The Three Faces of the Indian State
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2022
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2021.0004
Abstract
For more than seven decades, India’s Constitution has provided a framework for liberal democracy to flourish in one of the world’s most diverse societies. Legal changes and shifts in bureaucratic practices, however, have undermined central tenets of the prevailing order. In today’s India, the assent of the people is both necessary and sufficient to justify all forms of state action. This article outlines three manifestations of India’s new constitutionalism — the “ethnic state,” the “absolute state,” and the “opaque state.” These distinct, yet overlapping faces of the Indian state have undermined the rule of law, equal citizenship, checks and balances, and democratic accountability.
Disciplines
Constitutional Law | International Law | Law
Recommended Citation
Madhav Khosla & Milan Vaishnav,
The Three Faces of the Indian State,
32(1)
J. of Democracy
111
(2022).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/faculty_scholarship/3310