About the Project
Since September 2022, the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) is participating in a three-year long research project titled ‘Pluralist Agreement and Constitutional Transformation’ (PACT). This project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and looks at rethinking the making of constitutions in divided societies.
The project is led by Prof. Rochana Bajpai, SOAS as Principal Investigator with Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy as the Co-investigator from NLSIU. Other co-investigators are Dr. Nicholas Cole, University of Oxford, Dr. Udit Bhatia, University of York, and Mr. Vineeth Krishna, the Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR), Bangalore.
Over the course of the project, NLSIU’s research team will engage in research; writing academic papers and blog posts; participating and organising workshops/ training programmes with various stakeholders from the judiciary, academia and civil society; evaluating impact of the PACT project; and participating in a summative conference and policy dialogue.
Project Proposal
The PACT project will create an advanced digital platform on the making of the Indian constitution (1950). The Indian Constituent Assembly (1946-49) met against the background of transfer of power from the British, partition, Hindu-Muslim blood-shed, and the largest mass migration in history. It is during these challenges and disagreements along the lines of religion, caste and linguistic differences that the constitution was drafted, a document that continues to shape contemporary politics.
This research will aim to draw lessons regarding the democratic legitimacy of constitutions from the Indian example, while analysing its unfulfilled potential for pluralism and democracy in the present. The research also aims to shed light on the role of collective practices of petition, debate, and protest by citizens and the marginalized in the making of constitutions, and their remaking over time.
Using the methodologies and software developed at Pembroke College by the Quill Project, the project will create an extensive digital record of the proceedings from 1946 to 1949 that led to the formation of the Indian constitution. Alongside these plenary debates of the Indian Constituent Assembly, the project will also include committee discussions, petitions, public responses and the wider debate of the period. This broad collection of sources will allow further study into the context of public opinion against which the Indian constitution was authored.
Upcoming events
The National Law School of India University (NLSIU) will host a conference on August 1st to 3rd 2024 in Bengaluru under the project. The conference will include research presentations by the PACT investigators and invited scholars, a keynote address, and a workshop for law clerks on using the PACT developed platforms for research on the constitution.
Recent events
- Constitution and National Unity | Theme I: 75th Year of the Constitution – The Government of Karnataka hosted a two-day international conference titled ‘Constitution and National Unity’ on February 24 and 25, 2024, in Bengaluru, to commemorate 75 years of the Indian Constitution. NLSIU anchored Theme I (The 75th Year of the Indian Constitution) of the conference.
- Lecture by Dr. Udit Bhatia | Funding Democracy: A Radical Alternative – The National Law School hosted Dr Bhatia on his research visit where he presented his work on the funding of election campaigns on December 19, 2023.
- Book Discussion | Dr. Mathew John’s ‘India’s Communal Constitution: Law, Religion, and the Making of a People’ – The National Law School hosted PACT’s first in person book discussion on December 21, 2023.
- Book Discussion | Achyut Chetan’s ‘Founding Mothers of the Indian Republic – Aishwarya Birla, research associate for PACT, acted as a book discussant on November 1, 2023.
- Workshop 13-14th July 2023 – University of Oxford – Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy and Vineeth Krishna presented on new quantitative approaches to understanding borrowing in constitutional text and drafting processes in India.
- 119th APSA Annual Meeting & Exhibition, August 31 – September 3, 2023 – Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy presented a draft paper looking at new quantitative approaches to understanding borrowing in constitutional text and drafting processes in India.
