Ghosts of the Empire. A Retrospection of the Colonial Legacy of Legal Systems in South Asia and Its Competence to Bring Justice (PDF)

Essay from the year 2017 in the subject Cultural Studies - Middle Eastern Studies, grade: A, , course: LL.M, language: English, abstract: This paper examines the development of the modern legal system in South Asia as a colonial legacy which essentially meant to be a tool for the aspirations of colonial administrators. Furthermore the depiction of colonial view on oriental practices and its sheer unsuccessful manner is highlighted in this paper.

In the words of Frantz Fanon in "The Wretched of the Earth", white men had a desire to possess the world and assumed himself predestined to rule the world. Indeed the legal nexus that has been expanded around every nook and corner of the Indian Subcontinent and Sri Lanka can be attributed to those white Sahibs who ruled this part for many decades. In the poetic sense of Rudyard Kipling it was known as "White man's burden" which outrageously justified European moral obligation to subjugate Oriental nations to make them civilized. However the chains of events that occurred as a part of colonials caused to degenerate the subjects morally and their resources were abhorablly plundered. In order to legitimize the colonial exploitation and making the subjects meek and obedient to the colonial administration, they used law as a competent tool.