The Constituent Assembly adopted the constitution on November 26, 1949, and the document became effective on January 26, 1950, declaring India a sovereign democratic republic, and resolving to secure justice, liberty, and equality to its citizens and to promote fraternity among them. Austin (1927-2014) was an independent scholar and political historian who wrote two of the seminal works on the constitution of India, and garnered esteem enough in the Republic of India to receive its fourth-highest civilian honor, the Padma Shri Award, in 2011.įree of nearly a century of British rule, India created a Constituent Assembly to draft the constitution between late 19. We are pleased to announce the addition of the Granville Austin Papers (MC287) to the Public Policy Papers at Mudd Manuscript Library. The clarity and elegance of Austin's writing makes this book not only a necessary but a pleasurable read for anyone interested in comparative constitutional law and the recent political history of India, and for students, teachers and researchers of the subject.This post was written by Phoebe Nobles, the archivist who processed the Granville Austin Papers. With its wide historical sweep, and meticulously detailed research, this is Austin's magnum opusĭescribed by Fali Nariman as a 'great and compassionate work'. Since his classic work The Indian Constitution: Cornerstone of a Nation (OUP, 1966), he has been working on this long-awaited book, which not only presents archival sources, but also first-hand interviews with and rare documentation by many of the key political and legal figures of the last fifty years. Granville Austin is one of the world's leading experts on the Indian constitution. Through the post independence euphoria to the turbulent years of Indira Gandhi's 'Emergency' and Rajiv Gandhi's brief period of power, the way in which the constitution has evolved to suit the changing needs of the times isĪn important indicator of India's successful experience with democracy.
Working a Democratic Constitution tells a very human story of how the social, political and day-to-day lived realities of the Indian people has been reflected in, and in turn directed the course of, constitutional reforms in the country.
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