As protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls continue across the country, disputes over the deletion of voters’ names have renewed questions about citizenship and the right to vote. These developments invite a closer look at how India’s Constitution was written and whether the country’s present situation reflects the future Dr BR Ambedkar and his contemporaries envisaged.
The Equals Project will host an online reading circle today to discuss Chapter 3 of ‘Assembling India’s Constitution’ by Rohit De and Ornit Shani, examining how different states imagined their relationship with the Indian Constitution during the nation’s formation.
Shruthi Viswanathan, founder of the Equals Project, says the selection connects with the organisation’s ongoing research into constitutionalism in princely states. The project also plans to launch a website documenting these histories, in November. “Assembling India’s Constitution, I think, is an incredible book. It challenges the way in which India’s constitutional story is often told,” she says.
While accounts of constitution-making often centre around the Constituent Assembly and figures such as Dr BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi, the book explores constitutional movements that took place outside the Assembly. These included public petitions to Assembly members, meetings organised by interest groups and geographical communities, and states that drafted their own constitutions.
Chapter 3 examines how states imagined different ways of negotiating with the Indian Constitution. Shruthi mentions Manipur, which already had a working constitution and an elected assembly based on it, as an example of the varied stages of constitutional development across the country.
The reading circle will also introduce participants to the questions guiding the Equals Project’s research initiative, which examines how princely states understood constitutionalism and imagined governance, power, and political participation.
Founded around six years ago, the Equals Project aims to make constitutional history accessible to people without a legal or academic background. Its activities include heritage walks, courses, reading clubs, and podcasts.
“The constitution isn’t just some document that only the courts and lawyers are interpreting, but it affects all of our choices. Where we can work, what we can wear, who we can talk to, who we can marry — all of these are relevant material choices about our existence and our rights,” Shruthi asserts.
The reading circle has been running for two to three years, with sessions held roughly once every three to four months. The organisers select chapters, articles, and other accessible readings that encourage participants to examine the social, political, and moral forces that shaped the Constitution and the Indian nation. Previous selections include No Laughing Matter: The Ambedkar Cartoons 1932-1956, which examines cartoons depicting Ambedkar before and after Independence, and The Many Lives of Syeda X, which follows the life of a woman working in Delhi’s unorganised labour sector across two decades of Indian political history.
Shruthi says the organisers generally avoid assigning entire books because shorter readings make it easier for more people to participate and may encourage them to explore the complete work.
The session that will begin at 11 am on Saturday is free. Participants can contact the Equals Project through its Instagram page, @the.equals.project, for access to the WhatsApp group and meeting link. Organisers ask participants to engage with the chapter beforehand, although reading the entire book is not necessary.