CHENNAI: “In the world today, law is going beyond even dharma, the pivot,” said 90-year-old legal expert, senior advocate and Member of Parliament K Parasaran, here on Sunday.
Parasaran was speaking at the release of the book, Law & Dharma, a compilation of a series of conversations with the veteran by three students of Shastra University, Thanjavur. “Dharma is primacy. Below the axis of dharma was rule of law, followed by law, which in turn is succeeded by rulers comprising those from executive, legislature and judiciary,” Parasaran noted and added that in the present context, however, law was going beyond dharma with the latter trying to catch up. Referring to the shastras, he said a judge should abide by law and take refuge in dharma, as one would remain immortal if one traversed the path of dharma.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Sanjay Kishan Kaul said that empowerment of women and the socially, economically backward were also aspects of Dharma.
“Caste system will have to break down; this is the objective of Dharma. We are facing troubled times. The process of evolution is on, which must take care to preserve our heritage and yet advance ours as a modern society,” he said.
S Gurumurthy, noted commentator on political, economic and social issues, called for a deep understanding of the philosophy of law from a socio-cultural perspective. India, he said, has the potential to lead the world in this nuanced subject of legal anthropology.