Life of a Nation's Text: The Travels and Travails of the Indian Constitution
This review essay briefly discusses Granville Austin's landmark study of the working of the Indian Constitution and its critics, reviews three recent books on that Constitution, and evaluates the extent to which these new works have been able to take constitutional studies in new directions. All three books shine a light on the critical role of the Constitution and the courts in Indian democracy. While the authors are well aware of contemporary challenges to constitutionalism and have written on them elsewhere, this does not fully come through in their books. Despite this shortcoming, these recent studies are indispensable in making sense of the Constitution and its role in Indian democracy.