ABSTRACT
The Indian Constituent Assembly laid the foundations of the largest democracy in the world. The debates between the members of the Assembly form the bedrock of the Indian Constitution. The chapters in this volume propose a range of methodological perspectives from which these critical debates might be read. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, they explore themes such as party politics, ideas of rights, including caste and minority rights, social justice and the philosophy of free speech.
A major contribution to the study of Indian politics, this book will be indispensable to political scientists, political theorists, legal scholars, historians, lawyers and general readers interested in the history of the Indian Constitution.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
chapter 1|28 pages
“We the people?”
Politics and the conundrum of framing a constitution on the eve of decolonisation
chapter 2|20 pages
Conflict, not consensus
Towards a political economy of the making of the Indian Constitution
chapter 3|25 pages
Pride and prejudice in Austin’s cornerstone
Passions in the Constituent Assembly of India
chapter 5|27 pages
The conservative constitution
Freedom of speech and the Constituent Assembly Debates
chapter 6|33 pages
Freedom of speech in the early constitution
A study of the Constitution (First Amendment) Bill
chapter 7|18 pages
Between inequality and identity
The Indian Constituent Assembly Debates and religious difference, 1946–50
chapter 8|15 pages
“We the people”
Seamless webs and social revolution in India’s Constituent Assembly Debates
