Law as an Instrument of Social Engineering: The Indian Perspective

Laws are established for the purpose of governance, with the goal of protecting people's rights on one side and controlling their actions on the other. A human being, a social animal, is a consequence of the society in which he lives and is regulated by the desires that he wants to assert during his lifetime. Rights and interests seem to clash with each other, and what the concept of social engineering postulates is the method of balancing these interests and rights with each other in order to ensure optimal gain for all. In order to balance the needs of society to offer maximum value to the maximum number under the welfare state regime, social engineering was put forward by Roscoe pound. In the context of the social engineering phase in India, this article analyzes constitutional provisions, laws and judicial decisions. The authors briefly address Roscoe Pound’s theory of Social Engineering and relate its application to the Indian legal system as a tool of justice.