With the consolidation of the British power in India, the traditional Hindu Law underwent drastic changes. In the traditional Hindu Law, the Norms prescribed were different for different casts groups. There was no uniform system of Law. But the new laws introduced by the British were secular and were based on the principles of universalism, rationalism and individualism. Thus, legislation became an instrument of modernization. Its growth, however, was slow and gradually a synthesis between the traditional and modern legal forms took place in many parts of India. The new legal system came to be introduced due to the efforts of Warren Hastings. He was in favor of the decentralization of law courts to deal with civil and criminal matters at the district level itself. For this purpose, Civil Procedure Code, Indian Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code were enacted in 1859, 1860 and 1861 respectively. Lord Cornwallis was instrumental in separating the judicial powers and functions of courts from the executive ones.Around 1830s uniform system of legal rights and its administration came to be practiced. In course of time, a number of social legislation were introduced affecting the lives of the entire population of India. The tradition of introducing such universalistic social legislations was continued even after independence. The universalistic legal system introduced in India brought about some basic changes. The legal system emphasized equality before the law. A number of traditional customs which had lot of deficiencies were legally abolished. The new legal structure stressed on the humanistic values. The new system recognized only the individual as the unit of social and cultural participation. By the beginning of the 20th century, a uniform pattern of judicial administration was established throughout India. This created an institutional base for the process of cultural modernization in India.
