KSLU Solved Question Papers
Law and Social Transformation in India
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
LL.M. (Two Years) · Sem 1
2011 Jun Examination
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Mumbai
LL.M. (Two Years) Sem 1 Law and Social Transformation in India 2011 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 25 October 2026.
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The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2011 Jun examination.
Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2011 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2011 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all Questions. (2) Figures to the right indicate marks.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
(a)What is social change ? Discuss the role of law in bringing about social change in India.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what social change is (a change in social structure, relations, institutions and values; MacIver and Page) and its main sources (technology, economy, population, ideas, politics, law); how law brings about change (four techniques: prohibiting, conferring rights, building institutions, and declaring new values); the role of law in India field by field: caste (article 17; the PCR and Atrocities Acts; the 2013 Manual Scavengers Act and Safai Karamchari Andolan v. Union of India), gender (the Hindu Code; equal pay, Mackinnon Mackenzie and Co. Ltd. v. Audrey D'Costa; the POSH Act), land, labour, education, the urban poor (Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation), local democracy and the environment; a table; the limits; a conclusion.
What social change is
Social change is a change in the structure of society: in its groups, institutions, relationships, roles and values. MacIver and Page described it as change in social relationships. Examples in India are the weakening of untouchability and the entry of women into public life and paid work. Others are the shift from joint to nuclear families and the rise of elected village government.
Social change has many sources.
- Technology, such as railways, the printing press, the green revolution and the mobile phone.
- The economy, such as industrialisation and the opening of markets after 1991.
- Population, such as migration to cities.
- Ideas, such as equality, liberty and reform movements.
- Politics and law, the deliberate choices of the State.
Law is the source through which a society can choose the direction of its change.
How law brings about change
- Prohibiting a harmful practice, such as untouchability, child marriage or dowry.
- Conferring rights, such as a daughter's share in property or a child's right to school.
- Building institutions, such as panchayats, commissions and courts that make the change happen.
- Declaring new values, so that a practice once accepted becomes shameful.
The role of law in India, field by field
Caste. Article 17 abolished untouchability, and the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955 made it punishable. The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act 1989 punishes atrocities. Reservation under articles 15(4), 16(4), 330 and 332 opened education, jobs and legislatures.
Facts. In Safai Karamchari Andolan v. Union of India, (2014) 11 SCC 224, a petition showed that manual scavenging continued despite a 1993 law banning it. Held. The Court noted the new Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013. It directed all States to identify and rehabilitate manual scavengers. It ordered Rs 10 lakh compensation to the family of every person who had died in sewer work since 1993. Why it matters. Law can attack a caste-based occupation, but it needs rehabilitation and enforcement to end it.
Gender. The Hindu Code of 1955 and 1956 gave Hindu women monogamy, divorce and property rights. The 2005 amendment made daughters coparceners. The Equal Remuneration Act 1976, now in the Code on Wages 2019, required equal pay. The POSH Act 2013 made workplaces safer.
Facts. In Mackinnon Mackenzie and Co. Ltd. v. Audrey D'Costa, (1987) 2 SCC 469, a woman stenographer was paid less than male stenographers doing the same work. The employer pleaded separate cadres, a settlement and lack of money. Held. Equal work demands equal pay, and the employer's financial capacity is no defence. Why it matters. Law changed the value placed on women's work.
Land. Zamindari abolition, tenancy protection and ceiling laws transferred land from absentee landlords to cultivators. This was the largest planned social change after independence.
Labour. Bonded labour was abolished by the Act of 1976, from 25 October 1975, and child labour below fourteen has been banned in all work since 2016. The four Labour Codes came into force on 21 November 2025.
Education. Article 21A and the Right to Education Act 2009 made schooling a right for every child from six to fourteen.
The urban poor.
Facts. In Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation, (1985) 3 SCC 545, Bombay planned to evict pavement and slum dwellers and send them back to their villages. Held. The right to life under article 21 includes the right to livelihood. Eviction was allowed only after notice, and census dwellers were to get alternative sites. Why it matters. Law recognised the urban poor, products of migration, as rights-holders, not as nuisances.
Local democracy. The Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Amendments created elected panchayats and municipalities. One-third of seats are reserved for women and seats for Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
The environment. Laws on water (1974), air (1981) and the environment (1986), with court-made principles, began to limit harmful development. In M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (the oleum gas leak case), AIR 1987 SC 1086, the Supreme Court made hazardous industries absolutely liable for the harm they cause.
Criminal justice. Plea bargaining came in 2006, and victims gained a right to compensation and to be heard. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced the colonial codes from 1 July 2024. They added offences such as mob lynching and community service as a punishment.
The role of law at a glance
| Field | Main law | Change sought |
|---|---|---|
| Caste | Article 17; PCR 1955; PoA 1989; 2013 Act | End of untouchability and degrading work |
| Gender | Hindu Code; equal pay; POSH 2013 | Equality at home and at work |
| Land | Zamindari abolition; ceilings | Land to the tiller |
| Labour | Bonded Labour Act 1976; Labour Codes 2025 | Free and fair work |
| Education | Article 21A; RTE 2009 | School for every child |
| Local democracy | Parts IX and IXA | Power to villages, women, Dalits |
The limits of law
- Law runs ahead of attitudes. Caste prejudice, dowry and son preference survive in spite of the law.
- Enforcement is weak. Many statutes depend on complaints and officials who do not act.
- Law can be evaded. Benami transfers defeated land ceilings, and family "enterprises" hide child labour.
- Law needs support. Education, income and social movements decide whether a law takes root.
Conclusion. Social change is a change in the structure and values of society, driven by technology, the economy, ideas and the State. In India, law has been its chief planned instrument. It prohibited untouchability and conferred rights on women and children. It built institutions such as panchayats and declared new values of equality. Safai Karamchari Andolan, Mackinnon Mackenzie and Olga Tellis show law reaching caste, work and the urban poor. Its success depends on enforcement and on social support.
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