SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

A research submitted in fulfilment of the course Jurisprudence-I for attaining the degree of
B.A., LL. B (Hons.)

Submitted by:

Shreya Shankar

Roll No. 1762

B.A., LLB (Hons.)

Submitted to:

Dr. Manoranjan Kumar

Assistant Professor

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

Nyaya nagar, Mithapur, Patna (800001)

August, 2019

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 DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

I hereby declare that the work reported in the B.A., L.L.B (Hons.) Project entitled
“SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE” submitted at Chanakya National Law University
is an authentic record of my work carried out under the supervision of Dr. Manoranjan
Kumar. I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree diploma. I am fully
responsible for the contents of my Project.

SIGNATURE OF CANDIDATE:

NAME OF CANDIDATE: SHREYA SHANKAR

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, PATNA

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my gratitude towards Dr. Manoranjan Kumar for assigning me such a
topic for research work a significance of social justice and for helping me to go in furtherance
with this topic. Without the support of professor this work could not be possible.

I would also like to thank my batch mates, seniors, friends and relatives for their valuable
support and guidance that helped me to reach on the conclusion.

Without the help all these people, this project would not have been possible, and I would not
have been able to reach on the conclusion so here by, I acknowledge their helpful
contributions.

- SHREYA SHANKAR

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Decleration by the candidate……………………………………………………………. 2

Acknowledgement ……………………………………………………………………….3

Chapter-1 Introduction …………………………………………………………….….…5

Aims and objectives………………………………………………………………….…. 6

Hypothesis………………………………………………………………………………...6

Research methodology ………………………………………………………………...…6

Sources of data…………………………………………………………………………....7

Limitations of project……………………………………………………………………..7

Chapterisation…………………………………………………………………………..….7

Chapter-2 The relationship between social justice and human rights………………….…8

Chapter- 3 The importance of social justice and inclusion………………………………11

Chapter-4 Religious practices and social justice……………………………………….…13

Chapter-5 Social Reform Movements………………………………………………….....16

Chapter-6 Conclusion and suggestions ……………………………………………………19

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………21

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 CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION

Social justice is a political and philosophical notion that requires everyone to have equal
access to riches, health, well-being, justice, and chance. Social justice is a notion of fair and
just individual-society relationships. The explicit and tacit conditions for wealth distribution,
private activity possibilities, and social privileges measure this.

Naturally in our society there are other types of inequalities. There are gender and health
issues in addition to economic and racial inequality. The idea of social justice at its
foundation includes making everything equal and levelling everyone's playing field. Every
day, social workers cope with the deprivation issue. Besides how social justice is viewed and
what remedies distinct sides recommend, one injustice often leads to another. Poverty results
in insufficient healthcare, creating a higher burden of obtaining resources to pay for bad
people's medical procedures. Quotas in college may result in under-prepared learners entering
and failing programs. Like a row of dropping dominoes, one issue often gives rise to another

Justice includes ideas of right and incorrect, and based on their past performance, individuals
receive favourable or negative sanctions. However, social justice holds that all individuals
deserve the same privileges and resources and should have access to them. Most individuals
acknowledge this assumption, but vary in how that equality can be achieved. In and out of the
court system, social justice seeks equality.

Issues of social justice today need to be dealt with wisely. For instance, if a society is being
created, it must have reasonable resource distribution. Every person should be given equal
access to freedoms and possibilities. They must be able to take advantage of distinct
possibilities and practice their privileges. They need to be protected from vulnerable people
and there should be a fair system of law in society.

Many people are sometimes treated irrationally even in the developed countries and are
caught up in social injustice. There are rules and regulations, but hardly anywhere they are
enforced. Although the world has made a lot of progress, it can be said that justice is not what
it used to be. There is a lack of the essence of attaining the society's common welfare. There
is always someone whose rights have been breached and these victims are usually poor or

5
less important individuals who are unable to do anything about the injustice that has
occurred.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

The researcher tends to analyse the significance of social justice and its relevance and
importance in present scenario.

HYPOTHESIS:

The researcher tends to presume that the idea of social justice is an elusive idea .

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

The researcher will be relying on Doctrinal Method of research to complete the project.

SOURCES OF DATA:

Primary sources and secondary sources both are used for completion of this project.

Sources of Data are of two kinds – Primary sources and secondary sorces.

1. The primary sources are –

a. Legislative materials such as Indian Evidence Act, Constitution, universal declaration of

human rights

b. Decisional materials (Judgements of the courts)

c. The juristic writings (the opinions expressed by the imminent jurists and different
commissions)

2. Secondary sources are-

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Books, magazine, journals etc

LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT:

The most important limitation for this project is the accumulation of relevant data. Also the
undertaking of non-doctrinal research or the qualitative research is not possible due limitation
of time and place. The financial support needed for the undertaking of the ground work and
other works for the project is also difficult to arrange. These are the prime hindrances to the
completion of the project.

CHAPTERISATION:

1. Introduction
2. The relationship between social justice and human rights
3. The Importance of Social Justice and Inclusion
4. Religious practices and social justice
5. Social reform movements
6. Conclusion and suggestions.

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 CHAPTER – 2

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Social justice is described as "justice in the allocation of riches, possibilities and privileges
within a community." This is often accomplished through organizations or services that
operate to ensure that individuals have equal access to the advantages of social cooperation
and to protect against socio-economic inequality.

While there are two distinct ideas of social justice and human rights, they are strongly related.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 involves financial, social, and cultural
rights such as the right to health, unemployment safety, and education. In 1966, these rights
were brought into the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(ICESCR), part of the International Bill of Human Rights. There are various domestic laws
which aim to ensure that people enjoy equal opportunities and privileges within society,
Today, social justice in political philosophy is characterized as a strongly egalitarian norm.
This difference between the normative fields of social justice and human rights is somewhat
different from other prominent reasons for discontinuity. Social justice is often distinguished
from human rights by the distinction between, on the one hand, political and civil rights and,
on the other, socio-economic rights.

We have experienced a variety of ever more pressing requirements for social justice and
human rights protection. Politically, those fighting for social justice worked hand in hand
with proponents of human rights. The social injustices of ethnic and sexual discrimination
have been protested as violations of fundamental human rights to equal opportunities and
equal protection of the legislation; a human right to an appropriate standard of living has been
declared on the grounds of the injustice of an affluent community in which the wealthy can
enjoy luxury while the poor lack the means to satisfy their basic human requirements.

In the index to A Theory of Justice, the monumental 587-page book by John Rawls, there are
only three references to natural rights and none at all to human rights. The vast literature
dealing with rights takes individual freedom or individual interests as central, depending
upon whether the author is advancing a will theory or an interest theory of rights, but hardly
mentions justice, whether individual or social. This is all the more surprising because
philosophers and jurists typically assume that justice and rights are necessarily connected.

Human rights represent fundamental rights to life that are indispensable for an person to lead
a life of safety, justice and human dignity. Human rights are essential to democracy and are
the foundation of equality, liberty and justice without which an person is reduced to a slave in
society. We all understand that in society slavery was forbidden because it was hostile to
human life. No society can pretend to be civilized if there is a gross violation of human
rights.

Right to life is specific to human being in society. Man is born with the rights which he is
entitled to enjoy in society and of which the democratic state cannot deprive him. "Man is a

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social animal," and to lead a civilized life, he is meant to live in a civilized society. The rights
that people are allowed to enjoy in society are known as civil rights that can not be breached,
and civil rights violations represent human rights violations. No civilized society permits the
social situation and the State system to deprive its members of those rights which are
essential for a decent social life. Civil rights are normally guaranteed by all democratic States
to its citizens for the development of the individual personality. They contribute to the
facilitation of all-round development of the individual personality.

In relation to the fundamental rights, the State must guarantee against financial insecurity and
exploitation, educational possibilities, prevent disparities and discrimination and guarantee
equality in all areas. The concept of social-economic Justice is a living concept and
gives substance to the rule of law and meaning and significance to the ideal of a welfare
State. The Indian constitution is an illustration of the forces at work in socio-economic
Jurisprudence. It sets out the Directive principles of State Policy fundamental to
the governance of the country and spells out a social order in which Justice,Social,
economic and political, shall inform all the Institutions of National life.1

UN Declaration on Human Rights

“On December 10, 1948, the General Assembly of United Nations Organisation (UNO)
adopted the UN Declaration on Human Rights, a document outlining tasks for the
accomplishment of which all peoples and States should strive. The Declaration contains an
enumeration of fundamental human rights such as equality without discrimination, the right
to life, liberty and security of person, the right to the inviolability of dignity, reputation and
the home, and to the protection of the rights by an impartial tribunal. The Declaration calls
upon the States to incorporate in the Constitutions such as civil and political rights and
freedom of thought, conscience and religion, freedom of convictions, peaceful assembly and
association, and universal and equal suffrage by secret ballot. The Declaration also proclaims
social and economic rights: the right to work and to equal pay for equal work, the right to
form trade unions, the right to rest and leisure and to social security, the right to education,
and the right to participate in the cultural life of the community. Exercise of real human rights
depends on the actual conditions of life in society, on its social, economic and political
systems”.2

The Indian Constitution— An Echo of UN Declaration of Human Rights

The UN Declaration stresses socialism as the positive principle to protect people's rights and
to ensure social justice. It announces its mission to stop exploitation of man by man. It
proclaims moral, political and ideological unity, based on the community of interests and
world outlook of the workers in order to usher in a new era of human rights and justice in the
world. It stresses the deepening and broadening of socialist democracy with a view to
ensuring genuine freedom of development of the individual. A genuine government by
people combining with the active participation of working people in running their State takes
special initiative in protecting human rights. The legal guarantees are provided by laws that
1
S.K.K.Gupta‘minimum Bonus–A search for social justice ILI 1983. Journal vol.25 p.390.
2
Political Terms –A short guide , 1982, Novosti Press Agency Publishing House, Moscow

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ensure the exercise by citizens of their constitutional rights. The research of India's
Constitution shows that the Constitution framers were deeply influenced by the 1948 UN
Declaration on the "Fundamental Principles" and the "Directive Principles of State Policy"
issues. The "Fundamental Rights" enshrined in the Constitution appear to echo the UN
Declaration of Human Rights.

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 CHAPTER – 3

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND INCLUSION

Social inclusion is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take
part in society—improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the
basis of their identity. Some groups— whether migrants, indigenous peoples, or other
minorities— confront obstacles in every nation that stop them from engaging completely in
the political, economic, and social life of their nation. These groups are excluded by a number
of methods ranging from sex, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity,
or disability status based stereotypes, stigmas, and superstitions. Such procedures can rob
them of dignity, safety, and a chance to lead a better life.

There is a moral imperative to address social exclusion. Left unaddressed, exclusion of

disadvantaged groups can also be costly. And the costs—whether social, political, or
economic—are likely to be substantial. One study found that exclusion of the ethnic minority
Roma cost Romania 887 million euros in lost productivity.3 In addition, exclusion also has
damaging consequences for human capital development. Acknowledging this, the United
Nations has committed to “leaving no one behind” in an effort to help countries promote
inclusive growth.4

Social inclusion is an integral part of and vital to achieving twin goals of ending extreme
poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Today, the world is at a conjuncture where issues of
exclusion and inclusion are assuming new significance for both developed and developing
countries. The imperative for social inclusion has blurred the distinction between these two
stylized poles of development. Countries that used to be referred to as developed are
grappling with issues of exclusion and inclusion perhaps more intensely today than they did a
decade ago. And countries previously called developing are grappling with both old issues
and new forms of exclusion thrown up by growth. Nonlinear demographic transitions, global
economic volatility, shifts in the international balance of power, and local political
movements have had a large part to play in these shifting sands. These changes make social
inclusion more urgent than it was even a decade ago. 5

An analysis of how power, privilege, and oppression impact our experience of our social
identities. “Full and equal participation of all groups in a society that is mutually shaped to
meet their needs. Social justice includes a vision of society in which the distribution of
resources is equitable” and all members of a space, community, or institution, or society are
“physically and psychologically safe and secure.” 6 Social justice is both a objective and a

3
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/196921468261335364/Roma-inclusion-An-economic-
opportunity-for-Bulgaria-Czech-Republic-Romania-and-Serbia
4
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/social-inclusion#1
5
“World Bank. 2013. Inclusion Matters : The Foundation for Shared Prosperity. New Frontiers of Social Policy;.
Washington, DC. © World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/16195 License: CC BY
3.0 IGO.”
6
https://www.brandeis.edu/diversity/resources/definitions.html

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process. The objective of social justice is the complete and equal involvement of all groups in
a community formed to satisfy their requirements. Social justice involves a society vision in
which resource distribution is equitable and all participants are safe and secure
psychologically and physically. Inclusive processes and practices are ones that strive to bring
groups together to make decisions in collaborative, mutual, equitable ways.

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 CHAPTER – 4

RELIGIOUS PRACTICES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

Religion has always been linked to justice and injustice issues. Traditionally, ethical
injunctions-not, for instance, killing or stealing-are aimed not only at people, but also at the
broader social and political group. Ultimately, within religious traditions, the just and unjust
are eventually determined by a god or gods. But these traditions have typically inflected the
notion of justice within the family, clan, tribe, or town context from their roots. With the rise
of the nation state, the context of the problem shifted, but many core principles remain valid.
As states and societies become more integrated through globalization, questions of justice
take on a more transnational dimension. Issues of genocide, ethnic cleansing, corruption, and
the oppression of women and minorities challenge religious communities to rework - and
reapply - established ethical principles in a new global context. They also provide an
opportunity for collaboration with secular states, international organizations, and NGOs
committed to similar conceptions of justice and the obligations it entails.7

That religions have played a role in conflict and warfare is well known. We have only to look
at current and past wars to see that even when religious differences are not a direct cause,
they may play an indirect and interactive role in conflict dynamics. But religions have also
contributed significantly to the development of more just, humane, and ecologically
responsible societies.

Religion and culture can make a difference in how groups perceive injustice and respond.
This point is illustrated in several cases in the Philippines. In the sixteenth to nineteenth
centuries, when the Spanish tried to conquer and colonize the various peoples on the islands
now known as the Philippines, they were generally met with fierce resistance from the
Muslims (or Moros) on the southern islands and some northern mountain tribes. But they
found it far easier to subjugate and pacify the coastal regions' non-Muslim populations. These
differences had very little to do with economic systems, if anything, as there were no
significant economic differences between groups. Nor did they have to do with differences of
race or geography, since both Muslim and non-Muslim maritime groups were of Malay
descent and lived in coastal areas.

One reason religion and culture may have such an affect on a society’s justice motivation is
because they affect people at deep, symbolic levels of meaning and identity, and profoundly
touch peoples’ concerns about self-presentation and self-image. Religious groups, cultures,
and nations, as well as individuals, may have a self-image, or ideal self-concept 8These
images draw upon archetypes, stories, myths and memories of past achievements as examples
of the religious, cultural, or national purpose. Religious, cultural, and national self-images
have an integrative function, helping to make an aggregate group of human beings into a
collectivity with a common sense of purpose, and imparting identity and meaning to the lives

7
https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/religious-traditions-justice-and-injustice

8
E. E. Sampson, Justice and the Critique of Pure Psychology (New York: Plenum, 1983), 177.

13
of a people. They are often a people’s most sensitive points, something they will surrender
other important goals to retain, or even die for.

So religion can be a factor in either repressing or awakening a sense of injustice at conscious

and unconscious levels. Religion, as mentioned earlier, is one of the main vehicles through
which a person or culture defines the meaning and causes of human suffering and what they
do about it. Since the explanations available within a given culture or religion tend to
circumscribe and limit the range of possible responses within that culture or religion to
suffering, the importance of these cultural and religious forces should not be underestimated.

This assistance and strength enhances the potential for survival of a system. A perception that
a system is simply contributes to a sense of its legitimacy and therefore strengthens it by
improving the readiness of populations to support and replicate it. A feeling that a scheme is
unjust erodes a feeling of legitimacy and, with it, people's desire to support and replicate it.
To prevent this, societies develop ideologies and other mechanisms to “justify” existing
systems. Here “justice” is viewed as a process rather than a state of being. As a process,
justice “addresses itself to the way legitimacy can be achieved in human affairs. 9 Ideologies
play a central role in legitimating or justifying the existing social formation and in managing
potential discontent regarding social structures10.It can be expected that whenever there is
potential to raise questions about a system's fairness or justice, comprehensive social
mechanisms and ideologies will come into play to preserve the system's validity. These
ideologies are crucial in order to preserve and reproduce the social order, including its built-
in injustices.

An ideology need not be negative. An ideology is defined by Webster as a “systematic body

of concepts, especially about human life or culture,” or a “manner or the content of thinking
characteristic of an individual, group, or culture.”11 Religions, for better or worse, often have
a significant role in delineating the extensions of one’s sense of community. While most
religions espouse in their core vision and principles a universal sense of community that
embraces all humanity, and even all creation, in practice the members of different religions
often limit their vision of community to those who accept the same beliefs and ethical
principles.12

Religion can be a factor in either repressing or awakening a feeling of injustice at conscious

and unconscious levels. Religion, as stated previously, is one of the primary cars by which a
person or culture defines the significance and causes of human suffering and what they do
about it. Since the explanations available within a given culture or religion tend to
circumscribe and limit the range of possible responses to suffering within that culture or
religion, it should not underestimate the importance of these cultural and religious strengths.
That's why those who lead such nonviolent campaigns, and those who take part in them, so
often rely on profound spiritual strengths and use religious and cultural symbols in their
9
E. E. Sampson, Justice and the Critique of Pure Psychology (New York: Plenum, 1983), 184.
10
E. E. Sampson, Justice and the Critique of Pure Psychology (New York: Plenum, 1983), 155-157.
11
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam Co., 1977), p. 568.
12
http://www.religionconflictpeace.org/volume-1-issue-1-fall-2007/significance-religions-social-justice-and-
culture-peace#footnoteref16_uhepcwl

14
attempts to change society. This was certainly true of the non-violent campaigns led by
Gandhi in India, Martin Luther King in the United States, Lech Walesa in Poland, and the
many people who led and contributed to the Philippine People's Power Revolt.13

If the attempts of people on social change are effective, in the future they will be much less
likely to tolerate injustice. However, if attempts for social change constantly fail, individuals
can change their perceptions of injustice, lower their values or expectations, or alter their
techniques. When individuals give up hope of affecting or altering the truth that makes them
feel unhappy or unjust, they often try to regain internal peace by altering stuff inside their
head rather than outside world. This inner peace comes at a high price: denial helps to
maintain and reproduce the systems that aroused the feelings of injustice in the first
place.14And the continuing injustice may fester and spread, only to erupt in violence at
another time.

It is very essential to recognize that social justice is essential to a culture of peace. Peoples’
perceptions of social justice vitally affect their sense of the legitimacy of social structures and
their willingness to cooperate, sustain, and reproduce them. A widespread sense that a system
is unjust will undermine a sense of its legitimacy, and ultimately lead to its collapse.

13
For more detail see Patricia Mische, “Perceptions of Social Justice as a Variable Affecting Conflict o
Cooperation, War or Peace in a Social System: The 1986 People’s Revolt in the Philippines as a Case Study”
(Ph.D. diss., Columbia University Teachers College, 1991). The dissertation is available at the University of
Michigan Dissertation Information Service, Ann Arbor, Mich.
14
E. E. Sampson, Justice and the Critique of Pure Psychology (New York: Plenum, 1983).

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 CHAPTER – 5

SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENTS

India has a long history of socio-religious reform movements. However, the present work
focuses on the social reform movements of Nineteenth century only. The reforms by
definition entail change or replacement of the institutions, which have become functionally
irrelevant(totally or partly) to the contemporary social order and are responsible for low
quality of life, deprivations, unrest an misery to the sizeable sections of the society.

Etymologically, ‘reform’ means ‘forming again’, ‘reconstruct’, which can be done only when
a system is first demolished; but social reform envisages ‘amendment’, ‘improvement’ etc.;
thus entailing peaceful crusading, use of non-violent means for change and change in slow
speed.15 A reform movement is a kind of social motion aimed at gradual change, or changes
in some parts of society, rather than fast or basic change. A reform movement, like
revolutionary movements, is differentiated from more radical social movements.

In India, social reform did not ordinarily mean a reorganisation of the structuring of society at
large, as it did in the West, for the benefit of underprivileged social and economic classes.
Instead, it meant the infusion into the existing social structure of the new ways of life and
thought; the society would be preserved, while its members would be transformed. 16 The
beginning of the social reform movements in India in the nineteenth century were clearly the
outcome of coming in contact of two different societies- totally different from each other.17

There is the traditional orthodox society on the one side and the young generation educated in
English on the other. It is considered the product of English education that brought young
India into touch with Europe's Age of Enlightenment. It is the era that proclaimed the
supremacy of reason over faith, personal awareness over external authority, and brought fresh
concepts of human rights and social justice into its formation.

In nineteenth century, a large number of individuals as well as a number of organisations took

active role in social reform movement. However, the story of Indian social reform movement
practically began with Rāja Rāmmohan Roy (1774-1833). The advent of Rāja Rāmmohan
Roy marks the line of demarcation between the dark middle age and the modern age of
‘enlightment’.18

15
Prasad, Rajeswar (Ed.), (1990), Social Reform: An Analysis of Indian Society, Agra : Y.K.Publishers, p. xiii.

16
Heimsath Charles H., (1964), Indian Nationalism and Hindu Social Reform, Bombay : Oxford University Press,
p.5.

17
Divekar, V.D., (Ed), (1992), Social Reform Movements in India: A Historical Perspective, Bombay : Popular
Prakashan, p.vii.
18
Dasgupta, Santwana, (2009), Social Philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, Kolkata : Ramakrishna Mission
Institute of Culture, p.10.

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BRᾹHMO SAMᾹJ : This Brāhmo Samāj movement is the most remarkable aspect of the
nineteenth century Indian awakening and reform.19

It attacks almost all evils prevalent in the then Indian society and tries to eradicate them.
Rāmmohan Roy is the first person in modern India to fight against the social discrimination
against women. Among the various reform activities of Rāmmohan, the most significant one
is his crusade against ‘Satidāha’ or immolation of the widows at the funeral pyre of their dead
husband. Though Rāmmohan is the pioneer of Indian social reform movement, yet his reform
measures fail to touch the basic problems faced by the Indian masses, viz., poverty, ignorance
and illiteracy. It is often said that Rāmmohan had no programme of mass education or mass
uplift whatsoever. He criticises the prevalent caste system of his time and seeks to abolish
caste discrimination. But in his day to day life he uses to put on the sacred thread which is a
mark of Brahmin. Romain Rolland points out that Rāmmohan’s ‘Universal Religion’ fell
short of true universalism since he failed to recognise religious realities in the form of
polytheism professed by world’s two-third population scattered all over the world.20

After the death of Rāmmohan Roy, the Brāhmo movement is carried on by Debendranāth
Tagore and Keshab Chandra Sen. Debendranāth Tagore (1817-1905) assumes the leadership
of Brāhmo Samāj in 1843. It has been rightly said that if Rāmmohan laid the foundation stone
of Brāhmoism, it was Debendranāth, its architect, who first raised impressive structure upon
it21.

ᾹRYA SAMᾹJ : Swāmi Dayānanda Saraswati (1824-1883) is an important figure in Indian

socio-religious reform movement. He says, “The world is fettered by the chain forged by
superstition and ignorance. I have come to snap asunder that chain and to set slaves at
liberty”.22 He establishes the Ᾱrya Samāj in Mumbai on April 10, 1875.Later on several
branches of this organisation has been formed in different parts of the country. The main aims
of this organisation were--abolition of image worship and sub-castes, to provide social
service through education and charitable enterprises.

From the very beginning, it is anti-West in its tone. It has its foundation on the Vedas and
through it Swāmi Dayānanda gives a call ‘Go back to the Vedas’. He pleads that the study of
the Vedas be made open to all. He strongly criticises the hereditary basis of caste system and
the belief in the superiority of Brāhmins over the other caste groups. Ᾱrya Samāj for the first
time focuses attention on the deplorable condition of the untouchables. Samāj stresses the
abolition of analphabetism to dispel society's orthodoxy and darkness. It creates a big amount
of academic organizations for both male and female education in India. Gurukuls mainly
provide Sanskrit, Vedas, Yurveda, etc. education. Schools and universities of Dayānanda
Anglo Vedic (DAV) provide modern humanities and science education.

19
Bose, Nemai Sadhan, (1976), Indian Awakening and Bengal, Kolkata : Firma K.L.Mukhopadhyay, p.49.
20
. Rolland, Romain. (1970), Life of Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel, Mayavati :
Advaita Ashrama, p.289.

21
Bose, Nemai Sadhan, (1976), Indian Awakening and Bengal, Kolkata : Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay, p.51.
22
Verma. V.P, quoted in his book Modern Indian Political Thought, 1971, p.30.

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RᾹMAKRISHNA-VIVEKᾹNANDA MOVEMENT : The 2nd half of the 19th century
witnessed a tremendous upheaval in the religious, social and cultural arena. It is the direct
outcome of the Rāmakrishna-Vivekānanda movement. Sri Rāmakrishna Paramahamsa (1836-
1886), earlier known as Gadādhar Chattopādhyāya, is a great spiritual leader of India.
Though he has not received the socalled higher education, yet he was an ocean of true
knowledge. He practised various religious forms and ultimately came to the realisation ‘Yata
mat tata path’23 i.e.,different creeds are but different paths to reach the same God. He used to
lead a very simple life and tried to explain different social and religious issues in very
eloquent language. He realised the inherent divinity of human beings and emphasised the
service of mankind as a means of salvation. Swāmi Vivekānanda is his greatest disciple who
carries the message of his Master all over India as well as in Western countries.

HENRY VIVIAN DEROZIO AND THE YOUNG BENGAL MOVEMENT: The

founding of Hindu College in 1817 was a significant event in Bengal history. It played an
significant part in advancing the reformist movement in the province that had already
appeared. The college began a radical motion for Hindu Society reform, known as the Young
Bengal Movement. its leader was Henry Vivian Derozio, a teacher of the Hindu College.
Derozio was born in 1809. He was of mixed parentage his father was Portuguese and his
mother was Indian. In 1826, at the age of 17, he joined the Hindu College as a teacher and
taught there till 1831.

CONTRIBUTION OF THE REFORM MOVEMENTS:

Many reformers like Dayanand Saraswati and Vivekananda upheld Indian philosophy and
culture. This instilled in Indians a sense of pride and faith in their own culture. Female
education was promoted. Schools for girls were set up. Even medical colleges were
established for women. This led to the development, though slow, of girls’ education. The
cultural and ideological struggle taken up by the socio-religious movements helped to build
up national consciousness. They, thus, paved the way for the growth of nationalism. Earlier, it
was observed that atrocities against females by purdah, child marriage, hypergamy, dowry,
and sex-based inequality in the division of labor, schooling, occupation, liberty, etc., moved
all reformists.

Legislation against these ills has not only been enacted, but concrete social actions have also
been taken to mitigate women's plight. It was an age of fresh enlightenment, of open-minded
indigenization, welfare, liberalism, and equality. This kind of awakening contributed a great
deal to the fight for liberty in India.

These socio-religious movements were intended to introduce humanist social reforms by

halting India's moral and material decline. Ram Mohan Roy even called for radical
westernization as a means of rejuvenating the declining Indian culture and society.

23
Sri Ramakrishna’s famous saying ‘Yata mat tata path’ is not found in Kathamrita of Mahendranath Gupta. It is
taken later from a small book compiled by Swāmi Brahmānanda on the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna.

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 CHAPTER- 6

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

Human Rights and social justice are closely related. Social justice for people is unimaginable
and unattainable if human rights are violated and denied. Human rights form a major part of
social justice. Human Rights constitute sacred, democratic and human principle, and the
rights basic to human decent existence in society need to be kept outside the purview of
narrow, petty politics. Sometimes politicisation of some issues of human rights exercise a
damaging impact upon the social health , political environment and national interest of the
country and give rise to great concern for national security. The Government of India and the
State Governments should attach more importance to the protection and preservation of
human rights to ensure social justice to people and must not allow politicization of the issue
of human rights.

Human Rights have become a global movement to protect the basic rights of man against
their violation and to let him live a life of man as man. The origin of this movement dates
back to the post-World War II era. “Human rights are those conditions of social life without
which no person can seek, in general, to be his best.”24 The world leaders laid emphasis on
the basic rights of people which need to be protected against violation by the State.

A picture of the constitution will give us the right perspective for appreciation of the scope
and place of Social Justice as an aspiration of the Nation The former chief Justice of India,
P.N. Bhagwati Inter-alia observed:

"Todaya vast social revolution is taking place in the judicial process,the law is fast
changing and the problems of the poor are coming to the forefront. The Court has to
innovate new methods and device new strategies for providing access to justice to the large
masses of the people who are denied their basic human rights and to whom freedom and
liberty has no meaning.”25

The framers of Constitution realized that unless unequal are treated unequally the socio-
economic, political, regional and gender gaps could not be bridged.The compelling
social situation led to the creation of special provisions in the Constitution for the
advancement of socially and economically backward classes of citizens.The positive
discrimination was thought of as a policy mechanism to realize the social goals sebefore the
nation and as means by which the backward citizens could reach the mainstream to
achieve social justice

Suggestions-

 Recognize that religion has an important role and responsibility in shaping, teaching,
and upholding ideas and standards of social justice. This includes the ideas and
standards of social justice delineated in international human rights agreements. Many
of these rights were prefigured in religious teachings about the inherent dignity of
24
D.C.Bhattacharya , Indian Govt. and Politics , 2012
25
S.P.Gupta v. Union of India AIR 1982 SC 49 C 189.

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 human beings, their cultures, and all creation, and the requirement to treat all with
respect and reverence.
 Recognize that religious groups themselves may consciously or unconsciously
contribute to social injustice and the breakdown of positive peace through their
support of, or failure to question, unjust policies and practices, both within their own
structures and within the local, national, and international systems of which they are a
part.
 Examine the beliefs, ideas, teachings, and practices of their own religion for ways
they enhance or undermine social justice and peace. Affirm and strengthen those that
contribute to social justice and peace, and work to change those that undermine it.
Doing this in one’s own faith community is an important first step toward world
justice and peace.
 Challenging systemic inequity and oppression by practicing empathy, understanding
privilege, transforming conflict, and exploring creative solutions.
 Fostering a sense of hope, an impetus to act, and a firm belief that standing up for
social justice and equity is both the responsible and just thing to do.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS –

 Political Terms –A short guide , 1982, Novosti Press Agency Publishing House,
Moscow.
 E. E. Sampson, Justice and the Critique of Pure Psychology (New York: Plenum,
1983),
 Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam Co., 1977),
 Indian Awakening and Bengal, Kolkata : Firma K.L.Mukhopadhyay, p.49.
 Rolland, Romain. (1970), Life of Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel, Mayavati :
Advaita Ashrama,
 Bose, Nemai Sadhan, (1976), Indian Awakening and Bengal, Kolkata : Firma K.L.
Mukhopadhyay,
 Verma. V.P, quoted in his book Modern Indian Political Thought, 1971,
 D.C.Bhattacharya , Indian Govt. and Politics , 2012

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JOURNALS-

 S.K.K.Gupta‘minimum Bonus–A search for social justice ILI 1983. Journal vol.25.

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