1 Introduction

If you want to find God, serve [humans]. (Swami Vivekanand)

The ancient Indian education system and its teaching pedagogy is amongst the finest examples of institutions imbibing social responsibility attributes in individuals (Nair, 2016). Shishyas, the disciples in the Gurukul system of education in ancient India, served society under the guidance of the Guru – the preceptor – while residing in an aashram – a residential school – in the learning phase of life (Chandwani, 2019; Nair, 2016). Teaching for life and skills to protect, serve and promote the goodness in the society was the essence and outcome of Gurukul education (Chandwani, 2019; Kashalkar & Thakersey, 2013; Sharma & Nemade, 2018).

Indian literature and epics surface various examples of a student’s social responsibility (Yadav, 2018). For instance, Lord Rama, along with his brother, Lakshmana, killed the rakshasas (demons) to protect humanity, at the command of the sage Vashishtha (Saran, 2014).

The question arises if we are following the same footprints or have forgotten these values in the journey towards professionalism, money and fame. Does education still target the holistic development of students, or does it focus on materialistic gain? The actuals of social responsibility in educational institutions can answer this.

2 Social Responsibility to Academic Social Responsibility

The social environment, inclusive of family, peers, educational institutions and the virtual world, plays an important role in carving an individual’s personality (boocok, 1973; Brofenbrnner, 1979; Otman et al., 2018; Quintero et al., 2015).

Educational institutions, being the formal platform for learning, play a vital role in defining an individual’s personality and their holistic development (Perason Academy, 2017). Educational institutions teach their students how to reside in a social order (Infed Org, 2020). Since the role of educational institutions in imbibing the values of social responsibility among individuals is crucial, it is important to explore how social responsibility is approached at educational institutions. Social responsibility is often defined in terms of corporate, trade and business as ‘corporate social responsibility’ (UNIDO, 2020). A comprehensive definition of social responsibility, in relation to academia, is yet to be articulated. Thus, we define academic social responsibility in research as student participation in activities which have a social impact and service to society through social welfare programmes, policies and practices adopted by educational institutions.

3 Social responsibility policy framework in india and legal education

UNESCO’s publications and initiatives to encourage social responsibility have escalated the urge for the incorporation of social responsibility among students by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the globe (Tandon, 2014). Although HEIs have their own specialities and diversities, in terms of subjects, faculties and purposes for their establishments, many have foud unique ways to serve societies. For example, the National Law Universities (NLUs) in India have established their social responsibility activities by setting up mandatory pro-bono service as an academic requirement (Gupta, 2017).

The Indian governmental institutions, such as the Planning Commission of India (now NITI Aayog), Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the University Grants Commission (UGC), along with other different stakeholders, have taken initiatives to ensure that education inculcates social responsibility and connects students to their communities. The sub-committee on strengthening community engagement in higher education in India was set up by NITI Aayog in 2011, and proposed community engagement at universities (UNESCO Chair, 2012). The UGC also established the Centre for Fostering Social Responsibility and Community Engagement at Indian Universities, which includes central, state and deemed universities who receive grants and aid from UGC and are accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (UGC, 2019). The Bar Council of India mandates the practice of giving legal aid, which is essential to inculcate the culture of social responsibility among students of law, under different provisions of the Rules of Legal Education, 2008, including Part IV, Chapter III, rules 18 and 31; Schedule II, entry 24; and Schedule III, entry 11 (BCI, 2010). Universities in India, including NLUs, have welcomed these initiatives (Gupta, 2017).

4 Social Responsibility and National Law Universities in India

To further impart global-standard legal education to its populace, India established National Law Universities all over the country (Government of India, 1986). Besides teaching legal education, NLUs have consistently contributed as valued partners in achiving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2020), through various committees and Centres of Excellence for Research and Development, which initiate activities with social impacts.

The centres comprise of faculties and students with an objective to serve any sector of society. For example, the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy in NLU Bangalore, the Centre for Disability Studies, the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR, 2020), and the Centre for Human Welfare and Empowerment at NLU Jodhpur. Through these centres, the NLUs have formalised social responsibility and service to communities. Most of the initiatives are free for the public, including blood donation camps and a legal aid clinic by the Centre for Law and Society at Gujarat NLU. The activities, ground functioning and research by the centres evoke policy-based ideas among the student and faculty, resulting in the development of these ideas as recommendations, new or model policies and laws to be made and amended. Thus, the social responsibility inculcated in students has become an indispensable part of higher education in India, especially at NLUs.

NLUs in India are constantly working on research projects to evaluate the standard of legal awareness and implementation of welfare legislations at ground level (GNLU, 2020). They provide free legal aid services as well (NLU Delhi, 2020; NLU Jodhpur, 2020; RMLNLU, 2020).

Figure 12.1 depicts the data of 19 NLUs in India functioning to incorporate social responsibility among students. Data has been collected from NLUs in Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Bhopal, Jodhpur, Gandhinagar, Patiala, Patna, Kochi, Cuttack, Ranchi, Vishakhapatnam, Tiruchirappalli, Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam, Nagpur, and Simla, and has been collected from the respective websites. The NLUs have been running between 3 to 23 Centres for Excellence, focussing on advancing knowledge, building a practical approach andresearch in teaching. NLUs in India bring together a wide variety of disciplinary expertise including Law, SWociology, Anthropology, Politics, Science and Technology, Environment, Sustainable Development, International Relations, Human Rights, Economics, Geography and Art History, through the Centres, to examine the interface of law and society. The participation of students in centres seems to be an opportunity for them to directly interact with contemporary issues and challenges, and help them to engage in activities organised by the Centres, such as ground and policy-oriented research, legal aid clinics, environmental protection initiatives, free counselling to women and people from marginalised backgrounds, working in villages adopted by universities, programmes for creating awareness and developing affiliations with society with due responsibility.

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Data for centres at NLUs encouraging social responsibility among students

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In Figure 12.1, Centres at the NLUs are classified under various themes by the authors, including Women and Child Development; Environment and Sustainable Development; Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy; Social Welfare, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law; and Specialised Laws Based Centres.

5 Social Responsibility, SDGs and NLUs

NLUs in India are dedicated and responsible institutions in the field of law, society and policies, integrating different domains of law with an inter-disciplinary approach. With the SDGs in place, NLUs have focussed on initiating activities in relation to the SDGs. Institutions have started collaborating with industry and universities to initiate trans- and inter-disciplinary research, opening up different arenas and dimensions of social responsibility related activities.

SDGs can be helpful to guide HEIs to formulate social responsibility policies. The following analysis, displayed in Table 12.1, shows the incorporation of SDGs in the agendas of the Centres of Excellence at NLUs. The table depicts the possible integration of SDGs in the vision and missions of the Centres of Excellence at NLUs.

6 Social Responsibility and Gujarat National Law University: A Case Study

Gujarat National Law University (GNLU) has various examples of outcome-based teaching and learning processes. The academic delivery at GNLU has resulted in various activities being undertaken by students and alumni.

At the GNLU Incubation Centre, students have received an opportunity to initiate start-ups and activities catering the the larger society. These include:

1. –Catharsis Magazine: A student-led, online, bimonthly magazine, which focuses on relevant contemporary issues, ideas and culture. The Law Learners: Aimed at familiarising people with the laws, by organising free certificate courses and competitions to spread legal awareness. This project was incubated under GNLU and regonised and funded by the Government of Gujarat, under the Student Startup & Innovation Policy (SSIP). Law Briefs: Law Briefs is India’s first legal service platform that prepares on-demand structured case summaries of Indian judgments.
2. –SoCo: SoCo (Socially Connected) is a social work based start-up, focussing on reconnecting people by giving them a chance to give back to society through social work, and facilitate them to do work that will make a difference. It works with the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Movement), teaching programmes, Adopt-a-Village programmes and talk shows, among others. They have spread their work across Gujarat, Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. The Adopt-a-Village programme aims to develop smart villages by planning initiatives on digitalisation, legal and consumer awareness, health and education, and has been conducted in the Rangiya district in Assam and Koba village in Gandhinagar.
3. –Artists’ Adda: By organising open mic events, workshops and seminars, exhibitions, music nights and different competitions to bring out people’s artistic capabilities and provide a platform to showcase art and culture, this initiative helps people explore, understand and know the artisit within themselves.
4. –LexQuest Foundation: This is a non-profit think tank working in the field of law and policy, catering to the different sections of society. It provides capacity and skill-building workshops, policy advisory programmes, public outreach and stakeholder consultations, and assists the government and private organisations in formulating and executing impactful policies.
5. –LexADR: This is a platform to learn more about alternate dispute resolution, and helps foster this system in India.
6. –Acing CLAT: This organisation aims to prodivde students who want to sit for law entrance examinations, including the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT), the All India Law Entrance Test (AILET) and the Law School Admission Test (LSAT). They provide guidance through sample papers, test series, compendiums and blogs.

GNLU also supports the Clean India Mission across the campus, including all students, faculty and staff. This includes students having to dedicate at least 8 hours a semester towards a cleanliness drive at one of the university’s adopted villages.

7 Analysis and Recommendations

Do a little good to someone everyday in your life. You need not be a big social reformer. (Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, Honourable Judge, Supreme Court of India, addressed students at the GNLU convocation in February 2020)

Educational institutions are the best platform to instil social responsibility in students, and NLUs in India are working to bridge the gap between education and social responsibility. Law institutes have often played a vital role in major social reforms. Beyond their primary contribution to society, which includes shaping legislation, judicial processes and policies, the Centres for Excellence have contributed to in research and awareness raising activities for the social transformation and upliftment of the larger society. NLUs have taken ahead the legacy of the ancient Indian education system, in terms of social responsibility. The work being done by the Centres of Excellence at NLUs across India is commendable, and compliments the objectives of the NLUs. However, while challenges do obstruct the way, at times, institutes should continue to function in order to imbibe social responsibility among students.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the GNLU Centre for Law and Society (GCLS) has been actively involved in coordinating with government authorities to arrange transportation, food and shelter for the stranded migrant labourers. To date, GCLS has assisted over 6,000 workers (Legally India, 2020).

Students’ involvement in activities carried out by the Centres has helped them develop a connection with the ground reality. It helps them apply and observe the theories in practices, and research helps them in their academic excellence. For example, to create and promote research in law and interdisciplinary studies, GNLU, through its Research and Publication division, provides internships to Sutdent Research Associates (SRAs). The research internship enables students to work with the Dean of Research and Publication, along with the Centres of Excellence at the university, exposing them to the research being done at the university. Clinical legal education helps students learn to apply the law practically, in actual conditions, through particiaption in legal aid clinics and internships with lawyers, providing them with exposure to the courts. The Centres of Excellence stimulate students to fight against social issues and to make the public aware about the laws and their rights. It also builds them as leaders and mentors in the community. Therefore, NLUs work to provide students with a holistic education, imbibing in them not just knowledge, but also the values of social responsibility.

NLUs have now been established in almost all the staets in India. These institutions, dispersed across the nation, and their Centres of Excellence, should now target their work to make an impact on society, including finding solutions to issues in the local, state-level contexts. For example, those NLUs working in states with a large tribal population should work on issues relating to tribes and migration. NLUs should also move towards working on educational reforms, especially in reference to competence-based education, climate change, local art and culture, health and well-being, social exclusion and inclusive policies, migration and refugees, tribal and indigenous issues and digitalisation, among others.