Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday said identity and its recognition by the State plays a crucial part in what resources people get and their ability to express their grievances and demand their rights. Addressing the plenary session of the 36th 'LAWASIA' conference virtually, he spoke on «Identity, the Individual and the State — New Paths to liberty».
LAWASIA is a regional association of lawyers, judges, jurists and legal organisations, which advocates for the interests and concerns of the Asia Pacific legal progression.
Noting that liberty is the ability to make choices for oneself and change our course of life, the Chief Justice said identity intersects with the person's agency and life choices.
«As lawyers, we are constantly confronted with this intersection and the role of the State to limit or expand the life opportunities of the people. While the relationship between the state and liberty has been understood widely, the task of establishing and explaining the relationship between identity and liberty is incomplete,» he said.
Traditionally, liberty has been understood as the absence of State interference in a person's right to make choices. However, contemporary scholars have come to the conclusion that the role of the State in perpetuating social prejudices and hierarchies cannot be ignored, Chief Justice Chandrachud said.