Rohingyas are a small ethnic minority in Myanmar who have been subject to persecution by the Myanmar government and military. In 2017, the Myanmar army cracked down on Roh...

3 May of every year is observed as World Press Freedom Day. This post highlights a less known aspect of the legislative history around press freedom in India.   In 1956...

Vaccination programmes in India date back to the early 19th Century – the smallpox vaccine was one of the first initiatives. It was administered by the Vaccination and San...

Around 108 years ago, on 21 April, hundreds from the Pulaya (a Dalit community in Kerala) and other lower-caste communities came together on small boats on Kerala’s backwa...

In a recent speech, the Chief Justice of India mentioned that Ambedkar wanted Sanskrit as the official language of India. In this piece, we explore if this was indeed true...

The Bihar Legislative Assembly passed the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill 2021 on 23 March. The passage of the Bill was marked by violence that included a scuffle in the A...

In April 1942, the Indian National Congress rejected British War Cabinet’s proposal popularly known as the ‘Cripps Offer’ – named after Sir Stafford Crips, who headed the ...

On March 25, 1953, the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru announced the creation of India’s very first linguistic State – Andhra Pradesh. Three years later Par...

B.R. Ambedkar’s seminal contribution to the Indian constitution-making process as the Chairman of the Drafting Committee is widely celebrated and acknowledged. Less known ...

Constitutionofindia.net has come a long way since we launched the site on Republic Day in 2016. The first version of the site contained human tagged searchable transcripts...

On March 25, 1953, the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru announced the creation of India’s very first linguistic State – Andhra Pradesh. Three years later Par...

The Constitution of India in 1950 classified Delhi as a Chief Commissioner’s Province (renamed ‘Union Territory’ in 1956). It did not provide for a legislative assembly fo...

In light of International Women’s Day, the ConstitutionofIndia.net team will focus on key interventions by women Constituent Assembly members that shaped our constitutiona...

In light of International Women’s Day, the ConstitutionofIndia.net team will focus on key interventions by women Constituent Assembly members that shaped our constitutiona...

Today, 12 March marks the 91st anniversary of the Gandhi led Salt March. We have already looked at the Salt March through the lens of historical constitutions in the This ...

In light of International Women’s Day, the ConstitutionofIndia.net team will focus on key interventions by women Constituent Assembly members that shaped our constitutiona...

Image Credits: Wikipedia 90 years ago on March 12, 1930, M.K. Gandhi along with his followers walked 100 miles to the coastal village of Dandi, Gujarat and made sal...

The Constitution (First Amendment) Act 1951 was drafted and enacted in the context of early troubles with the interpretation of the Constitution- specifically with the for...

The Draft Constitution of India 1948 contained a right to freedom of speech and expression. However, this right was not absolute, limitations were placed on this right. On...

1948 के भारत के मसौदे( ड्राफ्ट) संविधान में अभिव्यक्ति की स्वतंत्रता का अधिकार शामिल था। हालांकि, यह अधिकार पूर्ण नहीं था, इस अधिकार पर कई सीमाएँ लगाई गई थी। उनमें से एक द...

In the early 1900s, a young Indian looking woman was often seen outside the Hampton Court Palace selling copies of The Suffragette, a newspaper by the British Women’s Soci...

On 1 February 2021, the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung took control of the sovereign powers of the Myanmar state. A statement was released...

On 1 February 2021, the democratically elected government of Myanmar was dismissed and in marched the Army. The sovereign powers of the Myanmar State were transferred to t...

In February 1938 the Indian National Congress convened for its 51st Session at Haripura, a village in Bardoli District, Gujarat. The session was attended by over 2,00,000 ...

Did you know that original manuscript of the Constitution of India, 1950 contained beautiful artwork? Nandalal Bose, an artist, provided the artwork for the original manus...

In September 2020, the People’s Movement for the Sixth Schedule for Ladakh passed a resolution stating that they would boycott Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council e...

In an unprecedented move, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached former President Trump for the second time in relation to his role in the Capitol Hill riots. The Sen...

It took the National Investigation Agency (NIA) 22 days to provide a straw and sipper to 83-year-old activist Fr. Stan Swamy who is currently lodged in Tajola Prison, Navi...

On 26 January 1950, the Constitution of India 1950 came into effect and India transformed from a British dominion into an independent constitutional republic – a day we an...

As a part of the 72nd Republic Day celebrations, the constitutionofIndia.net team organised an event with fun games on the Constitution of India at Church Street, Bengalur...

संसद में तीन कृषि कानूनों के पारित होने से देशभर में व्यापक बहस और संघर्ष शुरू हो गया है। किसान इन कानूनों का विरोध करने के लिए देशभर में सड़कों पर आ गए हैं , खास तौर पर प...

The passing of the three farm laws in Parliament has triggered heated debate and conflict. Farmers have taken to the streets across the country to protest these laws, part...

On 3rd January 1949, the Constituent Assembly took up Article 66 of the Draft Constitution (Article 79 of the Final Constitution) for debate. The Draft Article constituted...

हाल ही में आये दो टीवी शो - सूटेबल बॉय और इंडियन मैचमैकिंग ने एक बार फिर से इस बात को साफ किया है जो कई लोगो को पहले से पता भी था की - धर्म, वर्ग और जाति हमेशा से भारत में...

In May 1951, the Jawaharlal Nehru-led Congress party proposed the first amendment, which made the following modifications to the fundamental rights: Article 19 was amended...

18th December of every year is celebrated as Minorities Rights Day in India: to highlight the constitutional minority rights – specifically religious minorities. In this b...

Last week, a comic artist, Rachita Taneja, was charged with contempt of court, because her work (a satirical cartoon) portrayed the Supreme Court being biased towards the ...

The Indo-Pak war of 1971 took place this week fifty years ago, when India and Pakistan became embroiled in conflict due to India’s support for the Bangladeshi liberation w...

On 16 December 1946, the Constituent Assembly began to respond to Jawaharlal Nehru’s Objectives Resolution that he moved in the previous sitting. M.R. Jayakar was the ...

Two recent tv shows – A Suitable Boy and Indian Matchmaking– have reaffirmed what many have always known: that religion, class, and caste have always been important consid...

On 27 August 2020, the Arunachal Pradesh state legislative assembly unanimously passed a resolution to bring the entire state under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Consti...

Today, 26th November, is Constitution Day.  On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly formally adopted the Constitution of India after nearly three years of deliberati...

Today, 26th November, is nationally celebrated as Constitution Day. It was on this day in 1949 that the Constituent Assembly formally adopted the Constitution of India, af...

Sunday (15 November) was Jharkhand Foundation Day. On that day in 2000, the state of Jharkhand was formally established through the Bihar State Reorganization Act.  Sin...

The ongoing U.S. presidential elections are the most contentious in recent memory. Even before Election Day on 3rd November, over 300 lawsuits had been filed challenging v...

On the 17th of November 1949, proceedings of the Constituent Assembly began with Ambedkar moving the motion: ‘That the Constitution as settled by the Assembly be passed’. ...

The TV adaptation of Vikram Seth’s epic novel A Suitable Boy was recently released on Netflix in India. Set in the fictional town of Brahmpur in 1951, the tv show, much li...

(This article first appeared in ThePrint) On Sunday, the fifth edition of ConQuest, India’s premier national quiz on the country’s history, constitutional law and polit...

On 17 October 1949 the Constituent Assembly took up the Draft Constitution’s preamble for debate. Brajeshwar Prasad, eminent freedom fighter and Congress party member, in ...

  View this post on Instagram A post shared by Constitution of India (@constitutionofindia1950) on Oct 23, 2020 at 3:34am PDT ConQuest 2020 is t...

(This article first appeared in ThePrint). The fifth edition of ConQuest, India’s premier national quiz on the Constitution, history, constitutional law and politics, i...

Centre for Law and Policy Research, Bangalore (CLPR) is a not-for-profit dedicated to making the Constitution work for everyone through law and policy research, social...

(This article first appeared in ThePrint) The fifth edition of ConQuest, India’s premier national quiz on the Constitution, history, constitutional law and politics, is...

The Knockout Rounds for ConQuest 2020 are taking place across two weekends: from 2 - 4 p.m. on 10th-11th October and 17th October, and from 4-6 p.m. on 18th October. A...

(This report first appeared in ThePrint on 8th October 2020) The fifth edition of ConQuest, India’s premier national quiz on the Constitution, history and politics, wen...

Late last week, the President of India assented to the controversial farm Bills that had triggered opposition and protest among farmers, political parties, State governmen...

Today, 113 years ago, Bhagat Singh was born in undivided Punjab. His role in the Indian freedom movement has been immortalised in literature, art, and film owing to his dr...

On 7 January 1949, the Constituent Assembly took up Article 64 of the Draft Constitution (Article 77, Constitution of India 1950). The Draft Article provided for all execu...

The 1945 UK General Election was significant: it came right after World War II. British voters had the chance to shape the post-war future of their war-fatigued country. T...

The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) is excited to announce the 5th edition of ConQuest: India’s Premiere National Quiz on the Indian Constitution, History and Po...

In August 2020, the Supreme Court in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma held that Hindu women could claim equal rights as men in ancestral property. Although the Hindu Succes...

Protestors who had assembled to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed African-American man, in the city of Kenosha in Wisconsin, were recently targeted by an arm...

India, unlike many other nations, adopted universal adult franchise immediately after it gained independence. Under British rule, franchise was subject to certain qualific...

Earlier this month, the results of the Indian civil service exam – that selects candidates for the upper echelons of India’s civil services -  were announced. The expansio...

The National Education Policy, released in July 2020, has proposed major reforms to India’s education system. It reiterates the controversial ‘three-language formula’ whic...

This is the second article in our series 'Writings on the Indian Constitution', aimed at encouraging deeper engagement with the primary resources on our website through th...

From December 2019, students from various colleges across India stood at the forefront of several protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) and the crea...

Since independence, the Central Government has released three different policy frameworks for the Indian education system. The first and second, known as the National Po...

A petition before the Supreme Court has asked it to declare the insertion of the words ‘Socialist’ and ‘Secular’ by the Constitution (42nd Amendment) Act, 1976 as unconsti...

Constitutionofindia.net (formerly CADIndia) receives a number of testimonials from users of our website and its resources. Some of these testimonials are collected below -...

When we first started CADIndia in 2015, our initial goal was to make the transcripts of the Constituent Assembly Debates accessible to the general public. We were inspired...

Our blog post over the weekend looked at how the Constituent Assembly reacted to proposals that wanted to include referendums into the Constitution. Today, we highlight an...

Earlier this month, results of a nationwide referendum in Russia on certain constitutional proposals were announced. The proposals aimed to extend the term of the Russian ...

It is well known that the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSPs) in the Constitution of India, 1950 were influenced by similar principles in the Bunreacht na hÉirean...

26 January 1950 was a momentous day in history: not only did the Constitution of India, 1950 come into force, but India also became a republic – marking the first time tha...

On 14th July 1947, two months since it last met, the Constituent Assembly of India sat down for business knowing that India would be partitioned. After months and years of...

Most of us know that the Constituent Assembly of India sat on 165 days to draft India’s Constitution over a period of 2 years and 11 months. But did you know that the memb...

The National Constitution Society (NCS) is a network of Constitution societies in colleges/universities across India that aims to create and sustain a vibrant constitution...

On this day in 1776, representatives of the thirteen American colonies signed the Declaration of Independence, marking their liberation from British colonial rule. In cele...

In July 1946, the Muslim League passed a resolution stating that it was going to walk away from the Cabinet Mission Plan and the Indian constitution-making process. In ...

Myanmar is due to hold general elections on November 8th, in an event that is widely seen as a test of the country’s transition to democracy. Much as when it gained indepe...

This is the first article in our new series 'Writings on the Indian Constitution', aimed at encouraging deeper engagement with the primary resources on our website through...

On 27th June 2020, the National Constitution Society (NCS) & Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) conducted a webinar on ‘Prisoners & the Pandemic: Health...

The objective of the CAD India website, set up in 2016, is to create a digital archive of Indian constitutional history and increase engagement with Indian constitutional ...

On 27 June 2020, the National Constitution Society along with the Centre for Law and Policy Research will organise a webinar on Prisoners & the Pandemic: Health, Safet...

The Supreme Court recently dismissed a plea to rename India as Bharat by amending Article 1 of the Constitution. Article 1(1) of the Draft Constitution, 1948, declared tha...

India is presently involved in an escalating dispute with Nepal over the Kalapani region, with both states redrawing their political maps to include the disputed territory...

The Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, recently declared that Delhi hospitals were closed to non-residents of the state. Although the order was overruled by the Lie...

Today, 12 June, is ‘World Day Against Child Labour’. This piece takes a look at how India’s constitutional history engaged with the problem of child labour particularly du...

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The death of George Floyd, an unarmed African-American man, at the hands of a white police officer has sparked large-scale protests across the world. Floyd’s death has ser...

On 16 June 1949, the Constituent Assembly took up Draft Article 301 (Article 340, Constitution of India, 1950) for debate. The Draft Article gave the President of India th...

One of the first steps that many Indian States embarked on as part easing coronavirus related lockdown measures was to allow liquor shops to sell alcohol. Serpentine queue...

Article 142 of the Constitution of India, 1950 has been used by the Court to assume vast jurisdiction and pass any orders/judgments to do ‘complete justice’. Recently, the...

The majority of Indian states have been severely impacted by the lockdown, with twenty-one reporting record losses in revenue. How will these states cope with the shor...

Defined as ‘keeping space between yourself and other people outside of your home’, social distancing has been prescribed as the most effective counter to the spread of COV...

Mohit Dang is a student at the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab. He has a deep interest in Constitutional jurisprudence and is a follower of the CADIndia Bl...

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On 24th November 1948, B.H. Khardekar stood up in the Constituent Assembly to speak for the first time. He confessed he was nervous, and told members that he had never spo...

Description:                                                                               Resources: Curriculum: BCI (law courses in India);                       ...

The impact of the ongoing pandemic on the world economy has caused many states to announce economic stimulus packages. Some commentators have described this move as social...

The ongoing lockdown in India has resulted in economic insecurity for millions of people, particularly those working as casual or daily wage labourers. Migrant workers wer...

In the mid-1940s, it became quite clear that the British were on their way out, and India would frame a Constitution for itself. The ‘India’ here was technically the Briti...

For almost a month now, the Central and State Governments have issued extraordinary orders to battle COVID-19: travel has been banned, national and state borders have ...

The recent controversies regarding privacy and safety concerns of Zoom (video-conference enabling platform) and Arogya Setu (Government initiated health services applicati...

Maharastra is in the news for the unenviable distinction of having the most number of coronavirus cases and related deaths. As the State meets this challenge, another cris...

COVID-19 continues to test the resolve of nations – their institutions, leaders and people. India too is in the thick of this global fight. While COVID-19 is unique ...

The Central and the State Governments are working towards containing the COVID-19 pandemic which has proved to be one of the gravest public health crisis in recent global ...

The COVID-19 outbreak has severely impacted labourers in India especially those working in the informal sector who constitute 90% of India’s workforce. The recent cases in...

On 28 April 1947, the Constituent Assembly of India reconvened after a 2-month break. This sitting began with eighteen new members presenting their credentials to the Asse...

Centre for Law and Policy Research, Bangalore (CLPR) is a not-for-profit dedicated to making the Constitution work for everyone through law and policy research, soci...

The Supreme Court of India is one of the unique apex courts in the world. It acts as an appellate and constitutional court. The Constitution of India, 1950 mandates the Co...

On March 16 2020, the President of India nominated former Supreme Court Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi to the Rajya Sabha. This nomination, under Article 80 of the Constitutio...

In Part I, we looked at the Women’s Indian Association’s (WIA) involvement in constitutional negotiations with the British in the late 1910s. The WIA vociferously demanded...

Tejas Parasher, Junior Research Fellow, King's College, believes initiatives like CADIndia are crucial in creating awareness and popular engagement around public history: ...

Ashwary Sharma is an Assitant Professor at KLE Society's Law College, Bengaluru. He regularly uses the CADIndia website for his teachings and research. His thoughts on the...

On March 30th 1947, the Constituent Assembly’s Sub-Committee on Fundamental Rights turned ‘to the examination of the directive principles of social policy’. This was the f...

The NLU Assam Chapter of the National Constitution Society hosted the first of the ‘Supreme Court in the Classroom’ series on the 26th of February, 2020. In order to facil...

Unlike the American constitutional founding – spearheaded by men, the Indian Constituent Assembly, that drafted the Indian Constitution, comprised women. Until recently, p...

On 1st February 2020, a National Constitution Society Chapter hosted a film screening and discussion on  Stop the Boats – the lie of saving lives at sea- a story of asylum...

On the eve of Republic Day this year, Mandakini Panda and Prithwik Mishra got married in Berhampur, Odisha taking their vows on the Indian Constitution. In Karnataka, gues...

Earlier this month, the President of India had rejected the mercy petition of Aakash Kumar Singh, one of the convicted individuals in the Nirbhaya Case. Singh’s lawyer wen...

Last month the Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India dealt with the issue of continued internet shut down in Kashmir. While the Court did not direct the resto...

To Tide Economic Crisis, Constituent Assembly Made Temporary Exception To India’s Federal Structure The abrogation of Article 370 has generated some attention over the ...

In 1935 the British parliament passed the Government of Indian Act. In the years that followed, the Indian National Congress pulled no punches and attacked the Act on vari...

On 5th February 2020, the National Constitution Society Christ (Deemed to be University) Chapter organised a film screening and discussion on Ruth Bader Ginsburg for their...

The CADIndia team attended ‘The Idea of the Indian Constitution’ Chapter II between 7th to 9th February 2020 at Pune. An initiative of the History for Peace, it was organi...

The Indian parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 on 11 December 2019. Many individuals, groups and parties have argued that the Act violates key provisions ...

The Indian parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 on 11 December 2019. Many individuals, groups and parties have argued that the Act violates key provisions ...

[This piece first appeared in Deccan Herald on 24th January 2020.] Amartya Sen's ‘The Argumentative Indian’ locates the argumentative tradition as early as Ashoka. He a...

In December 2019, the parliament passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. The Act, by amending the Citizenship Act 1955, made illegal migrants from the Hindu, Sikh, B...

On 18th December 2019, the National Constitution Society's CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Chapter organized a discussion that aimed to understand citizenship in light of...

The Constituent Assembly began its work of drafting India's Constitution in the winter of 1946. After three years, on 26th January 1950 - Republic Day- the Constitution ca...

On 17th December 2019, the NLSIU Chapter of the National Constitution Society (NCS) organised an interactive lecture that sought to critically engage with Rojer Mathew jud...

Students, aged between 10 to 18 years, from all districts of Karnataka were at the Dr Annie Scouts and Guides State Training & Camping Centre, Doddaballapur for the 28...

December 1946 was an important month for Indian Constitution-making. After twelve years of vigorous demands by Indians to decide their constitutional future, an Indian Con...

This week, India celebrated Constitution Day.  26 November 2019 marked the 70th anniversary of the Constituent Assembly adopting the Constitution. In a joint parliament...

In Part 1, we looked at two instances in which our Constitution framers invoked the American Constitution while debating impeachment provisions of the Draft Constitution. ...

There was no fundamental duties chapter in the Constitution that came into effect on 26 January 1950. That being said, there was a sliver of India’s constitutional traditi...

Exactly 70 years ago, on 26 November 1949, Constituent Assembly President Rajendra Prasad for the last time put a question to the house - President: It now remains to p...

Sixty-nine years ago, on 26 November 1949, Sardar Patel began the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly with some good news: I am glad to inform the House that all th...

Yesterday, the US House of Representatives led public hearings on President Donald Trump’s impeachment inquiry came to an end. If the House charges the President, then US ...

Over 50 law students, from 1st to 5th year, gathered for Indian constitutional history workshop at KLE Law College, Bangalore on the 13th of November. Our workshop aimed t...

On 31st August 1949, the Constituent Assembly was slotting 'items' into the Union and State Lists. The Union government would have legislative and executive power over the...

In November 1946, key Indian political and legal figures were knee-deep in preparations towards setting up the Constituent Assembly of India. The Muslim League was against...

The Indian freedom movement sought total Independence from British colonial rule but saw India firmly tethered to the world affairs. When Indians were drafting their Const...

There is a dominant view that Gandhi's role in constitution-making was minor. Gandhi’s vision of basing India’s federal, political and administrative set up on the panchay...

On 17 October 1949, the Constituent Assembly took up the preamble of the Draft Constitution for discussion – based on the Objectives Resolution introduced by Nehru on 13 D...

On 25th September 2019, Kruthika R from the Centre for Law and Policy Research along with Gunjan Rathore and Zoaib from NCS Bangalore Chapter put together a session on the...

On 24th September 2019, the General Assembly of the United Nations sat for the 74th time since the organisation’s inception in 1943. India was a founding member of the UN ...

Last week, on Hindi Diwas, Union Minister Amit Shah controversially suggested that Hindi be adopted as India's national language. Sure enough, this triggered push back ...

On the occasion of Hindi Diwas, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in his speech that seems to call for Hindi to become India’s national language, argued for promoting Hindi a...

The Draft Constitution of India, 1948 opened with Article 1 stating that ‘India shall be a Union of States’. When this Article was taken up for discussion in the Constitue...

(This report appeared first on ThePrint.) Bengaluru: The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru, emerged as the champions of ConQuest 2019, India’s ...

(This report first appeared in ThePrint on 31 August 2019.) New Delhi: Professor K.T. Shah, a member of the first Parliament, would have been a lot more well-known had ...

(This report first appeared in ThePrint on 25 August 2019.) New Delhi: In 1969, India found itself in a peculiar situation when the offices of the President and Vice-Pr...

(This post first appeared in ThePrint on 18 August 2019.) Kolkata: Did you know that ‘Jai Hind’ was a special greeting coined for the Indian National Army? Or that it w...

(This report first appeared in ThePrint on 26 August 2019.)  The fourth edition of ConQuest 2019 — India’s premiere national quiz on Indian Constitution, history and po...

(This article first appeared on ThePrint on 2 August 2019.) Jammu and Kashmir is on the edge – again. This time, over a possible repeal of Article 35A by the BJP govern...

Today, the central government got the Lok Sabha’s nod to withdraw 98.18 lakh crore from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet the 2019-20 financial year’s expenditure. Fo...

The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) is excited to announce the 4th edition of ConQuest: India’s Premiere National Quiz on the Indian Constitution, History and Po...

Article 92 of the Draft Constitution stated that the union budget would be presented to both houses of parliament: House of People and Council of States. K.T. Shah felt th...

On 5 July 2019, the Finance Minister of India, will present the Union Budget to the Lok Sabha. Article 112, Constitution of India, 1950 (Article 92), Draft Constitution of...

July 1946 was an eventful month in Indian constitution-making project. First, elections to the Constituent Assembly concluded – the Congress Party emerged as the dominant ...

In the previous post in this series, we traced the trajectory of the education provisions in the committee stages of the Constituent Assembly. The Sub-Committee on Fundame...

Of all the Historical Constitutions that put forward a constitutional vision, Political Demands of Scheduled Castes 1944 and States and Minorities 1945 were different in t...

As with the origins of most Articles of the Constitution of India, 1950, the education provisions can be traced to the Committee stages of the Constituent Assembly. In Feb...

The much-awaited Draft National Education Policy was released on 21 May 2019. The Policy has triggered a public debate over India’s education system. In June 2019, CADIndi...

In June 1934, for the first time, the Indian National Congress formally demanded that a Constituent Assembly composed of Indians be set up to frame a Constitution for Indi...

Yesterday, after a gruelling election schedule that spanned for six weeks, India elected members to the 17th Lok Sabha. Elections in India are based on the first-past-the-...

In this post, we look at the initial periods of Indian constitution-making to get a sense of how Constituent Assembly members engaged with affirmative action. Specifically...

Many argue that the Constituent Assembly’s deliberations were mostly a farce as the fate of most articles of the Constitution were decided in advance, by the Congress Part...

Another strand of attacks that take aim at the legitimacy of the Constituent Assembly revolve around deliberation. While some feel that the Assembly did not deliberate on ...

In a recent essay, Achin Vanaik claims that the Indian Constitution ‘betrayed its elitist character by placing some principles concerning socio-economic justice in the non...

A striking feature of the Constitution of India, 1950 is the presence of an affirmative action architecture. In May 2019, CADIndia will look at how this was designed by fo...

In the previous posts in this series, we looked at the representative credentials of the Assembly by focusing on the nature of the franchise. In this post, we look at anot...

On 16 May 1949, Jawaharlal Nehru, moved a motion in the Constituent Assembly, to ratify a Commonwealth Prime Minister’s conference declaration that he took part in a few w...

At the fag end of the Indian constitution-making project, just before the Constituent Assembly was about to adopt the Constitution, Assembly members had the chance to refl...

                   Description:                                       Resources: Curriculum: NCERT                                                   Activity P...

In November 1948, B.R. Ambedkar moved the Draft Constitution of India in the Constituent Assembly. In the days following this, members commented on the Draft putting forwa...

The framers of the Constitution ensured that the governance of the Indian republic would be based on direct elections with universal adult franchise. Their membership of t...

India’s general elections are in full swing and millions of Indian citizens are coming out to exercise their franchise. The decision of the framers of the Indian Constitut...

Its election time in India and the Election Commission is once again in the thick of the action. Article 324 of the Constitution charges the Commission to oversee, direct ...

The Constituent Assembly of India that drafted the Constitution is sometimes characterized as illegitimate. A variety of arguments are offered in service of this claim, ra...

In less than a week’s time, the people of India, irrespective of their caste, creed, education or income, like they have done 16 times before, will elect members to the Lo...

In March, based on our monthly theme ‘Who is an Indian’ we looked at citizenship debates in the Constituent Assembly. The previous posts focussed on the interplay of c...

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The authors of ‘The Long and Winding Constitution’ make the central claim that the Indian Constitution’s length and the inclusion of details are undesirable. For them, the...

The Bangalore Chapter of the National Constitution Society hosted a film screening and discussion on “Samvidhaan: The Making of the Constitution of India” (Episode 7) – ...

This post is third in the series ‘Who is an Indian Citizen?’. Read the previous post here Between February and October 1948, the Drafting Committee received numerous co...

In the previous post in this series, we looked at how to approach and use ‘keywords’ effectively. In this post, we move on to another important aspect of the advanced sear...

The University Law College Chapter of the National Constitution Society (ULC-NCS) conducted a series of events between 11th and 14th March, 2019 in the context of the Inte...

This post is second in the series ‘Who is an Indian Citizen?’. Read the previous post here On 29 April 1947, the Constituent Assembly, for the first time, engaged with ...

On 25th February 2019, the Delhi Chapter of the National Constitution Society organised a discussion on Sedition Laws and Fundamental Rights in India at the Zakir Hussain ...

  The issue of temple entry has been a burning issue in public discourse for the past few months in the light of the recent Sabarimala Temple Entry Case. In the...

In the previous post in the Religious Freedom and Social Reform series, we looked at the concerns raised in the Committee stages of the constitution-making process by Rajk...

On 16th February 2019, the Aligarh Muslim University Chapter of the National Constitution Society (“NCS”) organized a public discussion on Thinking Sedition, Thinking Free...

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In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India in the Sabarimala Temple Entry Case held that Sabarimala’s exclusion of menstruating women violated the Constitution. Article...

This is the first post in this month's series on Religious Freedom and Social Reform in the Indian Constitutional History. The 2018 Sabarimala case has generated public...

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On February 20, 1947, around 17 years after the Purna Swaraj Declaration, British Prime Minister C.R. Atlee made it official: the British would leave India and transfer po...

Between August 1949 and October 1949, members of the Constituent Assembly debated the Draft Constitution’s emergency provisions - Draft Articles 275 to 280A (Articles ...

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On Republic Day 2019, the Centre for Law and Policy Research in association with The Students’ Outpost organised a film screening and discussion around “The Advocate” (Par...

On 30th January 2019, St. Joseph’s College of Law will host a workshop for law and political science teachers across colleges in Bangalore, “Teaching and Learning the ...

On the occasion of the 70th Republic Day celebrations, elementary school students at Mallya Aditi International School gathered together for a session on the Indian Consti...

On 12th December 2018, the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) in collaboration with thePraja Foundation, conducted a 2-hour workshop on Indian Constitutional Hist...

(Amisha Pareek, Board Member of National Constitution Society, reports on  CLPR’s workshop on Constitutional History and Freedom of Speech.) On the occasion of National...

1. Sabarimala Temple Entry The Supreme Court in the Sabarimala Temple Entry Case held that the exclusion of women between ages of 10-50 years violated fundamental right...

November 2018 marked the 70th Anniversary of the historic Universal Declaration of Human Rights(UDHR). Miloon Kothari reminds us that while the Declaration was being draft...

For the Constituent Assembly of India, 11 December 1946 was an important day. Two days after its first sitting, it was going to choose one of its members to the most criti...

S. Nijalingappa was a Constituent Assembly member elected from Bombay province: he was a freedom fighter and the three times Chief Minister of Karnataka. Nijalingappa was ...

On 7th December 1948, the Constituent Assembly took up Draft Article 21 (Article 27, Constitution of India, 1950) for debate. The Draft Article stated that: ‘Freedom as...

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This second post in the CADIndia Advanced Search: A Guide series, will focus on keyword(s). In most cases, the keyword(s) that you’ll enter into the search box will be...

  Chaudhary Ranbir Singh was a Constituent Assembly member elected from East Punjab: he was a renowned parliamentarian and freedom fighter. He has the distinction of be...

Between 15th November 1948 and 17th October 1949, the Constituent Assembly debated and discussed provisions of the Draft Constitution along with a staggering number of ame...

Thank you to all those who applied to be Student Delegates at the National Constitution Society(NCS) Convention 2018. Congratulations to the 32 of you who were selected...

  Abul Kalam Azad was elected to the Constituent Assembly from United Provinces: he was a freedom fighter, poet and the first Education Minister of independent India. ...

On 26th November 2018 we celebrate Constitution Day. Sixty-nine years ago on 26th November 1949 the Constituent Assembly adopted the Constitution of India. Do younger gene...

  Sardar Vallabhai Patel was a Constituent Assembly member elected from Bombay province: he was a prominent freedom fighter, statesman and the first Home Minister of in...

In the last week of October 1947, B.N. Rau the Constitutional Advisor to the Constituent Assembly of India produced a Draft Constitution. This Draft reflected the repo...

The flagship feature of the CADIndia website is the advanced search - that allows easy and swift access to Indian constitutional history materials. In this series of ‘...

The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) invites you to apply to be a Student Delegate at the first National Constitution Society Convention to be held on Friday 23rd...

Description:                  Resources: Grade – 5 to 8              Drafting Committee Members – Word Puzzle (PDF Format) Difficulty – (level)          Drafting Com...

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M.N. Roy was the first to demand a Constituent Assembly for India in 1934. A year later, the Indian National Congress made this a formal demand in a resolution that reject...

We conducted the South Regional Rounds and National Final Rounds of ConQuest 2018 on 28th September 2018. ThePrint carried a report on these rounds. Bengaluru: Did you ...

ConQuest: India’s premiere national quiz on the Indian Constitution, History and Politics is CLPR’s annual flagship event. It is aims to have students engage with India’s ...

ThePrint's report on the West regional rounds of ConQuest 2018. From who started the concept of formal economic planning in India to listing out prime ministers who hav...

ThePrint carried a report on the East Regional Round of ConQuest 2018. As the Supreme Court passed a landmark judgment on Section 377 Thursday, the youth in Kolkata ask...

We conducted an Indian Constitutional history workshop at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi on 29th August 2018. Around 30 students participated in it which focussed on “Explor...

CLPR conducted the North Regional Rounds of ConQuest 2018 on 1st September 2018 at National Law University, Delhi. The morning rains of Delhi did not seem to deter the ...

ThePrint carried a piece today on North Regional Rounds of ConQuest: India’s Premiere National Quiz on the Indian Constitution, History and Politics.  The quest is on t...

ThePrint carried a piece today on CLPR's initiative ConQuest: India’s Premiere National Quiz on the Indian Constitution, History and Politics.  The quiz will comprise f...

Reverend Jerome D’souza was a Constituent Assembly member elected from the Madras province: he was a Jesuit priest, writer and an educationist. Rev. D’souza was born o...

We believe that a vibrant constitutional culture in India can only emerge when citizens engage with and understand India’s constitutional tradition and how this relates to...

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The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) is excited to announce the 3rd edition of ConQuest: India’s Premiere National Quiz on the Indian Constitution, History and Po...

Description:                                                                                        Resources: Curriculum: BCI (law courses in India);              ...

On 4th August 1949, the Constituent Assembly took up Draft Article 279 (Article 358, Constitution of India) – one of the emergency provisions in the Draft Constitution – f...

Dakshayani Vellayudan was a Constituent assembly member elected from the Madras constituency. She was a parliamentarian and Dalit woman activist. She was born 106 year...

CLPR conducted a day-long orientation program at St. Joseph’s College of Law on 25th July 2018 for the newly admitted first-year students. The program consisting of four s...

This piece, written by Vineeth Krishna from the CADIndia team, first appeared in ThePrint on 22 July 2018 under the title 'Lawyers argued women are untouchables at Sabarim...

This article was first published on The Caravan on 17 July 2018. On 4 July 2018, the Supreme Court of India delivered its judgment in Government of NCT of Delhi vs Unio...

There were a number of Historical Constitutions that articulated a constitutional imagination which paid attention to women’s rights. The relevant provisions in these docu...

The fundamental right against exploitation has been articulated in Article 23 of the Indian Constitution. Article 23 bans human trafficking, begar and forced labour. This ...

The Constitution of India gives citizens the right to freedom of speech subject to certain restrictions. This article will briefly look at how antecedent constitutional do...

The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) is excited to conduct 3rd edition of India’s only national-level quiz on the Indian Constitution and its history. The quiz wi...

Sucheta Kripalani was a member of the Constituent Assembly who was elected from the United Province. She was a freedom fighter, parliamentarian and the first woman Chief M...

The Nehru Report, 1928 was the first historical constitution that viewed public health as a constitutional right. Under the ‘fundamental rights’ section, the Nehru Report ...

Shiva Jolad is an Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar. He has been actively engaging with our website. This is what he had to say about it: ...

Gopinath Bordoloi was a member of the Constituent Assembly elected from the Assam Province. He was a freedom fighter, parliamentarian and the first Chief Minister of Assam...

On 7 June 1949, the Constituent Assembly took up Draft Article 196 for discussion; B.R. Ambedkar and Sardar Hukam Singh moved two amendments. While Ambedkar proposed that ...

On 21st April 2018, the President of India signed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 (“Ordinance”). The Ordinance amended certain criminal laws including Indian ...

R. K. Shanmukhan Chetty was a Constituent Assembly member from the Madras constituency. He was a prominent economist and went on to become India’s first Finance Minister. ...

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Recently, the Congress party mobilised members of the Rajya Sabha to sign a notice of motion to remove the Chief Justice of India – Dipak Mishra – from his post. The m...

Jaipat S. Jain is an Attorney at Law and Partner at a New York based law firm - Lazare Potter Giacovas & Moyle LLP. His testimonial about our website is: "I am deli...

  Ramnath Goenka is a Constituent Assembly member elected to the Assembly from Madras from a Congress party ticket. Goenka is most popularly known for setting up Índ...

  The BBC released a video late last year of an interview it conducted with B.R. Ambedkar in 1953. The content of the video is interesting and remarkable. It re...

  Jagjivan Ram, or Babuji as he was fondly known, was born to a Dalit family 110 years ago on 5 April 1908. He holds the record for being a parliamentarian for 50 years...

Image Credits: Wikipedia Commons Did the passing of the Karachi Resolution on Fundamental Rights,1931 have anything to do with the execution of Bhagat Singh? 23...

Madhabhooshi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar was a freedom fighter, lawyer, Parliamentarian and a Constituent Assembly member . He was a believer of the Gandhian philosophy of ...

  Stanley Henry Prater also known as S.H. Prater was the representative of the Anglo-Indian community in the Constituent Assembly. He was a British Naturalist who born ...

  Prof. K. T. Shah was a prominent economist, advocate, socialist and Constituent Assembly member. He passed away 55 years ago, in March, 1953. Before joining the C...

Benegal Shiva Rao also known as B. Shiva Rao was a prominent journalist and Constituent Assembly Member. He was born 127 years ago on 26th February 1891. Born in a family ...

Rafi Ahmed Kidwai was a freedom fighter, politician, and socialist. He was a member of the Constituent Assembly and was born 124 years ago on 18th February 1894. Born i...

  Dr. Kailash Nath Katju was an eminent advocate, politician, and constituent assembly member. During his childhood, Katju aspired to study medicine. However, his ac...

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was one of the 15 woman Constituent Assembly Members in the Constituent Assembly and was the first woman Cabinet Minister of free India. Kaur was b...

  Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) has developed the CADIndia website as a portal to engage with India’s constitutional and political history and bring it to t...

  Moturi Satyanarayana was born 116 years ago. He was a Constituent Assembly Member from the Madras Province on the Congress party ticket and served in the Assembly fro...

CLPR conducted a series of Indian constitutional history workshops in Mumbai between 23-25th January around various themes by engaging with the Constituent Assembly Debate...

  The Cabinet Mission Plan, 1946 formed the Constituent Assembly which sat for the first time on 9th December 1946. In the backdrop of suspicion and uncertainty due to ...

  The CLPR team celebrated Republic Day on 26th January 2018 with the students and staff of Mallya Aditi International School, Bengaluru. We created an immersive experi...

  India became independent in 1947 through the Indian Independence Act, 1947; it was only in 1950 that it became a ‘Republic’. Between 1947 and 1950 India was a dominio...

Jawaharlal Nehru introduced the Objectives Resolution in the Constituent Assembly on 13th December 1946. The Assembly extensively debated the Resolution between 16th and 1...

Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir was born 119 years ago on 15th January 1899. He was appointed to the Constituent Assembly from East Punjab. After Indian independence Musaf...

Interested to write about and engage with India’s constitutional and political history? Apply to become a Student Contributor for Center for Law and Policy Research’s CADI...

  John Matthai was born 131 years ago on 10th January 1886. He was a member of Constituent Assembly elected from United Provinces. Image Credits : http://www.drj...

Nishant Gokhale's (LLM candidate from Harvard Law School) testimonial on our website: 'CLPR's database on the Constituent Assembly Debates is a refreshingly new take on...

  Jaipal Singh elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946 from Bihar province was born on 3rd January 1903. Jaipal Singh was a gifted hockey player and while he wa...

  K. M. Munshi was born 130 years ago on 30th December 1887 in Gujarat. Elected from the Bombay province he was an active member of the Constituent Assembly from its in...

  Kallur Subba Rao died 45 years ago on 20th December 1972.  He was a Constituent Assembly Member from Madras Province. He was twice elected to the Madras Assembly and ...

  The Constituent Assembly of India - created and constrained by the Cabinet Mission Plan - sat for the first time on 9th December 1946. Representatives of the princely...

  On 13th December 1948, the Constituent Assembly took up Article 43 of the Draft Constitution (Article 54 – Constitution of India, 1950) and debated the following ques...

  Chakravarti Rajagopalachari was born 139 years ago on 10th December 1878. He was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Madras province in 1946 and was a part of it...

On 9th December 1946, the Constituent Assembly sat for the first time. Acharya Kriplani, the then President of the Indian National Congress, kicked off proceedings - on be...

Dr. Rajendra Prasad, a Constituent Assembly member from Bihar, was born 133 years ago on 3rd December 1884. He was an active member of the Indian National Congress from 19...

On 3rd December 1948, the Constituent Assembly took up Draft Article 17 ( Article 23 of the Constitution of India, 1950) - that criminalised forced labour - for debate. Th...

Kengal Hanumanthaiah, a Constituent Assembly member from Mysore, died 37 years ago on 1st December 1980. He was an active Congress party member since his student years. ...

India observes Constitution Day on 26th November marking the adoption of Constitution by the Constituent Assembly on 26th November 1949. India is not the only country that...

On 25th November 1949, a day before the Constituent Assembly adopted the Indian Constitution – which we now commemorate every year as Constitution Day ( ‘Law Day’ till 201...

Dr. B. Pattabhi Sitaramayya was born 137 years ago on 24th November 1880 in Andhra Pradesh. He was a Constituent Assembly member elected from Madras Province. Sitaramay...

This day, 68 years ago, on 26th November, 1949, the Constitutent Assembly adopted the Constitution though it came into force, two months later, on 26th January, 1950. It t...

  Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of independent India, was also the longest serving Prime Minister, holding the office for a total of seventeen years. ...

  Around 45 students from the law department of North Eastern Hill University participated in our workshop on “Exploring Cow Slaughter Debates in Indian Constitutional ...

  Around 50 students from the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati attended the ‘Exploring Uniform Civil Code in Indi...

On 17th October 1949, T.T. Krishnamachari, a member of the Drafting Committee, moved an amendment to Draft Article 13 (which became Article 19 of the Constitution of India...

  Announcing the launch of CLPR's redesigned website - CADIndia 2.0. With improved, intelligent access to the Indian Constituent Assembly Debates, the Historic...

  We are excited to introduce you to CADIndia Website 2.0. We invite you to Read, Search, Explore and Engage with the Indian Constitutional History through our webs...

A pre-requisite for citizens to critically engage with contemporary political, legal and social issues is an understanding and appreciation of India’s rich constitutional ...

CADIndia Version 2.0, developed by the Centre for Law and Policy Research, Bangalore (CLPR) sports a new visual design with improvements to functionality along wit...

  The Supreme Court of India recently guaranteed the right to equality of Muslim women by holding the practice of triple talaq unconstitutional.  During the framing...

The National Finals of ConQuest 2017 was held on 1st September 2017 at the School of Law, Christ University, Bangalore. Intense competition in four Regional Rounds produce...

The west regional round of ConQuest 2017 was held in the campus of our regional Partner Symbiosis Law School, Pune. 56 teams from Pune, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa took p...

The north regional round of ConQuest 2017 was held in the campus of our regional partner National Law University, Delhi. We saw over whelming participation of 82 teams fro...

The South Regional Round of ConQuest 2017 was held on 11th August 2017 in the campus of our regional partner – School of Law, Christ University. 60 teams from Karnataka, T...

The East Regional Round of ConQuest 2017 was held on the campus of our East regional partner – West Bengal National University of Juridicial Sciences (NUJS), Kolkata. 35 t...

The Election Commission conducted the presidential election on 17th July, 2017.  Article 54 of the Constitution of India, 1950 provides for the President to be elected by ...

Who can participate?   This year the quiz is open to senior high school students (11th – 12th grade/PUC/Junior College) in addition to undergraduate and graduate stu...

In 2011 Justice Karnan complained to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes of caste based discrimination by his brother judges of the Madras High Court. A series of...

The Money-Finance Bill Controversy in the Constituent Assembly Debates   The Finance Bill, 2017 seeks to amend  40 acts on income tax raid procedures, anonymity in p...

A violent agitation has broken out in Nagaland against a constitutionally mandated reservation for women in local councils. The tribal population of the state argues that ...

Republic day – January 26 – does not only mark the commencement of the Indian Constitution, but is also inextricably linked to a historical moment in the Indian nationalis...

Centre for Law and Policy Research’s (CLPR) CADIndia website has undergone significant changes and improvements over the past year.   In Phase I (2015-16) of the Con...

The Constituent Assembly Debates (CADs) are a record of the debates and proceedings in the Constituent Assembly of India which sat for 165 days from December 9, 1946 to Ja...

On 6th August, 2016 we organised the East Regional Round of ConQuest 2016, India’s first national-level quiz on Indian Constitution, History and Politics. We were hosted b...

In 2016, CLPR is setting up a website to track the working of the Supreme Court of India. This website will be a non-partisan journalistic effort to make the work of the C...

One of the objectives of the Constitutional and Civic Citizenship Project has been to create a robust civic citizenship. In furtherance to this aim, we will organise an an...

On 20thAugust 2016, the Centre for Law and Policy Research organized the National Finals of ConQuest 2016 : India’s first national-level quiz on Indian Constitution, Histo...

On 20th August, 2016, we organized the North Regional Round of ConQuest 2016, India’s first national-level quiz on Indian Constitution, History and Politics. The Quiz was ...

CLPR conducted the West Round of ConQuest 2016 at Symbiosis Law College, Pune on the 30th of July 2016. 45 teams from across Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh p...

On 23rd July, 2016, we organized the South Regional Round of ConQuest 2016, India’s first national-level quiz on Indian Constitution, History and Politics. We were hosted ...

The Centre for Law and Policy Research will conduct India’s First National Level Quiz on the Indian Constitution, History and Politics in 2016, called ‘ConQuest’. The quiz...

It is no secret that the Supreme Court currently faces an enormous (and frankly unmanageable) number of Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) under Article 136. This has most rec...

Phase ll of CLPR’s Constitutional and Civic Citizenship Project, supported by FNF South Asia , is in full swing. A new batch of Associate Editors and Interns are currently...

The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) is excited to conduct India’s first national-level quiz on the Indian Constitution and its history. The quiz will be held in ...

On 26th January 2016, Republic Day, CLPR’s CADIndia website was launched at the Karnataka Judicial Academy. The launch event consisted of a discussion around ‘Constituent ...

On the 26th of January 2016, the Centre for Law and Policy Research(CLPR), launched its CADIndia website and also organised a discussion around the theme – ‘Constituent As...

देश के उत्तर भारतीय राज्यों में लगातार वायु प्रदूषण बढ़ रहा है। ऐसे में कई राज्यों में स्थिति खतरनाक बनी हुई है। देश में लागू किए कानून के बाद भी Air quality में सुधार न...