These essays examine the Constitution from the perspective of political theory. The contributors view the Constitution either as a political or as an ethical document, reflecting configurations of power and interests, or articulating a moral vision. They critically analyse various aspects of the Constitution, exploring issues of equality; freedom; citizenship; democracy; minority rights; and property and welfare; thus offering a balanced view on the potential, achievements, and limitations of the Indian Constitution. At the same time, they emphasize that there is a need to examine whether there is a disjunction between constitutional ideas and political practice.
The contributors to this volume include well-known academics and scholars: Ashok Acharya; Rochana Bajpai; Upendra Baxi; Peter Ronald deSouza; Gopal Guru; Christophe Jaffrelot; Shefali Jha; Gurpreet Mahajan; Pratap Bhanu Mehta; Nivedita Menon; Aditya Nigam; Sanjay Palshikar; Suhas Palshikar; Thomas Pantham; Bhikhu Parekh; and Valerian Rodrigues.
