ABSTRACT
History is taught in the law programmes in India for quite a while now; however, there is still little appreciation of the importance of learning and studying history seriously. Studying history is a necessity for law students and all legal practitioners including law teachers. Without understanding how, when and why laws and legal practices came into being, one cannot fully appreciate their usefulness nor do away with obsolete and harmful legislations. Even more importantly, the need for new laws reflecting the current realities and needs will not emerge without an understanding of the past. It is vital for the growth of law and legal institutions that law students are taught that law is dynamic and needs to change in order to keep pace with social changes for law to be useful. Law and legal institutions are neither eternal nor absolute. They do not come into being in a vacuum.
