This is the 75^th year of India’s independence and the eighth decade of the Constitution of India. Despite initial misgivings, the Constitution and its underlying principles have endured. It has truly emerged as the book of India, which Indians have continued to shape for themselves and for one another. 

With the objective of appreciating the Constitution and unearthing the challenges it is currently faced with, the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (‘Vidhi’) has embarked on the “Book of India” campaign, aimed at taking the Constitution and its founding values to the people, and framing a collective vision for India as an inclusive, democratic republic. Through research, consultations and outreach, we truly hope to open the Book of India.  

One of the key principles on which the Constitution was founded is secularism. As we complete 75 years of India’s independence, the moment is opportune to articulate and identify challenges to the idea of secularism, and develop an evolved vision of what it ought to mean. There is a need today to be able to get across to the citizens the peculiarity of Indian secularism, and how that interacts with religious freedoms of both individuals as well as communities.

To that end, Vidhi and Manthan India are organising a conversation to explore the contours of Indian secularism, what that means for contemporary legal and constitutional challenges, and how the difficult task of making a constitution work effectively may be achieved.  

Please join us for a discussion on the ‘Constitution of India’s Secular Credentials’ at the Vidyaranya School, Saifabad, Hyderabad from 6:30 PM IST on September 2nd, 2022.

SPEAKERS

• KALPANA KANNABIRAN, Distinguished Professor, Council for Social Development, New Delhi;
• ALOK PRASANNA KUMAR, Co-Founder and Lead, Vidhi Karnataka

The event will open with a short address by RITWIKA SHARMA, Team Lead, Charkha (Vidhi’s Constitutional Law Centre) introducing their upcoming paper titled “One Nation Many Paths: A Position Paper on the Indian Constitution”. This paper is a critical reflection on the Constitution, with specific focus on four founding ideas of India – federalism, secularism, multilingualism, and liberty. 

For any questions or queries, please email: keshav.padmanabhan@vidhilegalpolicy.in