ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates how legal systems in South Asia adopt various forms of cultural expertise to navigate socio-cultural plurality within the larger project of state centralisation. It uses cultural expertise as a frame of inquiry to study the role of local communities in confirming and perpetuating diverse sources of law. Discussions on language have always been at the centre stage of political and societal discourse in India. The functional isolation of legal regimes has been revealed to be a myth, with local interlocutors playing a critical role in bridging the gap between different cultural domains. The study of cannabis consumption in India indicates how state and non-state networks interact to affirm customary practices, thereby adopting a form of spontaneous cultural expertise.
