RELATIONSHIP OF LIBERTY & CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE : A CRITICAL STUDY
By Harsha Vidyashankar Mishra, DES Shri Navalmal Firodia Law College, Pune.
Abstract
Liberty has often been won not through compliance, but through the bold acts of civil disobedience that dared to challenge injustice. True liberty is born when the courage to disobey unjust laws outweighs the comfort of conformity. The term “Civil Disobedience” was coined by Henry David Thoreau in his 1849 essay ‘resistance to Civil Government’. 20th century saw civil Disobedience become a powerful strategy for various global movements advocating for liberty, justice, and human rights such as Gandhian movements, American civil rights movement, suffrage and feminist movements. In recent times also, Civil disobedience continues to be a powerful tool for those seeking liberty and justice; climate Activism, black lives matter movement (2020), Global democracy movements from Hong Kong to Myanmar are some of the instances. The relationship between liberty and civil disobedience is rooted in the pursuit of justice and individual rights. Liberty represents the freedom to act according to one's own will, as long as it doesn't infringe on the rights of others. Civil disobedience, on the other hand, is a deliberate, nonviolent violation of certain laws or governmental directives perceived as unjust, undertaken to advocate for social or political change. It is difficult to identify extent to which civil disobedience enhance or threaten democratic liberty in modern society. To explore civil disobedience's effect on democratic liberty, it is important to review literature, and study case examples. Assessment of how it can both strengthen democracy by advocating positive change and pose risks by causing disruption. It can be done by use of various methods to gather data, compare outcomes, and provide balanced recommendations while addressing ethical considerations. There shall be clear guidelines for lawful protest, establishing protected protest areas, enhancing dialogue between activists and officials, increasing public education on civil disobedience, & differentiating legal responses to peaceful versus violent actions, etc. The researcher aims to explore how civil disobedience affects democratic liberty by analyzing its impact on democratic processes, evaluating its benefits and risks, identifying conditions for its effectiveness or threat, recommending reforms for balance, and increasing awareness of its role in democracy.
Keywords- Civil Disobedience, Democracy, Liberty.
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