Question; Ancient Indian law has its roots in Vedas. Starting from Vedas it further developed from time to time and found its place in Smritis, Upanishads, Dharmasutras and Customs. In India the law was not detached and isolated from either morality or philosophy. The texts that told what is the right thing to do were not meant to be strictly legal texts. The prescription of conduct was moral, philosophical and legal at once. At the core of the discussion was never strictly a legal concept or legal question. Thus, law and religion was also mixed. Over a period of many centuries the secular character of law developed and now we have a liberal and vibrant legal system in which the question of law, religion and morality are not mixed. From the time of Vedic prescriptions to the modern ideas of rule of law, India has always been in search for better answers to the existential questions.

I. HINDU LAW Hindu Law has the oldest pedigree of any known system of jurisprudence, and even now it shows no sign of decrepitude. When one uses the terms “Hindu Law” and “Muslim Law”, it must be understood that these terms emerged in the colonial era as an attempt at legal pluralism. Legal pluralism means that religion is understood as the basic unit of society and legal obligations are understood in the context of religion. Legal universalism, on the other hand is when individuals are understood as the basic unit of society. Persians called the people settled on the other side of River Sindhu (Indus) as “Hindus”. The rules of conduct, practices governing the Hindus were called Hindu Law, but this term “Hindu Law” assumed importance only in the British colonial era. Hindu Law was the expression used to identify those legal obligations that did not bind Muslims and Christians. Historically the expression Hindu Law included to indicate the mandates of Smritis, Upanishads, Dharmasutras and Customs. This is now known as Classical Hindu Law. The Hindu Law that evolved during British period is known as Anglo-Hindu Law. And in the modem India the legislations that are passed by Parliament for Hindus are known as Modern Hindu Law. II. CLASSICAL HINDU LAW Classical Hindu Law is based on the notion of “dharma” and is mainly found in “Dharmashastras”. The dharma is explained by the learned scholars. Roughly, the period of Classical Hindu Law begins in the Vedic period and ends in 1772 when Warren Hastings gave “A Plan for the Administration of Justice in Bengal”. Classical Hindu Law is an example of amalgamation of moral, religious and philosophical mandates. In various Smritis the right conduct is mentioned. However, the standard of “righteousness” in conduct mentioned in Classical Hindu Law does not always match with the Modern Hindu Law. Presently, in cases of conflict between the Classical Hindu Law and the Modern Hindu Law, it is the Modern Hindu Law that prevail. What is meant by legal pluralism?

Options:

A) Many laws

B) Laws can be interpreted in many ways

C) Religion as the basic unit of society and

D) Individuals understood as the basic unit of society