December 03, 2018 Monday
Bedtime Story
The Origins of the Indian Penal Code
The discrepancy in the number of murders
and the number of arrests can be disproportionately high.
In my personal case of attempt to murder
that falls under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code made on two occasions of 20
April and 22 June of 2016 nine people have been made accused of which eight
arrests were made and one remains absconding.
It is another story that so far even the
charges against the accused under the various sections of the Indian Penal Code
Act, Arms Act and Bombay Police Act have not yet been framed.
It is nearing two years since the charge
sheets have been filed for all those arrested and currently on bail.
Indian Penal Code is the primary criminal
code that was drafted way back in 1860 on the recommendations of the first law
commission of India.
It was drafted by the 1833 Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom and was called the Government of India Act
1833.
It was one of those steps or an arrangement
that would gradually take away the powers from the East India Company and
transfer it to the Crown of the United Kingdom.
It was done under the able Chairmanship of
Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay who was the leading member of the Law Commission
who spent his final years of life framing and drafting the penal code.
The Indian Penal Code that was drafted by
Lord Macaulay became the prototype on which all the penal codes of the British
colonies were drafted including those of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Singapore.
In spite of multiple amendments made to it
much of the code drafted by Macaulay still remains intact.
Even today the draft of the penal code is considered
to be logical, clear and coherent and when conceived very much ahead of its
time and still surviving after more than 150 years.
Even crimes committed in modern times with
newer technologies fit quite well with the originally drafted code.
Lord Macaulay is perhaps the single most
important reason that today I am writing this bedtime story to you in English
and in the manner that I write them.
It was after all Lord Macaulay who was
primarily responsible for the introduction of English and western concepts to
the education system of India.
He was one of those British who had no
qualms about declaring the supremacy of Britain as the peak of civilization of
its times and unhesitatingly demarcating the world into civilized nations and barbaric
civilizations (if that word “civilization” could be used was questionable).
When the English Education Act of 1835 was
being enacted by the all British team called Council of India consisting of
Governor-General and his team from East India Company a debate broke out among
them.
The issue of the debate was not whether the
Hindus ought to be educated.
Stay tuned to the voice of an
average story storytelling chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.com
Good night Mon Ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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Another great educator and a teacher that I am aware of is
Professor Subhashish Chattopadhyay in Bangalore, India.
While I narrate stories, Professor Subhashish an electronic
engineer and a former professor at BARC, does and teaches real mathematics and
physics.
He started the participation of Indian students at the
International Physics Olympiad.
Do visit him here:
All his books can be downloaded for free through this link:
For edutainment and English education of your children, I
recommend this large collection of Halloween Songs for Kids:
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