The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy invites you to its Constitution Open House from 25th-28th January, 2022 on the theme – Taking the Constitution to the People.

This open house aims to foster a discussion on how to make the Constitution and its vocabulary more relevant to the lives of everyday Indians.

To celebrate India’s 72nd Republic Day, Judge Edwin Cameron, Former Judge, Constitutional Court of South Africa, will deliver the 5th Vidhi Annual Lecture on 26th January, 2022.

The open house will also feature interviews with two young scholars, Padmini Baruah and Afreen Bano Khan, who are working on the ground to take the Constitution to the people; panel discussions featuring  Justice (Retd.) Deepak Gupta, Mr. Harsh Mander, Mrs. Meira Kumar, & Sambhaji Bhagat; and a joint conversation between the National Constitution Centre, USA and Vidhi on Indo-American Constitutional comparisons.

All events of the open house will be held virtually. Please see the agenda below. 

Agenda

25 January, 2022, 9:30 PM to 10:30 PM, IST

Joint conversation between the National Constitution Centre, USA and Vidhi on The Indian and American Constitutions with Dr Menaka Guruswamy (Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India), Professor Tom Ginsburg (Professor of International Law at University of Chicago Law School), and Mr Arvind Datar (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Board Member, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy), moderated by Jeffrey Rosen (CEO of the National Constitution Center, USA).

26 January, 2022, 6:45 PM to 8 PM, IST

Felicitation of winners of a student podcast competition on Taking the Constitution to the People.

The 5th Vidhi Annual Lecture by Judge Edwin Cameron, Former Judge, Constitutional Court of South Africa, on Using Constitutional Text and Vocabulary to Resist Unconstitutional Actions, followed by a Q&A session moderated by Arghya Sengupta, Founder and Research Director, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

27 January, 2022, 6:15 PM to 8 PM, IST

Discussion on Afreen  Bano Khan’s (Vidhi’s Samvidhaan Fellow) project on The Constitutional Right to Citizenship for Minorities in Context of the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 with Ritwika Sharma (Senior Resident Fellow & Lead at Charkha).

Panel Discussion on How Do We Make the Constitution and Its Vocabulary More Relevant to the Lives of Everyday Indians? with Harsh Mander (Director, Centre for Equity Studies), Justice Gita Mittal (former Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court), and Meira Kumar (Former Speaker of the Lok Sabha), moderated by Alok Prasanna (Co-Founder, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy).

28 January, 2022, 6:15 PM to 8 PM, IST

Discussion on Padmini Baruah’s (Vidhi’s Samvidhaan Fellow) project on The Constitutional Validity of Foreigners Tribunals in Assam, with Rahela Khorakiwala (Senior Resident Fellow & Lead, Vidhi Maharashtra).

Panel Discussion on Inclusive Governance: Accounting for Marginalized Perspectives with Sasha Stevenson (Head of Health, Section 27, South Africa), Sambhaji Bhagat (Dalit Activist and Musician), Sanjay Jain (Professor, ILS Law College, Pune), moderated by Rahul Bajaj (Senior Resident Fellow, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy).

Sign Language Interpretation will be available for all events.