The Constitution of India adopted on January 26, 1950, is the result of detailed discussions and debates of the Indian Constituent Assembly. This Assembly in 165 sittings over a period of 2 years and 11 months engaged with several legal, constitutional and political issues of contemporary relevance. However, these debates remain difficult for non-specialists to access and use and have receded from our public memory.
The Centre for Law and Policy Research (CLPR) has curated, coded and tagged the Constituent Assembly Debates on Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles. This database has been integrated into a specially designed website with a unique search engine that allows both expert and lay users to read, search and explore India’s constitutional origins.
The panel, chaired by Justice Venkatachaliah, comprises of Aakar Patel, Shraddha Chigateri, Lawrence Liang, Aditya Sondhi and Sudhir Krishnaswamy, shall discuss the relevance of the Constituent Assembly Debates in illuminating the most challenging legal, political and social issues that we encounter today.