If one follows good hygiene with right habits, he is blessed with a sound and stable health. To the individual, it is his personal health that he may say proudly "health is wealth" To society it is law adherence. Law to society is what personal health is to an individual. Where the citizens in a society are totally law-abiding, it becomes crime-free. Law is the powerful force that fosters the modern interactive society of global dimension. When you are inactive, stay immobile at a single point, and live on the benevolence of others, perhaps you can ignore law. But if you are active in life, earn income, accumulate wealth, start an industry to manufacture or a business to trade in a product, marry and foster a family, own a house or a conveyance, carry a mobile phone, open a bank account or carry a credit card or do various other activities, you have necessarily to deal with law relating to the particular activity or ownership. You have to be first aware of the law that governs your possessions or activities and next learn to comply with its provisions. Law provides more comforts and benefits compared to the well-intentioned regulations and restrictions that we are advised to follow as per its provisions. These benefits we can secure only if we have knowledge about law applicable to our activities. These benefits will go unavailed, if you do not have legal awareness. Tax planning is one such. If you run your family business as sole-proprietor, you may have to pay more taxes, but if you convert the business as a partnership with your son or daughter, it leads to tax saving. You cannot establish a business partnership with you and your wife as partners, but you two can incorporate a private limited company with the same two as directors. The profit earned from a firm is taxable, but the dividends from a private limited company are not. These beneficial decisions you can take if you are aware of business law and laws of personal and corporate taxation.

vakilno1.com, a Delhi based online legal consultancy service emphasises legal awareness from a different angle in the following words -

"Being common citizens many of us may be faced with various kinds of situations requiring legal assistance, which could not only be physically and/ or emotionally disturbing, but could also cost thousands of rupees in legal fees. Some examples of such situations, which might face are:

• Alleged false arrest and possible criminal charges by the police to cover-up and justify their mistake

• Day-to-day problems with your neighbors or civic authorities.

• A Motor vehicle accident- or other intentional or unintentional tort.

• Defrauded by a shopkeeper or other vendor of a product or service or by investment fraud

• Family law problems such as: divorce, custody, etc.

• Foreclosure on a home or landlord/tenant problems or similar property related problems

• Employment problems - age, ethnic, handicapped or sexual harassment or similar problems.

• Estate- Probate, Will needs.

In most instances you have many rights and defences that you can assert-- if you know what and how to do it -- and if you do it within the time limits provided by the law. However, the sad part is that most people lose by default simply because:-

1. They are unaware of their rights;

2. Lack the money to avail legal services.

3. Make the mistake of doing nothing.

In many instances, it is merely a matter of taking right action in a specific and timely manner. By the time most people take action, it is too late -- or at least too late to remedy the situation cheaply and easily."

SIT is a Global effort and the organization "helps students and working professionals develop cross-cultural competence and global leadership capabilities". SIT has an ongoing programme titled "Global Partnership For NGO Studies, Education and Training". The program objective is explained as under:

"This program is designed to provide a forum for sharing the knowledge and experiences of trainers and advocates from around the world to develop greater understanding and heightened abilities on how to affect public policy. This website of documents and training materials provides a virtual meeting ground for policy advocates from around the world to gain access to varied perspectives. In the training seminar styled "Building Global Capacity for NGO Policy Advocacy Training"

The web site summarizes the proceedings and in this context it pinpoints the importance of legal advocacy and knowledge of law for social activists organising and managing Non-Governmental Organizations as under:

"The deliberations spread over three days identified following elements of legal advocacy as being important for the social activist:

• knowledge of the law

• knowledge of the judicial system and structure of courts

• use of litigation including PIL relating with the various commissions including the national Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commissions, SC & ST Commission, Women's Commission, etc.

• Influencing and lobbying the Law Commission which drafts laws and the Law Ministry

• use of legal services such as legal aid

• documentation and research

• developing linkages with UN bodies, international human rights agencies

• lobbying with law enforcement agencies and officials of institutions of custody

• working simultaneously on other advocacy tools including use of media, legislature, direct action, etc.

• participating in Revenue Divisional Officer inquiries and in judicial commissions of inquiry

• building linkages with and sensitizing lawyers, law teachers and students

• Understanding the Indian Constitution is the first step to the activist gaining knowledge of the law. Equally important is an understanding of international law including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and various Committees and Conventions that have been set up in the UN system to safeguard and promote human rights. It is important for the activist to develop a perspective of rights for as Ossie Fernandes, Director of HRF, put it: "People's rights are something that lie beyond the state and beyond the market."

A number of instances are cited at th web site of SIT where knowledge of law can help the activist both in court and out of it. For instance if one issues a legal notice to- say a government department on an issue of public interest, it is important to ask for an opportunity to be heard. If this is not granted, as it is often the case, it creates an opening to agitate in court. "You can then say your not being heard is violative of the principles of natural justice and the court is likely to agree with you," says T Mohan an advocate in Chennai. "Much of the success in courts these days is on procedure, not on substantive issues." Similarly knowledge that the police cannot detain anyone beyond 24 hours without producing that person before a magistrate is useful for exerting pressure on the police not to indulge in illegal detentions which they sometimes do due to political and other pressures.

Knowledge of the judicial process and structure and jurisdiction of courts is also important for the social activist. The tendency seems to be to rush to the High Courts or the Supreme Court with PIL. "But this could be a mistake because if you lose here then it is the end," says Gnanpragasam of Legal Resources for Social Action. There are many provisions in the civil and criminal procedure codes, he says, that make it possible to approach lower courts for redressal as one does in the case of writ jurisdiction. For instance, Section 91 of the Code of Civil Procedure can be used to file a PIL in a munsif's or district court. Similarly section 80 of the same code gives one scope to challenge the government in lower courts."