Thirty-four teams from educational institutions across western India locked horns as ConQuest—India’s premier quiz on Indian Constitution, history and politics—made its debut in Mumbai on 9 November.
Organised by the Centre for Law and Policy Research, Bengaluru (CLPR), ConQuest is the public outreach arm of its Constitutionofindia.net educational platform.
West Regional Round of ConQuest 2024 was organised in collaboration with the School of Law, Rights and Constitutional Governance at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. Justice Roshan Dalvi (Retd.) of Bombay High Court was the guest of honour at the event.
After a fiercely competitive preliminary round, six teams advanced to the regional finals, namely Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Gujarat National Law University, National Law Institute University (NLIU) Bhopal, Goa University, and two teams from TISS Mumbai.
Next were the regional finals which kicked off with a question about freedom fighter Yusuf Mehrally, who along with members of the Bombay Youth League, dressed as coolies, welcomed a British delegation proposing constitutional reforms in the 1920s at the port in Bombay with a slogan he coined. He would go on to coin another slogan which gained currency after a stamp of approval from Mahatma Gandhi. Participants were asked to identify the two slogans. What were they? Simon, go back! And Quit India!
Another question posed during the regional finals pushed participants to think long and hard about the concept of sovereignty in the context of the UK—a sovereign state which, unlike most others, often sends its constituent political entities (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) to participate separately in international sporting events.
Then came the potpourri round during which participants engaged with a draft constitution for India’s princely states drafted by Madhav Rao, former dewan of Travancore, in 1874. It proposed a constitutional monarchy and included ideas of rule of law, freedom of speech, and religious tolerance. After five rounds of intense competition over questions covering India’s constitutional history and other developments from around the world, participants settled scores with a buzzer round that kept everyone on the edge of their seats.
The West Regional Round of ConQuest 2024 ended with NLIU Bhopal in third place, Gujarat National Law University in second, and Goa University as the West Regional Champions. Both GNLU and Goa University will represent the West Region in the grand finale of ConQuest 2024. Goa University are also the reigning champions from ConQuest 2023.
Next, ConQuest 2024 heads to Kolkata for the East Regional Round!
Supported by the South Regional office of the Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit.
This article appeared first on ThePrint , our ConQuest digital partner, on 14 November 2024.