Law

This collection of essays carries forward the debates that emerged at a seminar on 'Enculturing Law' held at Bangalore in August 2005, organized by the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society in collaboration with the National Law School of India University and the Alternative Law Forum. The seminar sought to address questions related to interdisciplinary pedagogy in the study of Indian law, arguing in favor of a different approach to legal studies by foregrounding the significance of law as a part of liberal education.

The twelve essays included in this volume (of which all but one were presented at the seminar) are concerned with two broad themes: the pedagogy of law; and sites of interdisciplinarity that view law as a broader, social-legal phenomenon. The essays that deal with the first theme contextualize legal education in India over the last fifty-odd years by charting some of the important debates in the field and explaining the emphasis on the positivist method. Essays on the second theme view the 'performance of law' from perspectives such as those of feminist legal study, historical study, human rights study, and cultural analysis.

The severe setback to India’s polity during the period 2018–21 is distinct and unprecedented. It is inaccurate and erroneous to describe this phase as one of an informal Emergency. These four years, in continuation with the political shift that occurred with Narendra Modi election in 2014, shows the country’s transformation. This change, if not checked, can lead to annihilation of the very idea of India.
To fight the existing despotism, one needs to understand its characteristics politically, economically, socially and constitutionally. One way of doing this, is to reflect on the contemporary issues and developments in the legal realm which are closely associated with the political transition. This book is an attempt to explore the process of ‘deconstitutionalization’ by looking at certain contemporary topics. The chapters, cumulatively, make out a case for cautious political optimism in the face of challenges. A great democracy, even with all its limits, is not to be surrendered to plutocracy underlined by bigotry.