Reloading Civil Disobedience In India - A Gandhian Legacy

There are many factors which shape people’s compliance with laws. Through various studies it was established that the major factors shaping compliance with laws are morality, social pressure, deterrence and legitimacy. In different societies the factor shaping compliance with laws may vary. Early societies largely depend on morality and social pressure for compliance, whereas state centric societies depend on deterrence and modern Democratic Republican societies depend on legitimacy. In India, however, deterrence remains the dominant factor shaping compliance with laws despite India's long-standing democratic republican system. The people in India are often hesitant to follow their own government’s laws. The Gandhian legacy of freedom struggle, particularly the civil disobedience and non-cooperation movement might have legitimized civil disobedience. The civil disobedience movement later suppressed voluntary compliance with laws. This reflects a culture of lack of voluntary compliance with laws among the Indian people. This may be the reason why the state has to rely more on deterrence than legitimacy. If legitimacy shapes compliance with laws then people would have practiced voluntary compliance with laws