Sitharaman pushes colonial law overhaul in Rajya Sabha
Synopsis
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Rajya Sabha that PM Modi's Panch Pran pledge demands replacing all colonial-era statutes with citizen-centric laws — building on the 2023 overhaul of India's three core criminal codes.
Key Takeaways
Nirmala Sitharaman invoked PM Modi's Panch Pran framework in the Rajya Sabha to argue for wholesale replacement of colonial-era statutes.
PM Modi first articulated the 'shed the colonial mindset' resolution in his 75th Independence Day address from the Red Fort on 15 August 2022 .
In December 2023 , Parliament enacted the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita , Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita , and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam to replace the IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act.
Sitharaman framed the reform as structural: laws written for 'subjects of the Queen or the King' must become 'citizen-centric, facilitating' legislation.
Further bills replacing colonial-era statutes are expected in upcoming parliamentary sessions.
India's century-old statute books are under scrutiny again. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, speaking in the Rajya Sabha, invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call from the Red Fort to dismantle the colonial mindset — and made the case that every law written for the subjects of a British monarch must now be rewritten for the citizens of a republic.
Citing PM Modi's Panch Pran framework, Sitharaman argued that the shift is not cosmetic. 'All the colonial laws which were written for the subjects of the Queen or the King will now have to be changed so that we give ourselves a citizen-centric, facilitating Act rather than one for the subjects of royalty or an imperial force,' she said, quoting the Prime Minister's vision directly.
The Panch Pran pledge and what it demands of Parliament
When PM Modi addressed the nation from the Red Fort on 15 August 2022 — the 75th Independence Day — he laid out five resolutions for India's journey to its centenary of freedom. One of the five, shedding the colonial mindset, was not a cultural aspiration alone. It was a legislative instruction. Sitharaman's Rajya Sabha remarks signal that the government reads it precisely that way: as a mandate to audit every inherited statute and ask whether it serves the citizen or the crown.Three criminal codes already rewritten — more statutes in the queue
The most consequential act in this decolonisation drive came in December 2023, when Parliament enacted three landmark laws: the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. They replaced the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Evidence Act — three pillars of British-era jurisprudence that had governed Indian courts for over a century. The renaming was deliberate: Sanskrit-rooted titles in place of English ones, and a reorientation of the text toward victims and citizens rather than state power. Sitharaman's intervention in the upper house suggests the legislative calendar is far from closed. The Finance Ministry's own domain — corporate law, taxation statutes, financial regulation — carries deep colonial-era architecture, and her remarks point toward further reform in sessions ahead. The argument she is making is structural, not sentimental. A law designed to keep subjects compliant serves a fundamentally different purpose than one designed to facilitate a free citizen. Changing the mindset, as PM Modi put it, means changing the text — and the government is signalling it intends to do exactly that, one statute at a time.Point of View
She is preparing the ground for reform of economic and corporate legislation that still carries British-era architecture. The framing is politically potent: casting legal reform as an assertion of civilisational sovereignty rather than mere administrative housekeeping. It also keeps the Panch Pran alive as a governing compass well into the current parliamentary term.
NationPress
10 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Panch Pran announced by PM Modi?
The Panch Pran are five resolutions PM Modi announced on 15 August 2022 during India's 75th Independence Day address from the Red Fort . One of the five is explicitly shedding the colonial mindset, which the government has since used as a legislative mandate to replace British-era statutes.
Which colonial laws has India already replaced?
In December 2023 , Parliament replaced three foundational colonial statutes: the Indian Penal Code (1860) became the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita , the Code of Criminal Procedure became the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita , and the Evidence Act became the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam .
What did Nirmala Sitharaman say about colonial laws in Rajya Sabha?
Sitharaman said all laws written for 'the subjects of the Queen or the King' must be replaced with 'a citizen-centric, facilitating Act' — directly citing PM Modi's call from the Red Fort to shed the colonial mindset as part of the Panch Pran.
What is the significance of replacing colonial-era laws in India?
Colonial statutes were designed to serve imperial administration and keep subjects compliant, not to facilitate citizens' rights. Replacing them with India-rooted legislation is both a practical governance reform and a symbolic assertion of post-colonial sovereignty.
Are more colonial laws expected to be replaced in Parliament?
Yes. The government's stated position, reinforced by Sitharaman's Rajya Sabha remarks, is that the review of colonial-era statutes is ongoing. Further bills covering areas beyond criminal law — potentially including economic and corporate regulation — are expected in upcoming parliamentary sessions.
