Assignment Task
Part I
“There are times to stand outside the courtroom door and say, “this procedure is a farce, the legal system is corrupt, justice will never prevail in this land as long as privilege rules in the courtroom.” There are times to stand inside the courtroom and say, “this is a nation of laws, laws recognizing fundamental values of rights, equality and personhood.” Sometimes ……………………. there is a need to make both speeches in one day.”
Identify the source of the above quotation and explain the apparent contradiction between the two strategies for seeking justice. Illustrate your answer with examples of situations where one or the other is appropriate.
Key: The answer must identify as source Mari Matsuda’s When the First Quail Calls and discuss her idea of multiple consciousness in the legal profession, using examples of situations where different legal and political strategies could be deployed to fight for justice.
“How are we to reconcile the act of justice that must always concern singularity, individuals, irreplaceable groups and lives, […] in a unique situation, with rule, norm, value or the imperatives of justice which necessarily have a general form…?”
Identify the source of this quotation and explain it. Can you think of some examples of the tension between the generality of rules and the singularity of justice?
Key: Answer should identify the author as Derrida and explain the quotation. Different examples from within or outside the course material can be used to illustrate the problem of universal/abstract/general law vs. individual/concrete/particular justice.
In his classic work The Wretched of the Earth (tr. C. Farrington, 1963), while describing the elite class in a nation gaining independence from colonial rule, Frantz Fanon observes: “…its mission has nothing to do with transforming the nation; it consists, prosaically, of being the transmission line between the nation and a capitalism, rampant though camouflaged, which today puts on the mask of neo-colonialism. The national bourgeoisie will be quite content with the role of the Western bourgeoisie’s business agent…”
Discuss this perspective using themes and illustrations from the Jurisprudence II course.
Key: Answer should connect the quote to both postcolonial jurisprudence (referring to the texts by Darian-Smith and by Ratna Kapur) and to Upendra Baxi’s critique of state capitalism in India. Answer could further refer to Anand Teltumbde’s analysis of neoliberalism and caste.
Part II
Answer any two questions (2 * 8 = 16 marks)
According to Gayle Rubin, “Sexualities keep marching out of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual and on to the pages of social history. At present, several other groups are trying to emulate the successes of homosexuals. Bisexuals, sadomasochists, individuals who prefer cross-generational encounters, transsexuals, and transvestites are all in various states of community formation and identity acquisition.”
Illustrate this idea with example(s) of such social movements in India. Explain how the negative attitudes about sexuality that Rubin identifies have presented and continue to present obstacles to these movements.
Key: Answer should explain the restrictive aspects of Western thought that Rubin identifies as being an obstacle to the development of a radical theory of sex. It should then analyse how current social movements in India challenge these attitudes in their struggle against sexual oppression. Examples from the context of transgender rights, homosexuality, prostitution may be used, among others.
To what extent do you agree with Duncan Kennedy’s argument that legal education systematically reproduces social and institutional hierarchies? How well do you think your legal education is preparing you for your life after law school?
Key: Answer should explain Kennedy’s critique of legal education along with reasons for the student’s agreement or disagreement, with reference to the student’s own experience.
Discuss the Indian Central and State Governments’ responses to the Covid-19 crisis with reference to Upendra Baxi’s analysis of the Indian legal system. Illustrate your answer with specific examples.
Key: The Indian state’s response to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 should be analysed using Baxi’s critique of state capitalism in India, most significantly in terms of the social impact of state action or inaction in handling the crisis.
What is the relationship between a caste ‘atrocity’ and an ‘ordinary’ crime? How does the legal system establish and maintain such a distinction in terms of both definition and procedure?
Key: Discuss the definition of ‘atrocity’ under the SC/ST PoA Act and how it relates to ordinary crimes under the IPC. Answer should also mention Anupama Rao’s analysis of the problem of using ordinary criminal procedure for adjudicating caste atrocities.
Part III
Write short notes on any two (2 * 5 = 10 marks)
Sexual Essentialism
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