It has long been contended that the Indian Constitution of 1950, a document in English created by elite consensus, has had little influence on India鈥檚 greater population. Drawing upon the previously unexplored records of the Supreme Court of India, A People鈥檚 Constitution upends this narrative and shows how the Constitution actually transformed the daily lives of citizens in profound and lasting ways. This remarkable legal process was led by individuals on the margins of society, and Rohit De looks at how drinkers, smugglers, petty vendors, butchers, and prostitutes鈥攁ll despised minorities鈥攕haped the constitutional culture.
The Constitution came alive in the popular imagination so much that ordinary people attributed meaning to its existence, took recourse to it, and argued with it. Focusing on the use of constitutional remedies by citizens against new state regulations seeking to reshape the society and economy, De illustrates how laws and policies were frequently undone or renegotiated from below using the state鈥檚 own procedures. De examines four important cases that set legal precedents: a Parsi journalist鈥檚 contestation of new alcohol prohibition laws, Marwari petty traders鈥� challenge to the system of commodity control, Muslim butchers鈥� petition against cow protection laws, and sex workers鈥� battle to protect their right to practice prostitution.
Exploring how the Indian Constitution of 1950 enfranchised the largest population in the world, A People鈥檚 Constitution considers the ways that ordinary citizens produced, through litigation, alternative ethical models of citizenship.
Awards and Recognition
- Winner of the J. Willard Hurst Book Prize, Law and Society Association
- Honorable Mention for the Peter Gonville Stein Book Award, American Society for Legal History
- Shortlisted for the Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay NIF Book Prize, New India Foundation
Rohit De is assistant professor of history at Yale University.
"Elegantly written, meticulously researched, and convincingly argued, this is an impressive contribution to understanding Indian democracy and the role of judicial engagement in buttressing it."鈥擜. Ahmad, Choice Reviews
"It is a book that must be read not only by lawyers and (wo)men of law, but by every citizen who seeks to understand the Constitutional underpinnings of our republic. "鈥擲anjay Hegde and Pranjal Kishore, Economic and Political Weekly
"This book offers genuinely original insights into the transformation of India鈥檚 Constitution into a living reality of social and economic life. Its emphasis on the role of ordinary citizens, and civil society organizations, provides a fascinating perspective ignored in standard accounts focusing on the statecraft of political elites in New Delhi."鈥擝ruce Ackerman, Yale University
鈥淭he study of India鈥檚 Constitution, perhaps one of the most important documents of the twentieth century, has long been neglected. In A People鈥檚 Constitution, De shows how it generated forms of democratic behavior among the nation鈥檚 less elite subjects鈥攁n important idea, given that India is the world鈥檚 largest democracy. No other work so lucidly explains the Indian Constitution, and this informative and original book will be widely read.鈥濃�擠urba Ghosh, Cornell University
鈥淩ich and deeply researched, this groundbreaking legal history will speak to readers in many fields and countries. De shows how ordinary citizens played a disproportionate role in giving meaning to India鈥檚 Constitution, how it became a vehicle for arguing about unresolved tensions among the many groups constituting the new nation, and why constitutionalism became such an important part of modern Indian society. I learned a great deal from this wonderful book.鈥濃�擪enneth W. Mack, Harvard University
"This wonderful book fills a critical gap in the history of India鈥檚 Constitution and is destined to be a classic. A fabulous, rich, and humorous account of how ordinary people interpreted and shaped the Constitution from below, this is truly a people鈥檚 history, placing law within everyday life. Deeply learned yet immensely readable, A People鈥檚 Constitution must be read not just by legal practitioners and scholars but by all citizens.鈥濃�擭andini Sundar, Delhi University
鈥�A People鈥檚 Constitution is a fascinating study of constitutionalism from below and a stellar example of scholarship at the intersection of law and the social sciences. Rohit De shows how ordinary citizens came to experience and internalize a new constitutional culture and to use constitutional remedies in the courts for asserting and claiming their citizenship rights. Simultaneously profound and unpretentious, scholarly and readable, this book will be admired by academics and nonacademics alike.鈥濃�擭iraja Gopal Jayal, Jawaharlal Nehru University
