How Understanding of Justice and Approaches to Justice Is Altered in Indian Society - Coursework Example

HOW UNDERSTANDING OF JUSTICE AND APPROACHES TO JUSTICE IS ALTERED IN INDIAN SOCIETY Introduction Cultural differences matter significantly in one's perception of justice and approaches to justice. For one, cultural differences between people within a given nation or culture pose a greater degree than differences between groups. It may be inferred that education, social standing, religion, and belief structure are some factors that affect cultural differences in human behaviour and culture, which likewise affect a group's understanding of injustice and approaches to justice (Encina, 1999). It is important to recognise that differences in cultures tend to result in differences in a variety of ways, such as on ways of looking at things, i. e. perceiving justice (Tetreault and Lipschutz, 2005). In the legal sense, justice refers to the objective receipt by men and women of what the law designates one to receive. From a social science perspective, the term refers to an individual's subjective perceptions of whether or not he/she is treated fairly (Markovsky, 1985 in Mueller and Mulinge, 2002). It is likewise important to consider that justice pertains to the application of a normative rule to the allocation of resources to recipients (ibid). It is important to examine these subjective perceptions of justice and injustice since individuals' understanding affects their attitudes and perceptions of the subject. Since cultural differences may alter a group's perception on what is just and what is not, it then implies that people's actions and approaches to these actions on the given subject also vary. This paper aims to address the extent that cultural differences alter Indian people's understanding of justice or approaches to justice as the domain for discussing the given concern. How Justice is Perceived: Focus on Indian People The perception and understanding of justice is different in various nations and cultures, thus there is a need to focus on cultural differences when attempting to understand how a particular group views this concept. It must be noted that the concept of justice has not only emerged from levels of individual issues but also from levels of group or collective issues (Hayashi and Sekiguchi, 2006, p. 207). This is where the importance of how a group perceives the concept of justice and injustice takes place. It is from this multi-level perception that this paper considers describing how cultural differences alter understanding of injustice and approaches to justice. Collective justice perception is tended to be viewed to have associations with group-oriented cultures such as India. It connotes whether a group as a whole is treated fairly within the organisation and how such understanding of justice alters their view of said treatment (Hayashi and Sekiguchi, 2006, p. 207). In India, it may be inferred that religion is a factor that alters people's understanding of injustice and approaches to justice, accounting for a cultural difference between its people and the rest of the world. As a starting off, it is important to mention that the Indian culture and its general economic structure are heavily founded on religion and there is a need to understand the system of worship as well as the central concept of reincarnation governing people's lives. The cultural differences of the Indian people in terms of understanding justice and injustice lie on the understanding of various connections between Hinduism and general Indian culture, which includes history with an underlying caste system that has thrived for several centuries. The Indian caste system governs the social system in India, directly linking religious beliefs and social segregation into status groups, thereby creating divisions. Weber notes the prevention of the development of urban status groups by this caste system (Dumont and Gulati, 1980). He analysed how the aspect of traditionalism of the caste system is supported by religion and posits that the economic development of India is slowed as the "spirit" of this caste system ensues (ibid). The Indian social structure is built around a caste structure in which the intellectuals tend to be apolitical as the world continues to be oriented towards fundamental divisions between the educated and the uneducated masses who remain caught in poverty and belief in magic. Largely influencing the economic lives of people, the Indian caste system is based on birth designating people in social statuses and roles. The highest of this is the Brahmin, a class that involves those engaged in scriptural education and teaching, while the lowest is the Shudra, a class of people who work as semi-skilled and unskilled laborers (Dumont and Gulati, 1980). The most apparent in this social system is its rigid prevention of the lower castes to ascend to higher positions, restricting economic progress. In urban India though, people are permitted to interact socially and for business purposes. Discriminating anyone for reasons related to caste is against the law and anyone who does such act will be subject to legal punishments. It may be noted that the caste system in India promotes inequality whose main basis is ascription by birth, preventing certain individuals to move along certain levels of the system through social mobility. At present, justice in India is seen by some people as not thriving since the government itself undertakes certain policies that are contradictory to its notion. There is said to be a logical contradiction between the right of individuals to own their produces and the government's taking away of land for social good; as well as heavy taxation, which to many is almost equivalent to theft. This leads towards inferring that for justice, injustice is practiced in India (The Indian National Interest Review, 2008). The politicians ensure that these undertaking are for the greater good of society, having cost benefit analysis (CBA) for deciding who should command resource and who should leave their property (The Indian National Interest Review, 2008). Some leftist groups claim that halting development that would bring jobs to millions and taking away lands and displacing farmers are unjust (Ibid). The reinstitution of private property is seen to effect meaning for its being a fundamental constitutional right for justice. It may be noted that the caste system continues to prevail in modern India through a combination of social perceptions and divisive politics, which strengthens it (Bayly, 1999). The alteration of understanding of justice and injustice in Indian society is viewed as one based on mutual consent of the caste system rather than the rule of compulsion (Klatt, 1972). It may be noted that within the caste itself, inequality exists leading towards social injustice, which may be perceived by people as natural and according to natural laws. The caste system plays an influential role on how the Indian society shapes its economic activities while it functions based on division of labour and in some cases, allows only narrow specialisation within one domain. The presence of the caste structure gave way to social stratification in the Indian society, classifying people according to their economic statuses and roles. Although some sociologists and historians debate on the issue of the caste system having to deal with the Vedas scripture, its existence has empirically been associated with religion. The Hindu religion has played a dominant role in the Indian society albeit presence of political and economic institutions, which in modern times usually separates religion. The belief in karma and reincarnation, which embodies this religion allows people to perceive that what they are currently experiencing - including their class statuses and roles - are products of a karmic wheel, which they must face in this present lifetime in order to achieve nirvana. Hence, this paper infers that this perception alters their understanding of justice and approaches to justice, in that such occurrence might not be viewed as a political act by some political entity, but a religious/spiritual expression of their Fates, which must be personally faced upon on earth. This nature-driven occurrence of injustice (i. e. land grabbing and peasant displacement ) may be seen as a personal karma in a past life currently manifesting into such due to an evil action. In the past, the individual might have been a brutal, merciless landlord who punished several peasants, seized their lands and homes, and currently repays all these through sufferings and retribution such as said injustice. Since this perception of justice and approaches to justice is not viewed as one dealing with political or legal linage, i. e. as a social injustice acted upon by the ruling cliques and the government, the action towards dealing with this injustice is also not one undertaken to correct the existing political and social system. Rather, such injustice might be easily accepted by the people out of a notion that a person deserves all sufferings and retributions here on earth, as well as all happiness and joy. The underlying approaches to justice based on this karmic construct is that acceptance of said misfortunes as one dealing with karmic justice would improve one's spirituality. It may be noted that there is a relation between religion as a factor of India's cultural difference and how understanding of justice and injustice is altered. Meanwhile, some societies do not view occurrence of similar injustice as driven by fate but rather as a result of some government mismanagement and inability to direct the resources properly. The same may also be viewed as a product of hegemonic relations between states. However, some Indian people, relying on Indian culture, redirect this perception of social injustice into something governed by spiritual energy through belief in karma and reincarnation and their position in the caste system. In these terms, one can perceive the extent of how cultural differences alter people's understanding of justice and approaches to justice. It may however be noted that since Indian society is now adopting modernity as it keeps pace with current globalised trends and economic reforms, the caste system is slowly dying down but remnants of it are still manifested overall (Tetreault and Lipschutz, 2005). Conclusion Culture poses a significant factor in people's perception of events and occurrences, including how they regard justice and injustice to affect their lives. The Hindu religion and the society's economic and social structure based on the caste system play an important role on how this understanding is altered, which is considered part of cultural differences that govern people's thoughts, general behaviour, actions, and manner by which to approach events. The primary construct affecting the understanding of justice and injustice is one that explains how strongly religion can shape a group's perception of their condition and links it not with social, political, and legal aspects of life, but rather to personal and individual experiences. This alteration of perception is motivated mainly by religion, moulding people's thoughts and actions, directing their statuses and roles, and addressing a just or unjust event differently other than through legal or political means. The same perception is not shared by people outside this cultural event and therefore acts differently on occurrences, which they consider unjust. It only means that individuals' subjective perceptions about fairness and justice are affected by social institutions like religion, which is a strong part of their culture. Likewise, it also implies that in the understanding of concepts, which appear political and legal like "justice," understanding might be altered based on the culture that governs people's behaviour and belief system. The Indian culture mainly based on caste system and religion tends to alter people's perception of injustices as a personal and spiritual experience. References Bayly, Susan (July 1999). Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age. Cambridge University Press. Dumont, L. and Gulati, B. (1980) Homo hierarchicus: The caste systems and its implications, University of Chicago Press. Encina, G. B. (1999) Cultural differences Or, are we really that different University of California. Hayashi, Y. and Sekiguchi, T. (2006) Collective justice perceptions in group-oriented cultures: proposal of a new construct, Japanese Journal of Administration Science, 19, 207-219. Klatt, W. (1972) Class and communism in Kerala, Asian Affairs, 3, 275-287. Markovsky, B. (1985) Towards a multilevel theory of justice, American Sociological Review, 50, 822-839. Mueller, C. and Mulinge, M. (2002) Justice perceptions in the workplace: Gender differences in Kenya, http://www.codesria.org/Links/Publications/asr5_2full/mueller.pdf, Date Accessed 1/23/05. Tetreault, M A, and Lipschutz, R D (2005) Global Politics as if people mattered, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc, Lanham. The Indian National Interest Review (2008) Social justice is injustice, http://acorn.nationalinterest.in/2008/08/28/social-justice-is-injustice/, Date Accessed 1/24/09. Read More