The Threat to the Unity and Territorial Integrity of India: The Dangers and Implications of Unravelling the Constitutional Minority Rights Package

This talk is set against the background of current events including the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, the unveiling of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and the prospect of similar exercises elsewhere. It seeks to assess these activities against the protections envisaged and designed by drafters of the Constitution of India, highlighting the promises made to disparate communities, exploring the rationale behind those aspirations, and assessing the thresholds that may be necessary to cross in generating radical change against these. The talk will focus attention on identifying and emphasizing the importance of a set of measures in Indian law that could be termed as its ‘package of minority rights’, as a key component for maintaining Indian unity.

Please RSVP by February 14.