Guest Lecture: Dr. Arvind Elangovan on "The Indian Constitution: A Historical Problem"

The Centre for Comparative Constitutional Law and Administrative Law, National Law University Jodhpur (CCAL), hosted Dr. Arvind Elangovan for a guest lecture on the theme “The Indian Constitution: A Historical Problem” at 5:00 PM on February 28, 2022 (Monday) on Cisco Webex.

Dr. Arvind Elangovan is currently an Associate Professor of History at the Wright State University, Ohio after having earned his Ph.D in history from the University of Chicago. He is interested in exploring the political and constitutional histories of late-colonial South Asian countries and his book, “Norms and Politics: Sir Benegal Narsing Rau in the Making of the Indian Constitution, 1935-50” documents the framing of the Indian Constitution as seen from the eyes of Sir B.N. Rau. Presently Dr. Elangovan is engaged in a new project, examining the role played by religious minorities in shaping the Indian republic in the 20th century and was awarded a research fellowship by the International Centre for Advanced Studies to pursue it.

The event saw a participation of over 50 attendees, ranging from law students from various law schools to legal professionals from different institutions. Dr. Elangovan discussed the contradictions which plague the history of constitutional evolution in India and the application of Granville Austin’s proposition to the same. He also elaborated upon the subject matter of his aforementioned book including the role played by B. N. Rao and Shiva Rao in the making of the Indian Constitution.

We extend our wholehearted gratitude to Dr. Elangovan for accepting our invitation and thank all the attendees for their enthusiastic participation throughout the lecture.