Relevance of Duties in the Contemporary World: With Special Emphasis on Gandhian Thought

This book reflects on the significance of duties in creating an egalitarian society by collating and contextualizing the relevant literature. It particularly focuses on an appreciation of Gandhi’s views on duty to showcase how they remain pertinent to create a cohesive, responsible and value-based society in the present right-dominated world. A viable solution to the current real world problems could be found in exploring the philosophy on duties and the book provides relevant literature in this regard. It undertakes jurisprudential analysis of duty in a rights-dominated world, identifying the gaps in realising the potential of duty to address the critical issues of the present times. It argues that enforcement of rights depends heavily on the observance of duties and proposes coherence in right-duty relationship. Gandhian thought on duty recognises duty as a precursor to rights and emphasises that the observance of duties guarantees the enforcement of rights. The relevance of duties and Gandhian thoughts on the same is not restricted to India but transcends borders with profound appeal. Gandhian thoughts have become even more relevant in the current times to examine the situation of COVID-19 pandemic, racial discrimination (BLM), environmental crises, digital divide, health care and medical care crises, refugee and migrant labour problems and it can offer promising solutions based on the nuances of social solidarity, self realisation of duties/responsibilities, local governance, compassion and humanity.

Raman Mittal is a Professor at Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. He holds LL.M. and Ph.D. from Panjab University, Chandigarh together with M.S.S. from International Space University, France. His research interests include Intellectual Property, Contract and International Laws. He has published extensively in national and international journals and has also authored many books. Prof. Mittal has visited various national and international legal institutions in the capacity of visiting faculty; the prominent being University of Oxford, Max Planck Institute of Intellectual Property and Competition Law, Munich and University of Washington, Seattle. Prof. Mittal has advised the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India in treaty negotiations and has been a member of the Drafting Committee that was tasked with the drafting of Copyright Rules, 2013.

Kshitij Kumar Singh is an Assistant Professor at Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. He earned his LL.M. and PhD degrees from Banaras Hindu University and received Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship Asia-Pacific 2010. As a Visiting Researcher, he visited the Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario, Canada, in 2009 and 2010. His primary area of interest is the intersection of law and biotechnology, particularly ethical, legal and policy issues relating to biomedical technology. He published his first book, "Biotechnology and Intellectual Property Rights: Legal and Social Implications", with Springer in 2015, followed by the book as an editor and author, “Policy Issues in GM Crops: A Global Perspective”, with Academic Press, Elsevier (2020). Currently, he is working on a book project, “Legal and Policy Framework of Precision Medicine”, with Prof. Shubha Ghosh, Syracuse University College of Law, New York. He has also published numerous articles, reviews and book chapters on various aspects of intellectual property law and biotechnology law with esteemedpublishers including Oxford, Edward Elgar, Cambridge, Elsevier and Springer Nature.

He has been invited as a resource person and speaker in national and international workshops, conferences, seminars and government consultative groups (notably, University of Utah, Texas A&M University, Indian Patent Office, RGNIIPM, ONGC, RIS, DIPP & DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce & Industry). On 18th December 2021, he was conferred with the "International Teaching Excellence Award 2021 in Intellectual Property Law" by the Center for Professional Advancement (A Unit of IMRF registered with Govt. of India NITI Aayog). Recently he has been invited as the Visiting Researcher by the Centre for Advanced Studies of Biomedical Innovation Law (CeBIL), University of Copenhagen, Denmark (The visit is funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation).