The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bengaluru and the Faculty of Law at the University of Zurich (UZH) conducted its second workshop on Equality and the Law, at UZH’s City Campus on June 2 and 3, 2025, in Zurich. The first workshop had taken place on NLS’s Bengaluru campus in December 2024.

The intimate closed-door workshops form a part of a larger cooperation between NLS and UZH aimed at (a) fostering interdisciplinary engagement around problems of equality in the law and (b) catalysing collaboration between NLSIU and UZH early-career scholars.

These workshops were the result of prior collaborative work between Prof. (Dr.) Arun Thiruvengadam, NLSIU and Prof. (Dr.) Matthias Mahlmann, UZH.  The workshops were devised when Prof. Thiruvengadam was the Chair of NLS’ Doctoral Council (July 2023-July 2025) and were originally designed to enable PhD students in both institutions to complete their doctoral projects. Later, other early career scholars were added to the group after an open call. The funding for this workshop was secured by Prof. (Dr.) Sudhir Krishnaswamy, Vice-Chancellor, NLISU and Prof. Mahlmann, UZH during the latter’s visit to NLSIU in April 2024.

Theme

Equality is a foundational concept of legal systems. It is a bedrock principle of the rule of law. Equality before the law and the equal application of law are centrepieces of legal systems, and debates in legal theory.

There is wide-ranging, and in many aspects, controversial discussion about what equality means within this general legal framework and in the practice of law. It certainly encompasses formal equality but is usually understood to demand more than this formal equality, namely some form of substantive equality. What this means in detail is far from clear and is constantly renegotiated in legal systems. These questions are not only questions of legal theory but concern problems that have deep roots in the long reflection about what justice in ethics and politics actually means.

Workshop participants presented work from a wide range of legal and allied fields. For instance, Saheb Chowdhury, Pascal Meier, and Jai Brunner investigated the concept of equality through the lens of legal and political theory. By contrast, Corina Diem and Abhilasha Chattopadhyay adopted more critical approaches, using methods from literary criticism and anthropology, respectively.

The Alternative Law Forum also took part in the workshop. They presented some of their recent work relating to caste discrimination in the State of Karnataka.

Reflections

Prof. Arun Thiruvengadam, Professor of Law, NLSIU: “The University of Zurich and NLS have a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) that has been in place for some years. This has, in the past, facilitated individual visits by Faculty members across the two institutions.  This two-part workshop has deepened that relationship and has enabled PhD candidates and early career scholars to be drawn into the collaborative loop. Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy is scheduled to visit the University of Zurich in October 2025 to deliver a public lecture. While in Zurich, he will seek to extend the MoU and to explore ways of continuing the series of workshops in the areas of international law and criminal law in later years. I was privileged, alongside Professor Mahlmann, to be a part of two very stimulating workshops where a number of scholars presented their ongoing work. The issues covered in these workshops are of vital importance, with some being timeless issues in equality jurisprudence and some being very critical topics in our contemporary era. The importance of intellectual work is even more pressing in the charged times we live in, where scholars and dispassionate researchers are under attack in many ways and because of the onslaught of many political and technological forces. I hope that we will be able to carry forward this tradition of scholarly reflection and robust but respectful debate in our continuing collaboration with the University of Zurich.”

Saheb Chowdhury, PhD Candidate, NLSIU: “Taking part in the workshop was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me. As a PhD student at NLSIU working on a thesis that very closely overlaps with the workshop’s theme, I found it extremely rewarding to listen to a wide range of perspectives on equality as a right, its application across diverse areas and its practical implications in contexts as different as India and Switzerland. What made it even more meaningful was the chance to hear some sharp critiques of my own work. These critiques made me rethink and refine my own ideas, something that has been extremely valuable to me. Beyond the formal sessions, I also built friendships with fellow participants, and our conversations carried on even after the day’s discussions ended. It has been a truly transformative and unforgettable experience for me.”

Gaurav Dahiya, PhD Candidate, NLSIU: “The conference turned out to be even better than I imagined. Not only were we able to exchange ideas with our Swiss colleagues, many of whom presented updates to their previous work showcased in the Bangalore (Bengaluru) workshop, but we also got to experience the wonderful city of Zurich. The standout feature of the workshop was no doubt the perspective of Alternative Law Forum who shared ground-level realities on caste and equality as well as impact of policies in the social sphere.”

Pranav Verma, Assistant Professor, NLSIU: “The workshop at the University of Zurich seamlessly carried forward the conversations we began in Bengaluru last year. To present progress drafts before the same participants led to an unmissed sense of collegiality in the room. I personally saw in action how collegiality nurtures a rich academic discourse. The unique model of each participant leading discussions on an author’s draft further enriched the sense of shared purpose and contribution to the workshop agenda. Apart from its academic value, I am grateful for the lasting personal connections the workshop has enabled, and for the warm hospitality of our colleagues in UZH!”

Jai Brunner, Assistant Professor, NLSIU: “I had never before partaken in a workshop where the participants all interrogated the same concept through such a rich diversity of legal and non-legal methods. The exchange was immensely enriching as it allowed me to creatively (re)approach my research through novel perspectives. Looking back, what I cherish the most is that the workshop prioritised collaboration, rather than an output. Professors Mahlmann and Thiruvengadam cultivated an environment that inspired us to freely exchange ideas, in a relaxed yet rigorous way.”

Pascal Meier, Research Associate/Senior Researcher, UZH: “An excellent and very friendly exchange of diverse ideas and perspectives. Meeting up with the same group of people once more had not only allowed to develop ideas further and build up on the last workshop but also felt like reuniting with old friends. Moreover, getting to know the practitioners from the Alternative Law Forum and hearing their perspective was invaluable.”

Dr. Elif Askin, Senior Assistant for Constitutional, Administrative and International Law and Basic Subjects (URPP Equality of Opportunity), UZH: “The workshop was an excellent reminder that collaborative engagement is a cornerstone of open-minded intellectual inquiry. Engaging with colleagues from the National Law School of India University in Bangalore and ALF made the scholarly dialogue particularly stimulating. Bringing together perspectives from academia and civil society enriched every discussion and challenged us to think critically about the many inequalities the world faces today. The workshop demonstrated that equality is a foundational principle that transcends disciplines and geographical boundaries. Through open international dialogue, we strengthened our shared commitment to this universal principle and explored ways to further reinforce it through collective debate.”

Matthias Hächler, RA MLaw, MJur (Oxon), UZH: “To work again on the topic of equality as a core principle of the law – its foundations, justification, and consequences for concrete cases – has proven very fruitful. Starting from the framework of understanding we had already established in the last workshop in Bangalore in December 2024, we were able to gain a clearer grasp of equality and its features, especially through the comparative lens of two legal systems, the interdisciplinary approach taken, the integration of practical perspectives as well as a highly open-minded discourse. Beyond these insights, it was also wonderful to deepen the Bangalore–Zurich network and to see how each and every project presented has grown over time, also due to the workshops.”

Programme Schedule

Gallery

The Centre for Child and the Law (CCL), National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, in collaboration with Child Rights and You (CRY) and Forum for Crèches and Childcare Services (FORCES), organised a state-level consultation on Nutrition Governance and Child Care in Karnataka on August 30, 2025 at the NLSIU Training Centre. The hybrid consultation brought together civil society organisations, community women leaders, researchers, domain experts and practitioners to share insights and strategies for advancing early childcare, child rights and nutrition governance under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013.

About the Consultation

The first session focussed on the Rights-Based Nutrition Governance Model being demonstrated in two Gram Panchayats of Ramanagara. CCL presented its findings from a baseline study, highlighting gaps in NFSA implementation and the need for stronger accountability and grievance redressal mechanisms. Community women leaders – including Gram Panchayat representatives, Self-Help Group (SHG) members, ASHA workers, and Kusinamane (crèche) caretakers – shared practical challenges in accessing entitlements and stressed the role of local participation in strengthening governance. CSO representatives added their experiences from other districts, underlining systemic issues and the scope for replicating the model across Karnataka.

The second session presented findings from a state-wide study on childcare models undertaken by CCL and FORCES. Alongside discussions on strengthening ICDS and expanding community-based crèches, a draft of the Karnataka State Food Security Rules was shared for advocacy and collective inputs. Participants also agreed to form a drafting committee for a proposed law on Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) for children under six years – a significant step towards institutionalising childcare rights in Karnataka. CSO partners and grassroots leaders enriched the discussion with their observations from the field. The consultation concluded with a Karnataka FORCES partners’ meeting, where members reaffirmed their commitment to collective advocacy for robust nutrition governance and quality childcare.

The consultation event generated a shared vision to advance rights-based approaches, deepen collaborations, and build a future roadmap for child nutrition and care in Karnataka.

Key Next Step

A drafting committee on ECCD was formed to prepare a law for children under six years, marking an important milestone for child rights in Karnataka.

Rashi Singhal, Academic Fellow at NLSIU, has been featured in an episode of the ‘All Things Policy’ podcast by Takshashila Institution. The podcast episode is titled ‘The Rise of FOSS in India.’

Abstract 

Over the past decade, Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) has become a significant component of modern technology, powering a large percentage of software solutions used regularly. FOSS offers the ability to study, adapt, share, and re-use software without the constraints of proprietary licensing. Beyond cost savings, organisations across sectors like healthcare, education, finance, and IT are discovering deeper benefits such as reliability, security, flexibility, and even the chance to strengthen their own in-house technical capacity. In this episode of All Things Policy, Anwesha discusses the recent report titled ‘The Rise of FOSS in India: Empirical Evidence and Insights from Cross-Sectoral Case Studies,’ with co-author Rashi Singhal, Academic Fellow at NLSIU, where they cover key challenges and policy recommendations to support FOSS development. (Source: Spotify)

Access the report here.

Listen to the podcast here.