India's Living Constitution - Ideas, Practices, Controversies (Paperback)

"India s Living Constitution" examines the constitution that was adopted nearly three years after independence on 26 January 1950, and which remarkably survives today with its basic structure unaltered. This is an extraordinary achievement given that the generally accepted prerequisites for democratic stability did not exist at the time of its composition, and do not even exist today. Half a century of constitutional democracy is a phenomenon that political scientists and legal scholars need to analyse and explain.The Indian Constitution outlined the framework and organization of the political and social order. This included universal citizenship and suffrage, civil and political liberties, and a vision of social justice and equality. Many of these constitutional provisions aimed to bring about a fundamental change in the structure of Indian society. But society does not change with the adoption of a radically new constitution. While constitutionalism is about rules, democracy follows a wayward path, driven by the passions of competing political visions, interests and mass mobilization.This new collection by a group of distinguished scholars rigorously analyses the constitutional-political ideas -- implicitly of Western origin -- that are embedded in the text of the Indian Constitution, and their evolution in political practice in the country over the past 50 years.