The transformative constitution
Subtitle: a radical biography in nine acts
By: Gautam Bhatia
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers India
Published: 2021
Place of publication: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Language: eng
Number of pages: 500
ISBN-13: 9789353576646; 9789353026851
Subjects: Constitutional history; Constitutional law
Description: "We think of the Indian Constitution as a founding document, embodying a moment of profound transformation from being ruled to becoming a nation of free and equal citizenship. Yet the working of the Constitution over the last seven decades has often failed to fulfill that transformative promise. Not only have successive Parliaments failed to repeal colonial-era laws that are inconsistent with the principles of the Constitution, but constitutional challenges to these laws have also failed before the courts. Indeed, in numerous cases, the Supreme Court has used colonial-era laws to cut down or weaken the fundamental rights. The Transformative Constitution by Gautam Bhatia draws on pre-Independence legal and political history to argue that the Constitution was intended to transform not merely the political status of Indians from subjects to citizens, but also the social relationships on which legal and political structures rested. He advances a novel vision of the Constitution, and of constitutional interpretation, which is faithful to its text, structure and history, and above all to its overarching commitment to political and social transformation."--Publisher's website.
Notes: "Shortlisted for Tata Literature Live, non-fiction book of the year award and Hindu prize for non-fiction"--Cover.

"With a new preface to the paperback edition"--Cover.

"The NewIndia Foundation"--Spine.

"First published in India in hardback in 2019 ..."--Title page verso.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 349-477) and index.

Also available as an e-book.