For a judiciary in a democracy, dispensing justice is not only about doing justice, but also about showing that justice is being done; it is about giving reasons and creating a "culture of justification". The question becomes how to nurture such a culture. A number of liberal democratic jurisdictions have answered this question in part with the adoption of the multi-step method of evaluating the constitutionality of legislative infringements on fundamental rights widely known as Proportionality Analysis. Under Proportionality Analysis courts must engage in a structured process of reasoning. This book deals with Gender Justice and Proportionality Analysis in India. The author argues that the Supreme Court of India should consider adopting Proportionality Analysis for the adjudication of the fundamental right to sex equality in Indian courts. The book includes an analysis of Canadian and South African Proportionality Analysis and makes some suggestions on how an Indian Proportionality Analysis could be generated using this comparative investigation. Additionally, the book proposes ways of applying the effects of socio-political context on doctrine, as well as doctrine’s interpretive impact on adjudicated outcomes for gender, thus making a contribution to feminist jurisprudence. Finally, the author analyses Indian gender equality jurisprudence, demonstrating the inadequacies of the current doctrinal framework for achieving the goal of substantive gender equality and suggesting ways in which an Indian Proportionality Analysis might be fashioned to address these inadequacies. A novel examination of the gender situation in India in comparative perspective, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Gender Studies, Asian and Comparative Law and South Asian studies.

This book presents a brilliant reading of the unanimous decision of the nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India in the case of Justice KS Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Another vs. Union of India and Others (‘Puttaswamy’). The 2017 judgment protects the right to privacy as a fundamental right, and guarantees the right to life with dignity, the right to personal liberty and the right to move the court against unconstitutional actions by the state. The authors examine the implications of Puttaswamy to understanding labouring bodies (in their multiplicity) and their worlds of work. They explore the gendered dimensions of the right to privacy and its relation to labour rights, sexual safety, and bodily integrity, offering a dynamic interpretation of the right to privacy and related rights of dignity, liberty, and equality. Using the Constitution, Kannabiran and Jagani anchor labour rights in Puttaswamy to advance claims-making and emphasise collective struggles for justice and resistance to oppression as the most productive route to conceptualising an idea of justice in the realms of labour. Further, the monograph emphasises the need to popularise constitutional conversations beyond the courts and holds valuable lessons for women’s and labour rights movements. Drawing from a range of scholarly works and case law to offer a fresh understanding of labour that does not rely on gender binaries, the authors initiate conversations on human dignity, intersectional discrimination, and resistance to reinstating labouring bodies in workplaces. This work opens up new opportunities for feminist and labour studies scholars, trade unions, and courts to explore interdisciplinary intersections and frame claims for more just, fair, and equal working environments. Kalpana Kannabiran and Devi Jagani’s work inspires both hope and anxiety, as they challenge us to build intellectual and on-ground solidarities that cross disciplinary boundaries, to support those who are most marginalised.

A comparative and empirical analysis of proportionality in the case law of six constitutional and supreme courts.

The study of the political economy of development in India is significant as India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing countries during the last three decades and the rate of economic growth and poverty reduction have not been matched in India’s subnational states. Although the Union Government has introduced and implemented several economic reforms since 1991 to enhance the economic development, the results of implantation have varied. Governance and Development in India compares two Indian subnational states, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. The book does not consider the state as an aggregate entity; rather, it disaggregates the state relationally and spatially. Concentrating on the micro-institutional variables and the role of regional elites, the author investigates the political roots of the divergence of development trajectories among India’s subnational states since liberalization, as an essential aspect of the political economy of development in India. The book explores the black box of the multi-layered state of India and interactions among the Central Government, the states, regional leaders and other stakeholders and explains why the regional leaders have pursued divergent economic strategies using the analytical narrative research method and the subnational comparative research method. Firmly based on the theoretical foundations of the neo-institutional rational choice model of governance, polycentric hierarchy theory and the strategies for regional elite strategy analysis, combined with empirical research, this book is a valuable contribution to the fields of comparative political economy, state politics in India, governance and development in developing countries, and South Asian comparative politics.

For a judiciary in a democracy, dispensing justice is not only about doing justice, but also about showing that justice is being done; it is about giving reasons and creating a "culture of justification". The question becomes how to nurture such a culture. A number of liberal democratic jurisdictions have answered this question in part with the adoption of the multi-step method of evaluating the constitutionality of legislative infringements on fundamental rights widely known as Proportionality Analysis. Under Proportionality Analysis courts must engage in a structured process of reasoning. This book deals with Gender Justice and Proportionality Analysis in India. The author argues that the Supreme Court of India should consider adopting Proportionality Analysis for the adjudication of the fundamental right to sex equality in Indian courts. The book includes an analysis of Canadian and South African Proportionality Analysis and makes some suggestions on how an Indian Proportionality Analysis could be generated using this comparative investigation. Additionally, the book proposes ways of applying the effects of socio-political context on doctrine, as well as doctrine's interpretive impact on adjudicated outcomes for gender, thus making a contribution to feminist jurisprudence. Finally, the author analyses Indian gender equality jurisprudence, demonstrating the inadequacies of the current doctrinal framework for achieving the goal of substantive gender equality and suggesting ways in which an Indian Proportionality Analysis might be fashioned to address these inadequacies. A novel examination of the gender situation in India in comparative perspective, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Gender Studies, Asian and Comparative Law and South Asian studies.

This book critically examines the causes of the increase in insurgent violence in Balochistan and explores the relations between the national government of Pakistan and the province of Balochistan. Based on historical analysis, the book argues that the national government of Pakistan and the leaders of Balochistan both use a standard narrative when dealing with each other. According to the Baloch narrative, Islamabad exploits Balochistan’s natural resources without giving Balochistan its due share and has never accepted and granted Balochistan equal rights. The centre’s narrative emphasizes the tribal character of the Baloch society and suggests that the Baloch elite hinder Balochistan’s integration with the federation. This book demonstrates that both narratives are inherently flawed and presents a precipitous picture of the problem of insurgent violence. It also shows that the Baloch leadership is divided along tribal lines and lacks a unified voice and proposes that the Baloch elite use the narrative of enduring injustice only as a source of politicization of Baloch ethnicity when an actual or perceived injustice is taking place. An important addition to the literature on ethno-political conflicts, this unique analysis of the importance of narrative in the imagination of political movements will be of interest to scholars in the fields of South Asian studies, ethnic conflicts, separatist and political movements and Asian politics.

It has long been contended that the Indian Constitution of 1950, a document in English created by elite consensus, has had little influence on India’s greater population. Drawing upon the previously unexplored records of the Supreme Court of India, A People’s Constitution upends this narrative and shows how the Constitution actually transformed the daily lives of citizens in profound and lasting ways. This remarkable legal process was led by individuals on the margins of society, and Rohit De looks at how drinkers, smugglers, petty vendors, butchers, and prostitutes—all despised minorities—shaped the constitutional culture. The Constitution came alive in the popular imagination so much that ordinary people attributed meaning to its existence, took recourse to it, and argued with it. Focusing on the use of constitutional remedies by citizens against new state regulations seeking to reshape the society and economy, De illustrates how laws and policies were frequently undone or renegotiated from below using the state’s own procedures. De examines four important cases that set legal precedents: a Parsi journalist’s contestation of new alcohol prohibition laws, Marwari petty traders’ challenge to the system of commodity control, Muslim butchers’ petition against cow protection laws, and sex workers’ battle to protect their right to practice prostitution. Exploring how the Indian Constitution of 1950 enfranchised the largest population in the world, A People’s Constitution considers the ways that ordinary citizens produced, through litigation, alternative ethical models of citizenship.

The Oxford Handbook of International Human Rights Law provides an authoritative and original overview of one of the key branches of international law. Forty contributors comprehensively analyse the role of human rights in international law from a global perspective, examining its origins and principles, and measuring its impact on the world.

"Violence against women undermines women's core fundamental rights such as dignity, access to justice and gender equality. For example, one in three women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since the age of 15; one in five women has experienced stalking; every second woman has been confronted with one or more forms of sexual harassment. What emerges is a picture of extensive abuse that affects many women's lives but is systematically underreported to the authorities. The scale of violence against women is therefore not reflected by official data. This FRA survey is the first of its kind on violence against women across the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU). It is based on interviews with 42,000 women across the EU, who were asked about their experiences of physical, sexual and psychological violence, including incidents of intimate partner violence ('domestic violence'). The survey also included questions on stalking, sexual harassment, and the role played by new technologies in women's experiences of abuse. In addition, it asked about their experiences of violence in childhood. Based on the detailed findings, FRA suggests courses of action in different areas that are touched by violence against women and go beyond the narrow confines of criminal law, ranging from employment and health to the medium of new technologies."--Editor.

This work includes 1000 entries covering the spectrum of defining women in the contemporary world.