Conference on ‘Constitution-Making as Ongoing Conversation’ | PACT Project | Sep 2025

The Pluralist Agreement and Constitutional Transformation (PACT) Project organised a conference titled ‘Constitution-Making as Ongoing Conversation‘ at SOAS University of London on September 5-6, 2025. NLSIU is one of the partner institutions for this Project.

NLSIU Vice-Chancellor and Principal Co-Investigator of the PACT Project, Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy presented a paper in the opening panel of the conference. His paper focussed on assessing individual contributions in a deliberative setting, with specific reference to the Indian Constituent Assembly and Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s role in it.

This conference aimed to explore constitution-making as a dynamic and evolving process that goes beyond initial founding moments or formal amendments, focussing instead on ongoing negotiations, exclusions, reinterpretations, and struggles over constitutional meaning.

Context 

In the face of rapidly changing political landscapes, the relationship between constitutional design and democratic values has never been more crucial. Societies around the world are grappling with issues of governance, stability, and inclusion, while constitutional texts remain vital as both guiding principles and contested sites. As we confront these global challenges, some crucial questions emerge: Who gets to participate in this constitutional conversation? What mechanisms sustain or challenge constitutional authority over time? How do crises, generational shifts, and archival recoveries reshape our understanding of constitutional orders? How do people outside formal institutions engage with, reclaim, and contest constitutional meaning in public life?

For more information about the conference, click here.