Full Description
This monograph outlines the core principles of equity and trusts in Sanskrit jurisprudence (Dharmaśāstra) and traces their application in the practical legal administration of religious and charitable endowments throughout Indian history. Dharmaśāstra describes phenomena that, in Anglo-American jurisprudence, are associated with courts of equity: the management of religious and charitable trusts; and the guardianship of those who lack legal capacity. Drawing on Sanskrit jurisprudential and philosophical texts, ancient inscriptions, Persian legal documents, colonial-era law reports, and contemporary case law, Equity and Trusts in Sanskrit Jurisprudence demonstrates that India's rulers have drawn on rich and venerable Sanskrit jurisprudential principles of equity and trusts in their efforts to regulate religious and charitable endowments. This book presents the history of India as a history of trusts, revealing how the contemporary law of Hindu religious endowments is subtended by a rich mélange of Sanskritic, Persianate, British, and constitutional jurisprudential principles.
Contents
List of Maps, Figures and Tables
Table of Cases
Glossaries
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1: The Sanskrit Jurisprudence of Equity and Trusts
2: Equity and Trusts in Classical Indian Legal History
3: Hindu Temple Trusts in Islamic India
4: Equity and Trusts in Anglo-Hindu Jurisprudence
5: The Supreme Court of India and Hindu Religious Endowments
6: Conclusion: Hindu Deities in the 21st Century Global Order
Bibliography
Index
