The Tagore Law Lectures are an annual lecture series organised and hosted by the University of Calcutta, in India. The series is named after Prasanna Kumar Tagore, an Indian lawyer and politician, who left an endowment for the series in 1868. The first lecture in the series was delivered by Herbert Cowell, in 1870, on Hindu law as administered in British courts in India.
History and Endowment The Tagore Law Lecture series was funded in 1868 by Prasanna Kumar Tagore, an Indian lawyer and politician. In 1868, Tagore provided by his will that a law professor, to be known as the 'Tagore Law Professor' was to be appointed by the Senate of the University of Calcutta, and that this Professor's duties would be to: "...read or deliver, yearly at some place within the town of Calcutta, one complete course of Law Lectures, without charge to the students and other persons who may attend such Lectures." Tagore's will further provided for the publication of a minimum of 500 copies of these lectures, to be distributed for free. In his inaugural lecture, Herbert Cowell noted that the intention of this bequest was apparently to encourage the preparation and publication of textbooks on Indian law. The Tagore Law Lectures were delivered by leading Indian, British, and American scholars and jurists, including Rash Behari Ghose, Gooroodas Banerjee, Sir Frederick Pollock, Roscoe Pound, and John Woodroffe, and former U.S. Supreme Court judge, William O'Douglas. H.M. Seervai, the Indian lawyer and constitutional law scholar, was also invited to deliver lectures for the series, but declined on the grounds that his professional commitments would not allow him to develop lectures that fit the series' standards of legal research.
In 2020, the Calcutta University published the Tagore Law Lectures delivered between 1868 and 1986 on their library website, making them publicly accessible, as part of an initiative to digitise records and rare documents.
Legacy Scholar and lawyer Rajeev Dhavan has described the Tagore Lecture Series as the 'most celebrated' of Indian endowed lectures on law, noting that the research produced for these lectures represents a 'black-letter' tradition, aimed at documenting the law and not critically assessing it. This assessment is echoed by e Rajkumari Agrawala, who has critiqued the series for its focus on a formalistic approach to law, and noted a lack of theoretical appreciation in the lectures delivered under this endowment.
The Tagore Law Lectures have been often cited by courts in India as references for the interpretation of Indian laws. The Privy Council in 1941 relied on Upendra Nath Mitra's Tagore Law Lecture in 1932, concerning the law of limitation.General Fire and Life Assurance Corporation Ltd. v. Janmahomed Abdul Rahim, A.I.R 1941 P.C. 6 The Indian Supreme Court has relied on multiple Tagore Law Lectures including William O' Douglas's 1939 Lecture on comparative U.S. and Indian law,K. A. Abbas vs The Union Of India & Another, A.I.R. 1971 S.C. 481 Julius Jolly's 1883 lecture on the Hindu law of partition, inheritance, and adoptionAbhiraj Kuer vs Debendra Singh, A.I.R. 1962 S.C. 351 and M.C. Setalvad's 1974 lecture on the relation between the Union and States in the Indian Constitution.State of West Bengal Vs. Kesoram Industries Ltd., A.I.R 2005 S.C.1646.
List of Lectures A list of the Tagore Law Lectures that have been delivered is below. +YearLecturerTitle1870Herbert CowellThe Hindu Law: Being a Treatise on Law Administered Exclusively to the Hindus by the British Courts in India I1871Herbert CowellThe Hindu Law: Being a Treatise on Law Administered Exclusively to the Hindus by the British Courts in India II1872Herbert CowellThe History and Constitution of the Courts and Legislative Authorities in India1873Shama Churun SarkarThe Muhammedan Law: Being a Digest of the Law Applicable Especially to the Sunnis in India1874Arthur PhillipsThe Law Relating to the Land Tenures of Lower Bengal 1874-751875Rash Behari GhoshThe Law of Mortgage in India1877Ernest John TrevelyanThe Law Relating to Minors in the Presidency of Bengal1878Gooroodas BanerjeeThe Hindu Law of Marriage and Stridhan1879Trailokyanath MitraThe Law Relating to the Hindu Widow1880Rajkumar SarvadhikariThe Principles of the Hindu Law of Inheritance1881William Fischer AgnewThe Law of Trusts in British India1882Upendra Nath MitraThe Law of Limitation and Prescription (in British India) including Easements1883Julius JollyThe Hindu Law of Partition, Inheritance and Adoption1884Syed Ameer AliThe Law Relating to Gifts, Trusts, and Testamentary Dispositions Among the Mahomedans1885K. K. BhattacharyaThe Law Relating to the Joint Hindu Family1886K. M ChatterjeaThe Law Relating to the Transfer of Immovable Property1887G.S. HendersonThe Law of Testamentary Devise as Administered in India or the Law Relating to Wills in India1888Golapchandra Sarkar SastriThe Hindu Law of Adoption1889T. A. PearsonThe Law of Agency in British India1890Lal Mohun DossThe Law of Riparian Rights: Alluvion and Fishery1891Maulvi Mahomed Yusoof Khan BahadurMahomedan Law Relating to Marriage, Dower, Divorce, Legitimacy, and the Guardianship of Minors1892Pandit Pran Nath SaraswatiThe Hindu Law of Endowments1893Arthur CasperszEstoppel by Representation and Res Judicata in British India1894Sir Frederick PollockThe Law of Fraud, Misrepresentation, and Mistake in India1895Saradchandra MitraThe Land Law of Bengal (with Bihar and Orissa)1896Ram Charan MitraThe Law of Joint Property and Partition in India1897John George WoodroffeThe Law Relating to Injunctions in British India1898Asutosh MukhopadhyayThe Law of Perpetuities in British India1899Frederick PeacockThe Law Relating to British Easements in India1901K. Shelley BonnerjeeThe Interpretation Of Deeds Wills, And Statutes In British India1903Satya Ranjan DasThe Law Of Ultra Vires In British India 1904Jogendra Chundra GhoshThe Hindu Law Of Impartible Property Including Endowments1905Kisori Lal SarkarThe Mimansa Rules Of Interpretation As Applied To Hindu Law 1906Satish Chandra BanerjiThe Law Of Specific Relief In British India1908Sripati Roy Customs And Customary Law In British India1909Priyanath SenThe General Principles Of Hindu Jurisprudence1910C. O. RemfryCommercial Law In British India1912Bijoy Kisor AcharyyaCodification In British India 1913Samatul Chandra DuttCompulsory Sales In British India1914Satish Chandra BagchiPrinciples Of The Law Of Corporations With Special Reference To British India1916Prosanto Kumar SenThe Law Of Monopolies In British India1917K. P. JayaswalManu And Yajnavalkya A Comparison And A Contrast : A Treatise On The Basic Hindu Law1918Nagendranath GhoseComparative Administrative Law1920K.Subramania PillaiPrinciples Of Criminology1921S. P. Sen GuptaLaw Of Mortgage1922James Wilford GarnerRecent Developments In International Law1923Westel W. WilloughbyThe Fundamental Concepts Of Public Law1924Satyaranjan DasThe Law Of Ultra Vires1925Radhabinod PalThe History Of The Law Of Primogeniture With Special Reference To India Ancient And Modern1929Prosanto Kumar SenPenology Old And New 1930Radhabinod PalThe History Of Hindu Law In The Vedic Age And In Post-Vedic Times 1931Arnold D. MacnairThe Law Of The Air 1933James MackintoshRoman Law In Modern Practice1937Nalini Kumar MukherjeeThe Law Of Partnership With Special Reference To British India1937 - 38William HoldsworthSome makers of English Law1938Radhabinod PalCrimes In International Relations, 1938, 1939William O. DouglasFrom Marshall To Mukherjea : Studies In American And Indian Constitutional Law1942Nripendra Nath SircarThe Law Of Arbitration In British India1948Roscoe PoundThe Ideal Element In Law1950Nares Chandra Sen-GuptaEvolution Of Ancient Indian Law1951P.B. GajendragadkarThe Hindu Law Of Religious And Charitable Trusts1962J.R.MudholkarPress Law1963B.C.MitraThe Law Of Carriage By Sea1972Durga Das BasuLimited Government And Judicial Review1977Sir Zelman CowenIndividual Liberty And The Law 1983M. HidayatullahRight To Property And The Indian Constitution1986Imam Fakhruddin Hassan Bin Mansur Al-Uzjandi Al FarghaniMahomedan Law Of Marriage, Dower, Divorce, Legitimacy And Guardianship Of Minors, According To The Sunnis
External links
Tagore Law Lectures, University of Calcutta Library E-book Catalogue
References