Working a Democratic Constitution: A History of the Indian ExperienceWorking a Democratic Constitution tells a very human story of how the social, political and day-to-day lived realities of the Indian people has been reflected in, and in turn directed the course of, constitutional reforms in the country. Through the post independence euphoria to the turbulentyears of Indira Gandhi's 'Emergency' and Rajiv Gandhi's brief period of power, the way in which the constitution has evolved to suit the changing needs of the times is an important indicator of India's successful experience with democracy. Granville Austin is one of the world's leading experts on the Indian constitution. Since his classic work The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation (OUP, 1966), he has been working on this long-awaited book, which not only presents archival sources, but also first-hand interviews with andrare documentation by many of the key political and legal figures of the last fifty years. With its wide historical sweep, and meticulously detailed research, this is Austin's magnum opus described by Fali Nariman as a 'great and compassionate work'. The clarity and elegance of Austin's writing makes this book not only a necessary but a pleasurable read for anyone interested in comparative constitutional law and the recent political history of India, and for students, teachers and researchers of the subject. |
Contents
The Great Constitutional Themes | 11 |
FREE SPEECH LIBERTY AND PUBLIC ORDER | 38 |
THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION AND | 69 |
Copyright | |
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A. N. Ray AICC appointed assembly August bench Bhushan Bombay Borooah cabinet central government centre-state relations Chandrachud Charan Singh Chief Justice chief ministers Commission Committee Communist Congress Party Constitution's decision Delhi democracy democratic Directive Principles draft economic election Emergency federal File Forty-second Amendment Fundamental Rights Gajendragadkar Gokhale Golak Nath government's governor Hegde High Court Hindustan Ibid Indira Gandhi interview issue Jagjivan Ram Janata Party Jayaprakash Narayan judges judicial judiciary Justice of India K. M. Munshi Kesavananda Khanna Kumaramangalam Law Minister leaders legislation legislature letter Limaye Lok Sabha Madras Ministry Morarji Desai Narayan Nehru NMML P. N. Haksar Palkhivala Parliament Parliamentary Patel political Pradesh Prasad President President's Rule presidential system preventive detention Prime Minister Prime Minister's provisions Punjab Rajya Sabha recommended Reddy Report resolution Sanjay Sarkaria Secretary Seervai Setalvad Shankar social revolution Socialist speech Supreme Court Swaran unity wrote