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India: Seventy Years of the Republic

24-25 February 2020

An international conference held at Victoria University of Wellington's Rutherford House.

Seventy years ago, on 26 January 1950, the new Indian constitution was promulgated, and it declared India to be a ‘sovereign democratic republic’. The Constituent Assembly, which took a little over three years to draft this document, sought to enshrine in it, certain ideological principles, such as nationalism, democracy and secularism, which had emerged through her anti-colonial struggle.

Over the last seven decades, this constitution has been variously interpreted, implemented and amended by different regimes. In recent days, following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, it is once again at the centre of political debates in India. So, it is time to have a look at how the Indian Republic has evolved and lived up to the visions of the founding fathers.

At a time when New Zealand and the world are seeking to engage with India ever more deeply, it is essential to have a critical look at the current state of the Republic. This conference offered the opportunity to hear some of the internationally acclaimed experts in the field.

Our invited overseas speakers were:

• Dr Ornit Shani (University of Haifa)
• Dr Abhinav Chandrachud (Advocate, Mumbai High Court)
• Professor Farrah Ahmed (University of Melbourne; Editor, Indian Law Review)
• Professor Bishnu Mohapatra (Krea University, India)
• Professor Robin Jeffrey (National University of Singapore)
• Associate Professor Gyanesh Kudaisya (National University of Singapore)
• Dr Ronojoy Sen (National University of Singapore).

There were  fifteen papers presented at this two-day conference, covering various aspects of the life of the Republic, such as:

• citizenship
• freedom of the media
• regionalism
• functioning of the parliament
• tribal welfare
• youth development
• food security.

• pdf350.1KBIndia: Seventy Years of the Republic conference flyer