Forgetting The "Little man" In Democracy: Contemporary Debates in Law and Society

Forgetting The "Little man" In Democracy: Contemporary Debates in Law and Society About the Book Coming from a country where core values of society such as democracy, equal rights, human rights, freedom of speech, religion, education, privacy, transparency and accountability are often taken for granted, until these values are challenged by crisis such as COVID-1 9, (cyber) security, and climate change, it is enlightening to read the essays of Dr Pauly Mathew Muricken, who emphasizes these core values for the largest democracy in the world in a clear and compelling manner. Dealing with a wide range of topics he clearly explains these core values, for example the responsibility of the Government to inform population of the potential threats of environmental hazards. Reading the book reminds me of one the motto's from the Bible: "You have been told what is good: to do justice, be faithful and humbly walk the way of your God (Micah 6:8)"  Prof. Dr. C.J. van Westen Professor of Multi-Hazard Risk Dynamics, Faculty ITC, University of Twente,The Netherlands Though constitutional system of governance has been in existence in India since 1950, the realization of basic human rights is a mirage for ordinary citizen in India. Though Indian Constitution intends to establish an egalitarian society having equal status and opportunity to all sections of society and economic, social and political empowerment of all sections of society the position of have nots is pathetic even today. The lack of constitutional culture and constitutionalism paved the way for sidelining the basic policy issues during election campaign and other political discourses. What is needed in this context is to focus on basic socio-economic issues having impact on the avowed constitutional goal of creation of egalitarian society. In the book, "Forgetting The "Little Man" In Democracy: Contemporary Debates In Law And Society" certain critical issues like protecting public health during pandemic, right to unimpeded oxygen supply and free vaccine, rights of the aged and sick, maintenance of ecological balance, right to conscience and faith, minority rights, rubicon of quota reservation, digital rights and trust, etc.. have been highlighted by the author Dr. Pauly Mathew Muricken with clear constitutional and human rights perspective. The book appears to be an attempt by a responsible citizen committed to strengthen good governance under the Constitution.    Prof.Dr.K.C.Sunny, Vice-Chancellor, The National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi and Dean, Faculty of Law, Cochin University of Science and Technology In "Forgetting the 'Little Man' in Democracy: Contemporary Debates in Law and Society", Dr. Pauly Mathew Muricken addresses the central role of the constitution in a democratic society. He provides a comprehensive and insightful discussion relating to a myriad of issues facing Indian society with an international legal comparative analysis in the areas of: human rights, the environment, religious freedom, the right to education and the right to peace amongst others. He provided a robust analysis of Covid-19 related legal needs and the role of the state in promulgating public health measures including vaccine mandates. However, the author focused primarily only on one side of a lengthy discussion regarding abortion, disregarding the correlation between population, poverty and abortion itself as a fundamental right.  Prof. Dr.J. Danixia Cuevas, Professor at the Law Center, Miami Dade College, Florida, USA About the Author Dr. Pauly Mathew Muricken is a practicing Lawyer at the High Court of Kerala, a constitutional law expert, an acclaimed writer and a known legal academician. He is designated as an Adjunct Professor in Law and an approved Research Guide at The National University of Advanced Legal Studies, Kochi. He is also serving as a member of the Research Committee and Doctoral Committee there and is also engaged as the Visiting/Guest faculty in Law at School of Legal Studies, Cochin University of Science and Technology. He was awarded Doctorate in Law by the Cochin University of Science and Technology in the year 2010. He was the Rank holder both for B.A.L. and LL.M. Examinations and the recipient of Kelkar Prize in Criminal Law from the Cochin University of Science and Technology and also the recipient of National Merit Scholarship for the LL.B Programme. He was adjudged to be the best performer in the Inter-University Moot Court Competition. Dr. Muricken is active in the legal research domain as well. He has exposed the health threats from Laboratories which appeared as the leading newsitem in the front page of the Indian Express Daily. His research study on Blood Banks was also identified by the media as a seminal research work. He had worked as Research Fellow in connection with a University sponsored research project on Medical and Para-Medical Institutions. He has presented various papers in National and International Conferences on legal topics of contemporary social significance. He has also acted as the Public Examiner for Universities. He had also served as the Secretary of the Cochin University Legal Aid Clinic and the Assistant Editor of the Cochin University Law Review. Dr. Muricken is a prolific writer and is contributing regularly articles on legal issues in leading Dailies and acclaimed research Journals. His numerous articles have appeared in the research journals and law journals including the All India Reporter. He is an orator and an invited Guest Speaker on matters relating to law and justice in society. He is also the Counsel and legal advisor for various bodies and entities. He generally focuses his practice in Constitutional law, Public law, Commercial law, Consumer law, Civil law and Criminal law and has several reported judgments to his credit. Twice he was conferred the prestigious ‘P. Sukumaran Nayar Legal Literary Award’ by the Indian Law Institute, Kerala Branch and has also received to his credit the Special Jury Award. His wife, Dr. Marian Pauly, is a reputed Orbit and Oculoplastic Surgeon based in Kochi.