Contested Nation
On the occasion of the 75th year of Independence, Suno India and The Equals Project are proud to release Contested Nation, a podcast on the raging Constituent Assembly debates and the Constitution. Contested Nation explores both, the questions of identity that were being discussed in the Assembly, and the Union that was being forged outside its hallowed halls. Each episode will explore one issue that was crucial to the Constitution and the creation of India, and discuss its continued importance today. Join us as we explore India’s founding moment!
Episodes
On 26 July 1947, the kingdom of Manipur passed the Manipur Constitution Act. The Constitution was drafted over a 2 month period by a 15 member Constitution Making Committee. However, about two years later this Constitution was abrogated, and Manipur joined the Indian Union.
On this episode, we discuss the only modern Indian state to pass an independent Constitution, the circumstances under which it expi...
In the princely state of Aundh in Maharashtra, 1938 was a rather extraordinary year. The ruler of Aundh, Raja Bhawanrao, stepped down and turned to Mahatma Gandhi to help implement a Swaraj Constitution in the state. Self-governance and community service were guiding principles of this experiment. The experiment was led by Gandhi, the Raja of Aundh, and a Polish engineer and humanitarian, Maurice Frydman. Upon enactment of the “Au...
In our first episode on citizenship, we focused on the definition of citizenship being discussed within the Assembly. While the Constituent Assembly was still drafting the clauses on citizenship, it tasked BN Rau, the constitutional advisor and the Constituent Assembly Secretariat, a non-political, administrative body with creating India’s electoral roll. But there was a pertinent question that needed to be answered: Who would be o...
In April, 1947, the Constituent Assembly of India was discussing the provisions for citizenship and the debates were largely on administrative points. This was all set to change post the partition. In the wake of the mass migration that followed and the unique situations it created, the bitterness across the nation saw full expression in the citizenship debates. What were they saying? How did the assembly deal with the question of ...
The Partition of the sub-continent saw the birth of two different countries, two Constituent Assemblies and two populations with their own set of aspirations. In episode 3 of Contested Nation, we talk about the ‘other’ Assembly, Pakistan’s Constituent Assembly. Pakistan, unlike India, had three different constituent assemblies. Their Constitution in its current form was only passed in the year 1973. So, what was different between t...
In 2017, when Hadiya married Shafin Jahan, after having converted from Hinduism to Islam, the Kerala High Court vehemently challenged the legitimacy of the marriage. They retorted that it had occurred without her parent’s permission and ran against prevailing social norms.
How does the state continue to regulate women’s choice and marital desire? In this episode, we explore the tension between community pr...
In the winter of 2019, across India there were shouts of revolution and freedom, of the Constitution and secularism, of the freedom of speech and the right to protest non-violently. Not too long after, there were severe restrictions imposed by the government - preventing gatherings and protests, jailing student activists and even leading to a ban on protests at one point.
But how can this be? Doesn’t our ...
Did you know that some members of the Assembly wanted to include a Fundamental Right to choose your partner? That the city-state of Aundh was the first Constitutional republic in India? Why was a report on the accession of Hyderabad not released until 2013? What really went into creating the Constitution of India?
The Constituent Assembly of India met over a period of nearly 3 years, to discuss, debate and decide upon the ru...
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