Dhankhar urges Global South to follow India in shedding exploitative colonial laws

Jagdeep Dhankhar asks the global south to decolonise judiciary

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday urged Global South to toe India's line in doing away with the legacy colonial laws that have burdened the vulnerable section of the society and foster an environment of zero exploitation.

"By very nature, these laws were aimed to be harsh and exploitative for the local population. Time has come (for the Global South) to follow India’s example and emulate the same,” Dhankhar said at the first regional conference on access to legal aid.

Dhankhar noted that the Indian Parliament is working on laws that will "contain, curb and decimate exploitative provisions in colonial laws in procedure and penology". He urged other nations in Global South to carry out the exercise of repealing the colonial era laws.

"We (India) have a deep emotive connect with the nations of Global South culturally and otherwise. The negative aspects of colonial rule bind us together. We have suffered through the ages, we have to mitigate suffering by learning from each other," he said.

India is on the rise that cannot be stopped, he said, and hailed various social welfare schemes of the government, highlighting the country's efforts to digitally deliver benefits to those in need, and thereby eliminating leakages. He urged Global South nations to learn from India how to neutralise power corridors and reduce corruption.

Dhankhar also hailed the efforts of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud in delivering legal aid to those in need. "We are a diverse country, with different regions, different people etc. The current leadership in judiciary is taking care of all this and legal aid is being delivered seamlessly. Global South will do well in studying India’s model.”

In the recently concluded Monsoon Session of Parliament, Home Minister Amit Shah introduced Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya bills as proposed replacements for the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act. Shah noted that these laws are aimed at drastically reducing delays and pendency in the criminal justice system. The bills are expected to be debated in the Winter Session of Parliament.

The home minister has in his speeches said the existing criminal laws were drafted by the colonialists with the intention to punish and not to provide justice. "The intention of the new proposed criminal laws is justice and not just punishment."

Parliament also passed the Jan Vishwas Bill that decriminalised 183 minor offenses under 42 union Acts that involved a total of 19 ministries, most of these laws were from the Raj era. The prime minister had in April announced that close to  2,000 central laws from the colonial era have been struck down.