Constitutions are often written in the name of ‘We the People’. Yet the category of people itself remains elusive. Who were the people that drafted our Constitution- remains under-discovered. From a feminist perspective, the story of founding ‘mothers’ remains missing and the question of gender remains limited to equality provisions of the Constitution.

This course attempts to shift away from this approach by gendering the Indian Constitution-making process. It attempts to complicate our understanding of ‘people’, ‘participation’, and ‘Constitution-making’ by bringing focus on both the founding choices and their continued relevance in the post-independence feminist context. The course asks (and attempts to answer) two major questions- first, did the pre-independence women’s movement impact our Constitution-making process? And second, do the founding feminist choices (or lack thereof) impact our feminist discourse today?

The course will orient students towards two goals- first, to apply feminist concepts and ideas on constitutional theory- this goal is particularly relevant because feminist scholarship till now has only engaged with legislations as a site of feminist critique, despite Constitutions being the highest in the normative order of laws. And second, to understand the constitutional theory on social movements vis-à-vis feminist movements and discover multiple sites of feminist engagement with Constitutions beyond equality provisions.

The course fits into larger themes of Constitutional theory and feminist jurisprudence.

Material Used- The course relies on Constituent Assembly Debates, journal articles, and books for readings. Case laws will also be used for the sessions on the post-Independence feminist movement.

Pedagogical Method- Lectures, discussions, film screening, and response paper.

The students will develop the following skills and knowledge set by the end of the course

• Develop an ability to apply feminist concepts and ideas to constitutional theory and constitutional law.
• Ability to read and engage with the Indian Constitution-making process.
• Develop a basic understanding of the feminist movement during the independence era and its role in India’s Constitution-making process.
• Develop a basic understanding of the role of social movements in the development of constitutional discourse