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VOL. 12, ISSUE 3 (2026)
Reclaiming indigenous juridical heritage: The relevance of ancient indian treatises in reforming modern Indian legal education and practice
Authors
Ashish Pathak
Abstract
The contemporary Indian legal system largely
operates within a framework shaped by colonial legal transplantation, even
though India possesses a deep and sophisticated indigenous juridical tradition
grounded in concepts of Dharma, justice, governance, and ethical social order.
This article argues that ancient Indian legal treatises, particularly the Dharmashastra,
Manusmriti, and Arthashastra, should not be treated merely as historical
artifacts but as jurisprudential resources capable of enriching modern legal
education and legal thought in India. The central claim is not that pre-modern
texts should be revived in a literal or prescriptive form, but that their
ethical reasoning, concepts of proportionality, models of governance, and
pedagogical value can be critically reinterpreted within the framework of
constitutional morality, gender justice, and democratic pluralism. Existing
scholars identifies strong continuities between ancient and modern Indian legal
thought in areas such as justice, evidence, governance, and moral
accountability, while also warning against uncritical reliance on texts
carrying patriarchal or exclusionary elements. Building on this body of
literature, this article advances a doctrinal and historical-comparative
framework for integrating indigenous jurisprudential knowledge into
contemporary legal curricula and academic discourse. It contends that a
carefully filtered and constitutionally grounded engagement with ancient Indian
legal thought can contribute to the decolonization of Indian legal education
and foster a more culturally rooted yet normatively progressive legal
imagination.
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Pages:39-41
How to cite this article:
Ashish Pathak "Reclaiming indigenous juridical heritage: The relevance of ancient indian treatises in reforming modern Indian legal education and practice". International Journal of Law, Vol 12, Issue 3, 2026, Pages 39-41
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