Our ‘un-Indian’ Constitution
8 years, 11 months ago

Our ‘un-Indian’ Constitution

Live Mint  

The Indian constitutional project can be described in many ways. It borrowed Directive Principles of State Policy from the Irish Constitution, and was influenced by the American debates over due process—all made to serve distinctly Indian political challenges. While the quality of the reasoning can be disputed in individual cases, there is no question that to enter the world of Indian constitutional law is not to enter into a world of parochial concerns, derived from the peculiarities of a political tradition; it is to enter a global conversation on law, norms, values, and institutional choices. Indian constitutional law innovated in the expansion of these rights, to make social and economic rights justiciable. Indian constitutional law is fascinating for the way in which the backward-looking aspects of the law—fidelity to a text, the citation of precedent, and the invocation of the spirit of the founders—are invoked in creative reinterpretations of the Constitution to make it serve changing needs.

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History of this topic

Parliamentary proceedings: Only authentic version of Constitution be promulgated, any violation serious, says Dhankhar
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Parliamentary proceedings: Only authentic version of Constitution be promulgated, any violation serious, says Dhankhar

The Hindu  

Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said the Constitution signed by its framers that includes 22 miniatures together with amendments by Parliament is the only authentic one that needs to be promulgated and any violation be taken seriously and dealt with sternly. He said this in the House after BJP MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal raised the issue of …

Letters to The Editor — January 28, 2025
2 months ago

Letters to The Editor — January 28, 2025

The Hindu  

The reality The Constitution of India is increasingly being overshadowed by the actions of those sworn to uphold it. Honesty, sincerity, and integrity — core to the vision of the Constitution — appear to be increasingly absent in today’s political landscape. It is distressing to see institutions designed to uphold the Constitution being manipulated for political advantage rather than serving …

Stories That Ignite Patriotism: Audiobooks, Series, and Films To Tune Into for This Republic Day
2 months ago

Stories That Ignite Patriotism: Audiobooks, Series, and Films To Tune Into for This Republic Day

Deccan Chronicle  

What if this Republic Day, you could feel the pulse of India's history, not through a classroom lecture, but through the stories of those who lived it? Ambedkar’s powerful speeches, shedding light on the deeply entrenched caste system and its harmful impact on India's rich cultural heritage. 1947-1957, India: The Birth of A Republic Platform: Audible The audiobook takes you …

The spirit of Indian Constitution remains strong despite several amendments, says Supreme Court judge
3 months, 2 weeks ago

The spirit of Indian Constitution remains strong despite several amendments, says Supreme Court judge

The Hindu  

Supreme Court Judge R. Mahadevan on Saturday extolled the virtues of Indian Constitution. Participating in an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Constitution of India and Law Day here, the judge said that even after several amendments the spirit of the Constitution remains strong. Lieutenant Governor K. Kailashnathan, in his address said, “Constitution is not merely a set …

The Constitution of India, beyond its text
4 months ago

The Constitution of India, beyond its text

The Hindu  

In his book, Founding Mothers of the Indian Republic: Gender Politics of the Framing of the Constitution, Achyut Chetan mentions an interesting anecdote; of a cultural theorist seemingly influenced by the skewed post-structuralist notion of the text telling him that the Constitution is all we have and that there is nothing outside its text. Testament to an aspirational citizenship The …

India’s constitutional journey has etched a remarkable arc
4 months ago

India’s constitutional journey has etched a remarkable arc

Hindustan Times  

The statement of Winston Churchill cynically doubting the sustenance of democracy in India has long ago been put to rest. Much has been written about in legal and political literature about the endurance of constitutions, though with focus on Asian and South American countries, but not closely enough to capture the kaleidoscope of India’s democracy. India’s constitutional journey has been …

Constitution a Progressive Document: Prez
4 months ago

Constitution a Progressive Document: Prez

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: “In accordance with the spirit of the Constitution, it is the responsibility of the executive, legislature and the judiciary to work together to make the lives of common people better,” said President Droupadi Murmu while addressing the parliamentarians on the occasion of the Constitution Day on Tuesday. Speaking at a special event held at Central Hall of the …

Constitution helped in country's transformation: CJI Khanna
4 months ago

Constitution helped in country's transformation: CJI Khanna

Deccan Chronicle  

New Delhi: Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday said India has emerged as a vibrant democracy and a geopolitical leader, and the Constitution of the country has helped in this transformation. It is today a way of life that has to be lived up to," Justice Khanna said, while speaking at the Constitution Day function organised by the …

The Constitution still thrives, let it show India the way
4 months ago

The Constitution still thrives, let it show India the way

The Hindu  

This month marks the 75th anniversary of the adoption by the Constituent Assembly of the draft Constitution of India, on November 26, 1949. Ambedkar identified Dr. Ambedkar highlighted the fact that “there is complete absence of two things in Indian society” — equality and fraternity. How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life?” In …

A Constitution that has endured the test of time
4 months ago

A Constitution that has endured the test of time

Hindustan Times  

The Constitution of India, adopted in the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949, is the foundational law of the land that provides the essential moorings for the basic structure and principles of governance. The words of BR Ambedkar placed the importance and essence of this sacred document in perspective when he remarked that “The Constitution is not a mere lawyer’s …

Let tomorrow’s last day be a first for many
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Let tomorrow’s last day be a first for many

New Indian Express  

The sequential trinity of annual timelines—independence day, the Supreme Court’s platinum jubilee and the Constitution’s forthcoming 75th year—is the coming together of an epic moment in India’s jurisprudential evolution. The 50th Chief Justice of India is a shining representation of that role in this harmonious trifecta, and he shall be sitting on the highest chair of justice for the last …

Celebrating 75 Years of Constitutional Governance: A Journey of Rights, Rights, and Reimagining
5 months, 1 week ago

Celebrating 75 Years of Constitutional Governance: A Journey of Rights, Rights, and Reimagining

The Hindu  

The article celebrates the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Indian Constitution and highlights the core constitutional values that have shaped its constitutional culture. It emphasizes the importance of respect for democratic institutions, the smooth transition of elected governments, the protection of rights and freedoms through courts, federalism, media, and civil society. The article concludes by celebrating the enduring …

Reclaim Constitution founder Vinay Kumar emphasises on the revival of constitutional culture in India
1 year ago

Reclaim Constitution founder Vinay Kumar emphasises on the revival of constitutional culture in India

The Hindu  

‘Reclaim Constitution’ initiative’s creator asserts that the Constitution isn’t owned by lawyers, politicians, or judges, but by all Indians. If you look at the very first three words of our Constitution, it says ‘We the people of India’. If you look at the background of the people who made this Constitution, after an arduous freedom struggle that stretched over centuries, …

From the India Today archives (1999) | 'Constitution not rigid, has proved flexible': Jairam Ramesh
1 year ago

From the India Today archives (1999) | 'Constitution not rigid, has proved flexible': Jairam Ramesh

India Today  

November 26 marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of our Constitution, a magnificent document conceived and finalised by some of the finest minds and noblest hearts assembled at any time at any place. Granville Austin's The Indian Constitution and B. Shiva Rao's The Making of the Indian Constitution are evergreen classics. On December 9, 1949 when it first met, …

Reclaiming the Republic, and the Constitution
1 year, 2 months ago

Reclaiming the Republic, and the Constitution

The Hindu  

On January 22, 1947, the “Objective resolution” of the Indian Constitution was unanimously adopted by the Constituent Committee. For those of us living in cosmopolitan ‘Indian spaces’, it meant understanding the plural ways in which one celebrated even a ‘Hindu’ festival. The idea of a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ is in direct contradiction to the Indian Constitution, but its proponents have used …

Opinion: Nationality defined as citizenship is creating crisis among native people
1 year, 3 months ago

Opinion: Nationality defined as citizenship is creating crisis among native people

India Today  

The crisis of identity is one of the most fundamental issues among native people, often referred to as tribes, which constitute one of the basic units of any indigenous community. Notably, IGNCA leaders, including anthropologist K Anil Kumar, member secretary Sachchidanand Joshi, and president and veteran journalist Ram Bahadur Rai, exchanged views with forest rights advocate Chauhan and others. Gurumurthy …

Constitution Day: Understanding Ambedkar and the context of the birth of Indian Constitution
1 year, 4 months ago

Constitution Day: Understanding Ambedkar and the context of the birth of Indian Constitution

The Hindu  

In honour of the Constitution Day, the Ambedkar Reading Circle organised a lecture about the ‘Ambedkarite Utopia’ that the Constitution of India envisioned. Dr. Singh highlighted the context of the drafting of the Constitution and debunked several allegations and misconceptions about the Constitution. One of the ways he did that was by fighting the invocation of God in the preamble, …

It will not be easy to draft Constitution today: Nariman in book
1 year, 6 months ago

It will not be easy to draft Constitution today: Nariman in book

Hindustan Times  

It won’t be easy to draft a new Constitution for India today, one of India’s most respected jurists Fali Nariman writes in his new book “ You Must Know Your Constitution”. In India—as in the rest of the world—all three are at a very low ebb today.’’ Jurist Fali Nariman’s comments come at a time when some right wing intellectuals …

Amrit Kaal: Time to Revisit The ‘Borrowed’, ‘Colonial’ and ‘Compromised’ Constitution
2 years, 2 months ago

Amrit Kaal: Time to Revisit The ‘Borrowed’, ‘Colonial’ and ‘Compromised’ Constitution

News 18  

The historic ‘Purna Swaraj’ proclamation was officially proclaimed on 26 January 1930, ushering in the final phase of India’s liberation movement with the goal of complete independence from British rule. In an article, senior advocate Satyajeet Desai of the Gujarat High Court noted that “constitutional supremacy is and has to be the bedrock upon which the edifice of a democracy …

Indian Constitution Is A Feminist, Egalitarian, Socially Transformative Document: CJI DY Chandrachud
2 years, 3 months ago

Indian Constitution Is A Feminist, Egalitarian, Socially Transformative Document: CJI DY Chandrachud

Live Law  

The Indian Constitution was a feminist document, as well as an egalitarian socially transformative document in that it marked a stark departure from the colonial and post-colonial legacy by introducing universal adult franchise to the marginalised and the dispossessed sections of the people right from its inception, Chief Justice D.Y. "History tells us that society was regulated by denying power …

Constitution of India: What The 1950 Document Says On Pre And Post-Independence India
2 years, 10 months ago

Constitution of India: What The 1950 Document Says On Pre And Post-Independence India

ABP News  

The Constitution of India has been under a lot of discussion of late. Indian Constitution Not An Agreement Like American Constitution Article 1 of the Constitution of India merely lays down the political framework for the governance of its pluralistic society, by transforming old Indian federalism of Sixteen Mahajanapad into a new federalism of Union of States. In State of …

Questioning India’s ‘nationhood’ reflects Rahul Gandhi’s constitutional and historical ignorance
2 years, 10 months ago

Questioning India’s ‘nationhood’ reflects Rahul Gandhi’s constitutional and historical ignorance

Firstpost  

The Congress leader’s ‘India is not a nation’ statement exposes his long-held colonial beliefs and that he is still trapped and influenced by the colonial narrative A list of fundamental duties was added to the Indian Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act of 1976. On 21 May, when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi reasserted his claim in London, first made in …

Know your Constitution: Fundamental rights and duties of every Indian citizen
3 years, 2 months ago

Know your Constitution: Fundamental rights and duties of every Indian citizen

Hindustan Times  

India, celebrating its 75th year of Independence from colonial rule, is all set to mark Republic Day on January 26, the celebrations for which kicked off today. The Constitution of India, the longest written constitution of any country, is considered the supreme law of the nation, and demarcates the structure, framework, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out …

Our Constitution: A sacred document
3 years, 4 months ago

Our Constitution: A sacred document

Hindustan Times  

India is the largest functioning democracy in the world by size; its pluralistic character and democratic values have stood the test of time. As we celebrate “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”, it is time for us to introspect on how we can contribute to the process of nation-building so that our nation can be a major player in the global economy …

Society that Indian Constitution envisions is one founded on freedom, drawing from historical resistance to oppression
4 years, 2 months ago

Society that Indian Constitution envisions is one founded on freedom, drawing from historical resistance to oppression

Firstpost  

The following essay appears in ‘Our Freedoms’, a new anthology of essays edited by Nilanjana Roy and published by Juggernaut Books. And if a constitution outlines a vision for society — a blueprint of what society could be — then the society that the Indian Constitution imagines is a society founded on freedom. Watching the gulf between the promises of …

What lies behind the relationship between Indians and the Constitution?
4 years, 2 months ago

What lies behind the relationship between Indians and the Constitution?

Live Mint  

“So many of the debates we see in public life today are echoes of the questions discussed in the Constituent Assembly,” says Shruti V, the founder of The Equals Project, an initiative that helps people better understand the Constitution and their relationship with it. A graduate of the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, Shruti, adds, “Debates around religion, …

Remembering B. N. Rau's Contribution In The Making Of Indian Constitution
4 years, 3 months ago

Remembering B. N. Rau's Contribution In The Making Of Indian Constitution

Live Law  

The Constitution of India, it is often said, is an extension of the ideals cherished by our freedom fighters. Not only did he play a crucial role in the drafting of India's Constitution, but Rau also assisted in drafting the early Constitution of Myanmar, or Burma, as it was then known. Soon after their meeting, Burma's Constitutional Advisor was deputed …

[Constitution Day 2020] Reminiscing India's Constitutionalism: Homage to the Indian Constitution
4 years, 4 months ago

[Constitution Day 2020] Reminiscing India's Constitutionalism: Homage to the Indian Constitution

Live Law  

Ambedkar At the time when the Constitution of India was framed, democracy was meant to be its utilitarian manifestation. Ambedkar, the drafter of the Indian Constitution, in his speech on November 4th, 1948 had quoted George Grote and said that: "A paramount reverence for the forms of the constitution, enforcing obedience to authority and acting under and within these forms, …

Constitution Day: IIT-B professor Anush Kapadia explains what India's sovereignty means
4 years, 4 months ago

Constitution Day: IIT-B professor Anush Kapadia explains what India's sovereignty means

Firstpost  

Anush Kapadia, assistant professor, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences — IIT Bombay, speaks on the concept of ‘sovereignty’, in part 1 of IIT Bombay for Justice’s #PreambleLectures series. “We, the People of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic, and to secure to all its citizens: Justice, social, economic and political; Liberty …

'India's Founding Moment':The Constitution Of A Most Surprising Democracy: A Conversation With Author Madhav Khosla
5 years, 1 month ago

'India's Founding Moment':The Constitution Of A Most Surprising Democracy: A Conversation With Author Madhav Khosla

Live Law  

In this exchange, Ananth Padmanabhan, the Dean of Academic Affairs at Sai University is in conversation with Madhav Khosla, who teaches constitutional law at Columbia Law School and Ashoka University and is the author of a new book, India's Founding Moment. Question 2: Most lawyers have formed a view of India's constitutional founding through Granville Austin's important 1966 book, The …

Opinion| How the Constitution moulded citizens
5 years, 2 months ago

Opinion| How the Constitution moulded citizens

Hindustan Times  

Today is no ordinary Republic Day. Called India’s Founding Moment: The Constitution of a Most Surprising Democracy, its most striking thought concerns the relationship between the Constitution and the Indian people. Of the West, he writes: “Universal suffrage came after a reasonable average level of income had been secured and state administrative systems were relatively established.” In India, it was …

The document that defines an Indian citizen
5 years, 2 months ago

The document that defines an Indian citizen

Live Mint  

In the last few weeks, as protests continue across the country, battle lines have been drawn across the idea of India and the identity of an Indian. For Madhav Khosla, author of the fine new book India’s Founding Moment: The Constitution Of A Most Surprising Democracy, India as we know can be traced to the writing and adoption of the …

Cry Me A Constitution
5 years, 2 months ago

Cry Me A Constitution

Live Law  

Shorn of constitutional semantics, CAA and NRC have little to do about citizenship. In September 1935, Nazi Germany enacted the 'Law for Protection of German Blood and German Honour' which forbade Jews from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or related blood". In the 19th and early 20th century, laws popularly called Jim Crow laws enforcing racial …

Constitution Day: Borrowed features in the Indian Constitution from other countries
5 years, 4 months ago

Constitution Day: Borrowed features in the Indian Constitution from other countries

India Today  

With 448 articles in 25 parts, 12 schedules, 5 appendices, and 98 amendments, the Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any independent country in the world. Despite the borrowed features in the Indian Constitution, it is a unique set of laws that explain the structure and working of the Government of India. It is celebrated to mark …

Endurance Of The Indian Constitution: Text Of Justice AK.Sikri's Speech On 69th Constitution Day
6 years, 4 months ago

Endurance Of The Indian Constitution: Text Of Justice AK.Sikri's Speech On 69th Constitution Day

Live Law  

India is described as a young democracy whose Constitution is only 68 years old. Scalia J who was the most instrumental in taking the originalist movement forward, argued that of the two, originalism was the lesser evil, and that “living Constitution is not law but rather clay in the hands of Justices who shape it to mean whatever they believe …

Idea of India: Rediscovering, Restructuring or Reinventing?
6 years, 11 months ago

Idea of India: Rediscovering, Restructuring or Reinventing?

Deccan Chronicle  

I had the privilege over the last one month of attending a couple of public discourses with many known intellectuals debating on whether India should reinvent its idea in totality or merely rediscover itself or go for restructuring. While the ruling Right Wing has been campaigning for a New India, as coined by Prime Minister Modi recently, and bashing Nehruvian …

“Judicial Diktats Alone May Not Be Able To Defend A Constitutional Culture”, Says Advocate And Author, M.P.Raju [PART 1]
7 years, 3 months ago

“Judicial Diktats Alone May Not Be Able To Defend A Constitutional Culture”, Says Advocate And Author, M.P.Raju [PART 1]

Live Law  

Supreme Court advocate, M.P.Raju’s new book, India’s Constitution: Roots, Values & Wrongs, starts with a simple question: “India has a Constitution. Khanna in Making of India’s Constitution, Subhash C. Kashyap in Basic Constitutional Values, and Justice R.C. It just dawned on me that unless a campaign or something similar makes the constitutional value of the dignity even of the little …

When Every Citizen Is Aware Of His Duties & Respects Others’ Fundamental Rights, We Will Have A Working Constitution: Bombay HC CJ Manjula Chellur
7 years, 4 months ago

When Every Citizen Is Aware Of His Duties & Respects Others’ Fundamental Rights, We Will Have A Working Constitution: Bombay HC CJ Manjula Chellur

Live Law  

A ceremony to celebrate the 68th anniversary of the Constitution Day, which fell on November 26, was held in the Central Court of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday.Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, former Chief Justice Sujata Manohar, Justice PD Kode, other sitting judges, the Advocate General AA Kumbhakoni, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, president of the Bombay Bar. A ceremony …

When Every Citizen Is Aware Of His Duties & Respects Others’ Fundamental Rights, We Will Have A Working Constitution: Bombay HC CJ Manjula Chellur
7 years, 4 months ago

When Every Citizen Is Aware Of His Duties & Respects Others’ Fundamental Rights, We Will Have A Working Constitution: Bombay HC CJ Manjula Chellur

Live Law  

A ceremony to celebrate the 68th anniversary of the Constitution Day, which fell on November 26, was held in the Central Court of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday.Chief Justice Manjula Chellur, former Chief Justice Sujata Manohar, Justice PD Kode, other sitting judges, the Advocate General AA Kumbhakoni, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, president of the Bombay Bar. A ceremony …

Reimagining The Constitution: The Test For The Judiciary
7 years, 7 months ago

Reimagining The Constitution: The Test For The Judiciary

Live Law  

Since its creation, the Constitutional courts of India have played an important role in shaping public discourse on civil liberties and governance. And in the early 1970’s the Court aggressively diverged with the political establishment over interpreting social and economic rights guaranteed in the Constitution. During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s the Congress Government took two important decisions, first …

Reimagining The Constitution: The Test For The Judiciary
7 years, 7 months ago

Reimagining The Constitution: The Test For The Judiciary

Live Law  

Since its creation, the Constitutional courts of India have played an important role in shaping public discourse on civil liberties and governance. And in the early 1970’s the Court aggressively diverged with the political establishment over interpreting social and economic rights guaranteed in the Constitution. During the late 1960’s and early 1970’s the Congress Government took two important decisions, first …

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: Our reading list
8 years, 11 months ago

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar: Our reading list

Live Mint  

This year marks the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution and one of India’s greatest icons. Here’s our reading list on Dr. Ambedkar: In our edit on Ambedkar’s legacy, we wrote, “In terms of scholarly output among political leaders, he stands alone. That Ambedkarite project is about individual liberty, the end of …

Document for all ages: Why Constitution is our greatest achievement
9 years, 4 months ago

Document for all ages: Why Constitution is our greatest achievement

Hindustan Times  

If India were to try and draft a Constitution today she would almost certainly fail. The significant achievement of India’s Constituent Assembly is that it created a Constitution which has survived. Pakistan’s assembly took seven years to draft the country’s Constitution, which collapsed in 1958 and again in 1969, 1978 and so on. India’s Constitution has been amended around one …

‘Not a celebratory moment for India’
9 years, 6 months ago

‘Not a celebratory moment for India’

The Hindu  

As celebrations broke out in Nepal over the adoption of the new democratic secular Constitution, India responded with an angry statement, pointing to the protests in the Terai against the Constitution. A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said that India is “concerned that the situation in several parts of the country bordering India continues to be violent.” …

State of the Union: The case of Indian liberty
9 years, 8 months ago

State of the Union: The case of Indian liberty

Deccan Chronicle  

“The Constitution promises liberty to all within its reach, a liberty that includes certain specific rights that allow persons, within a lawful realm, to define and express their identity.” — Justice Kennedy The 800th anniversary of the origin of human rights universally, the Magna Carta, was recently celebrated. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states that “no person shall be …

India’s deceptive Constitution
9 years, 9 months ago

India’s deceptive Constitution

The Hindu  

Every written constitution is supplemented by important unwritten principles: the constitutional law of all nations consists of some combination of the written and unwritten. The Indian Constitution is transforming into a deceptive one — several constitutional provisions misrepresent what the existing constitutional position is. In the most famous case in the Supreme Court’s history, the Court assumed the power to …

Changing Nature of Indian Judicial Structure – The Political Implications
9 years, 11 months ago

Changing Nature of Indian Judicial Structure – The Political Implications

Live Law  

Recent amendments made in the Indian Judicial Structure, though made considerable spaces in national media, the talks revolved round the principle of Judicial Independence and the discrepancies in judicial appointments. The formation of National Judicial Appointments Commission and the enactment of 121st Constitutional Amendment Bill 2014, which got its Presidential assent on 31st December 2014, were of no substantial importance …

Changing Nature of Indian Judicial Structure – The Political Implications
9 years, 11 months ago

Changing Nature of Indian Judicial Structure – The Political Implications

Live Law  

Recent amendments made in the Indian Judicial Structure, though made considerable spaces in national media, the talks revolved round the principle of Judicial Independence and the discrepancies in judicial appointments. The formation of National Judicial Appointments Commission and the enactment of 121st Constitutional Amendment Bill 2014, which got its Presidential assent on 31st December 2014, were of no substantial importance …

A flawed project
12 years, 2 months ago

A flawed project

The Hindu  

The book both stimulates and obfuscates a discussion on Indian nationalism. Since Anderson spends most of his book rehearsing his own assessment of the freedom movement, Partition and the limitations of the republic, what we do not hear is why the main texts of Indian liberalism fail substantially to engage with the politics of communalism, caste and the disaffection of …

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