Current Research Projects

Oxford Handbook of Indian Constitutional Law

The Indian Constitution is one of the world’s longest and most important political texts. Its birth, over six decades ago, signaled the arrival of the first major post-colonial constitution. Recent years have also witnessed enormous comparative and global interest in India’s constitutional experiment, especially in the global south. This interest has burgeoned at a time of considerable constitutional change in developing societies, and an increasing scholarly focus on constitutional transitions and design mechanisms in ethnically divided nations.

The Oxford Handbook of Indian Constitutional Law aims to be a wide-ranging reflection on the major themes and debates that surround India’s Constitution. The Handbook is meant to provide a comprehensive account of the developments and doctrinal features of India’s Constitution, as well as to articulate frameworks and methodological approaches through which studies of Indian constitutionalism, and constitutionalism more generally, might proceed.

Partner: Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi (CPR).

Steering Committee: Sujit Choudhry (Constitutional Transitions), Madhav Khosla (Harvard University), and Pratap Bhanu Mehta (CPR).

Experts: Over 60 experts including academics, former judges, and practicing lawyers, based primarily in India, but also from the UK, USA, and Singapore.

Outputs: A major handbook aiming to be the definitive reference point for Indian constitutional law, and part of the Oxford Handbooks in Law series.

Status: In progress; writing workshop and conference to be held in New Delhi in July 2014; projected publication date: 2015.