The Indian Constituent Assembly

<p>The Indian Constituent Assembly laid the foundations of the largest democracy in the world. The debates between the members of the Assembly form the bedrock of the Indian Constitution. The essays in this volume propose a range of methodological perspectives from which these critical debates might be read. Adopting a multidisciplinary approach, they explore themes such as party politics, ideas of rights, including caste and minority rights, social justice and the philosophy of free speech. </p><p>A major contribution to the study of Indian politics, this book will be indispensable to political scientists, political theorists, legal scholars, historians, lawyers, and general readers interested in the history of the Indian Constitution. </p> <p>Introduction <strong>1.</strong> "We the People?": Politics and the Conundrum of Framing a Constitution on the Eve of Decolonization <strong>2. </strong>Conflict not Consensus: Towards a Political Economy of the Making of the Indian Constitution<strong>3. </strong>Pride and Prejudice in Austin’s Cornerstone: Passions in the Constituent Assembly of India <strong>4.</strong> The Antecedents of Social Rights in India <strong>5.</strong> The Conservative Constitution: Freedom of Speech and the Constituent Assembly Debates <strong>6. </strong>Freedom of Speech in the Early Constitution: A Study of the Constitution (First Amendment) Bill <strong>7.</strong> Between Inequality and Identity: The Indian Constituent Assembly Debates and Religious Difference, 1946-1950 <strong>8. ‘</strong>We the People’: Seamless Webs and Social Revolution in India’s Constituent Assembly Debates <strong>9.</strong> India’s Republican Moment</p>