Globalization is the buzzword of today. No other concept has ever influenced the
various spheres of human activity as it does. In the political sphere, the concept of
Statehood has undergone a drastic change ever since the emergence of globalization.1
With globalization, liberalization and privatization, there is the emergence of significant
forms of political authority outside the traditional focus on the public institutions of the
State and that the actors and institutions of global economy are increasingly setting the terms for the conduct of social life.2 For some, globalization and its accompanying
reconfiguration of political power amounts to nothing less than the demise of the
paradigm of modernity making untenable the idea of nation state as the main organizing
principle of society.3
The reconfiguration of the relationship between the state, private actors and the
individuals due to liberalization, globalization and privatization has pumped in
various socioeconomic changes in the society like disinvestment, decentralization,
public-private partnership, etc. Besides globalization, economic liberalization and
privatization have put constitutional principles in a state of dilemma. Principles of
democracy, concept of welfare state, social and economic justice embodied under
Part IV of the Constitution, concept of federalism, etc. are undergoing a constant
process of reshaping in order to match with the developmental activities from time to
time.4 Similarly, it has resulted in the emergence of a new era of ‘legal pluralism’
wherein there will be a direct confrontation between the sacrosanct fundamental
rights on the one hand and self-interest of the private persons on the other.5 In this
scenario, the concept of justice, fairness and reasonableness is not the sole
responsibility of the government alone and the government alone cannot be said to be the repository acting in public interest while performing public functions and
duties according to the paradigm of legal pluralism.
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