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SECTION VI
SUICIDE AND THE LAW
The origin of law is the society itself. In the primitive society, there was no law in the modern sense of the term. The attitude of the group or its opinion about any particular matter regulated the conduct or behaviour of the rest. Such views or attitudes became in course of time the rules of obligation. In course of time such rules received recognition from society as “custom” which exercised such social pressure as was satisfying to all its members. Co-existence in close proximity with each other created a need for restrictions on human conduct in the interest of general safety. Human nature, whether educated or uneducated exhibits itself in varying degrees of self-control and discipline. The use of violence, the tendency to trespass upon others' land and the desire for appropriation of what is not his own had to be restricted to ensure safety and peace in social living. That is how restrictions on the use of violence, thieving and deception came to be imposed in the interest of the society itself. Besides, there arose tensions between those who accepted such restrictions as being conducive to the well-being of the society and those that rejected them as curtailing their liberty.
It is plain that in course of time the vast majority in the society must have felt that the ties of kinship, common good and peaceful living were essential for a stable environment and progress. The slow process of growth disclosed that what was once optional became habitual and deviations which went unnoticed received serious attention by way of reprimand or punishment. In course of time, such restrictions or rules became the means of social control.
The evolution of criminal law consists in the imposition of prohibition on anti-social conduct and behaviour. Such pro
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| SR No. | 001568 |
| Book Title | Sallekhana is Not Suicide |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | T K Tukol |
| Publisher | L D Indology Ahmedabad |
| Publication Year | 1976 |
| Total Pages | 124 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English & Religion |
| File Size | 8 MB |