.55662/Abstract
The Bengal Renaissance is a movement by the Bengalis which is characterized by a social awakening in the field of art, culture, science, intellect and society (as a whole). The movement was carried out from the nineteenth century to the early twentieth century, which is during the period of British rule in India. Bengal and its neighbouring areas are where the movement was largely carried out.
The movement questioned the existing state of affairs in the society that is the orthodox rituals and customs prevailing in the society, which were mainly framed by the upper-class Brahmins. It focused mainly upon regaining the respect of women in the society. Among other things, the movement questioned the dowry system, the caste system, the practice of sati, Brahmin supremacy and a few other vague religious practices. The contact between certain sympathetic British officials and missionaries on one hand and the Hindu intelligentsia on the other made the movement possible.
As a result of this movement and also due to the British invasion, the educational system of Bengal, as a whole, underwent a drastic change during the 19th century. The educational reforms saw the establishment of educational institutions like the Asiatic Society(1784), Fort William College(1800), Serampore College(1817), Hindu College(1817), Sanskrit College(1824) and others which were mainly meant for the elite class Bengalis to educate them according to the European idea of education, learning and value judgement.
As we all know, India has a common law legal system whose infrastructure bears the influence of British colonial rule. It is a system of law based on recorded judicial precedents. The company was granted charter by King George I in 1726 to establish “Mayor’s Courts” in Madras, Bombay and Calcutta (now Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata respectively). Judicial functions of the company expanded substantially after its victory in Battle of Plassey and by 1772 company’s courts expanded out from the three major cities. In the process, the company slowly replaced the existing Mughal legal system in those parts. This paper aims to show the evolution of “Common Law” in India with respect to Bengal Renaissance or rather the impact of Bengal Renaissance on the evolution of common law in India.
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