India and the Rule of Law: In 2021, is India still a Liberal Democracy?

11 March 2021 by Marina Wheeler QC

Thank you all for joining the expert speakers for our webinar considering the question of whether India is still a Liberal Democracy on 11th March 2021 at 4.30 – 5.45pm. A link to the recording is below.

Chair:
Marina Wheeler QC

Expert Panel:
Dr Mukulika Banerjee (London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE)
Dr Shruti Kapila (Corpus Christi College, Cambridge)
Professor Tarunabh Khaitan (Wadham College, Oxford)

A recording of the event is available here.

Seminar Programme

Martin Downs sets the scene here.

Topic 1: The erosion of controls on executive power  

Internationally, India’s Constitution is hailed as a progressive mechanism, providing comprehensive protection for minorities, upheld by a strong, independent-minded Supreme Court.  

Professor Tarunabh Khaitan will consider if this is an accurate interpretation. He will outline the erosion of controls on the political executive, covering the Courts and judiciary as well as other “watch-dog” institutions such as the CBI, Electoral Commission etc.

Topic 2: The decline of secularism and majoritarian democracy

Dr Shruti Kapila will examine the roots of Hindu nationalism, anti-Muslim sentiment, blasphemy laws, “Love Jihad”, and the role of the Courts in protecting minorities and challenging discriminatory laws, including the Citizenship Amendment Act. 

Topic 3: The right to protest and freedom of expression  

Dr Mukulika Banerjee will focus on the role of “people’s” protests. Does the law protect a right to protest? How has this been handled by the state? What role has the media played?

The presentations from the expert panel will be followed by a discussion/Q&A which will include a contribution from Schona Jolly QC, Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee (BHRC).

Thank you for raising such interesting points, which we will aim to look at in a follow up blog post.

This event is free to join and will be recorded.

All the views expressed at this event are those of the speaker and do not reflect the UK Human Rights Blog, the Blog Committee or 1 Crown Office Row.