Critically Examine Affirmative Action: PM Tells Experts

New Delhi, Aug 4 (UNI) With controversy over reservation yet to settle, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked law experts to critically examine affirmative action devices ''we have deployed in our country and their real impact on the social order.'' The suggestion by Dr Singh came along with an emphasis on ''original thinking'' in India's legal profession as the Indian Law Institute celebrated its 50th anniversary at Vigyan Bhavan this evening.

''Our problems are peculiar to our society,'' Dr Singh said, adding that ''we will have therefore to... find our own solutions to our problems.'' The event was attended by India's Chief Justice and ILI President Y K Sabharwal, an array of his predecessors, and Law and Justice Minister Hans Raj Bhardwaj.

Dr Singh also asked experts to critically examine changes resulting from opening higher education sector to private players, need for social welfare schemes in an increasingly liberalised economy, concerns of equity and judiciary-executive relationships.

He also mentioned legislative tools that can be used to tackle the menace of terrorism while respecting human rights.

''As we prepare ourselves for globalisation in the legal profession, we must invest more in promoting original thinking,''Dr Singh said, adding that ''we will have to be innovative.'' Dr Singh pointed out how the Supreme Court through its judgements from time to time addressed problems and came up with ''highly original and innovative ideas.'' It showed that ''although our jurisprudence may have British origins, we have the ability within us to mould our jurisprudence into a distinct creature... tailor-made and suited to the needs of our fast evolving economy and society.'' Dr Singh asked the judiciary, legislature, members of the bar, legal academia and scholars to find meaningful and widely acceptable solutions to the social challenges of the times.

He said only a proper and dispassionate analysis of government policy, judicial pronouncements and legislative action could contribute to better governanceand emphasised the need to improve the quality of public debate.

Dr Singh presented mementos to past ILI Presidents: Justices Y V Chandrachud, P N Bhagwati, R S Pathak, Ranganath Mishra, K N Singh, A M Ahmadi, VN Khare, R C Lahoti.

On the importance of Rule of Law, Dr Singh said enforcement of law and contracts based on law was ''critical to the successful functioning of any such polity.'' He cautioned against letting inadequate contract enforcement mechanisms constrain the growth of economy ''and the prospects of our people.'' He said the efficiency of such enforcement depended on the efficiency and professionalism with which the entire legal system functioned.

Legal education has an extremely important role to play in the establishment of a law-abiding society, he said.

''A legal system committed to values, to integrity and to excellence in legal education and research is, therefore, an extremely important component and ingredient of a vibrant and a just society which we seek.'' Dr Singh said, ''the legal profession is also a noble profession, like that of medicine. It is, therefore, of great importance that each legal professional should be both a competent person and a person of high integrity.

''We live in times of great flux. A world that changes with every passing day - new technology and new ideas herald changes in the way we live, in the way we work, in the way we think.

''In our country, more than a billion people are today striving to fulfill their myriad aspirations for a life of dignity and self-respect.

''We need, therefore, to address ever-changing issues and problems in our fast evolving economy, polity and society.

The ''biggest challenge we face today'' is the challenge of managing change-- social, economic, technological, ecological and so on, he said.

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