National Constitution Society Convention | IIHS, Bangalore | Session IV
In 2018, the Centre for Law and Policy Research, Bangalore (CLPR) initiated a network of Constitution societies in schools and colleges across India to be known as the National Constitution Society (NCS). Through its institutional chapters and a central Society, it looks to critically engage with India’s constitutional inheritance.
In November 2018, CLPR organised a one-day All India National Constitution Society Convention that brought together student delegates from institutions across the country along with academics, lawyers and activists. This one-day event presented Student Delegates with the opportunity to critically engage with the history and contemporary relevance of the Indian Constitution and develop a plan to preserve, protect and promote constitutional values in the 21st century. Towards the end of the Convention, in its Plenary Session, the delegates elected the first Student Board Members for the NCS. This video covers Session IV of the event. Find the summary of the session below:
Session IV: The 21st Century Indian Constitution
Babloo Loitongbam, Executive Director, Human Rights Alert
Sanjay Jain, Associate Professor, ILS Law College
Sudhir Krishnaswamy (Moderator)
Human Rights Activist Babloo Loitongbam spoke about how the Constitution of India 1950 applies to different regions differently. Taking the example of Manipur, one of the States where Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) is in force, he detailed how over 1000 civilians and non-combatants have been killed by Armed Forces acting under the law. However, he added that the number of killings have reduced since the Supreme Court began to monitor investigations is some fake encounter cases.
Professor Sanjay Jain said that for the constitution to be truly inclusive, it has to address discrimination based on the ideology of “ableism”. As no fundamental right addresses discrimination on the basis of disability, he said that Constitution should be amended or interpreted to account for disability rights. He said that ability-based privileges have seeped into the public culture and hardly any public spaces or infrastructure are designed with the disabled person in mind.