The Department of Political Science under the School of Social Sciences at the University of Hyderabad hosted an engaging interactive session on August 11, 2026, with distinguished historians Prof. Rohit De (Yale University) and Prof. Ornit Shani (University of Haifa). The event centered around their collaborative book, Assembling India’s Constitution: A New Democratic History (Cambridge University Press, 2025), bringing together research scholars from across multiple disciplines.

Perspectives on Law, Archives, and Everyday Constitutionalism

Prof. Rohit De opened the session by recounting his academic trajectory, sharing how his formative law school years and the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) movement shaped his research choices. He highlighted a core distinction between legal engagements: while the relationship between people and law in America is predominantly participatory, in India it is often institutionally enforced and obligatory. Through his archival research, Prof. De noted that constitutional meanings are not merely fixed by state bodies, but are actively fashioned by ordinary citizens in everyday society. He also shared a personal account of how exchanging conference notes with Prof. Shani sparked their intellectual collaboration.

 

Fieldwork Insights, Archival Traces, and Collaboration

Prof. Ornit Shani detailed her research journey, which began when she traveled to India as a backpacker and witnessed communal violence firsthand. Intrigued by the contradictions between a universal Hindu identity and the fractured discourse of caste, she pursued her doctoral research on Hindu nationalism in Ahmedabad. She highlighted two key pieces of advice from her PhD supervisor that guided her career: “let the field teach you” and “document your academic journey in forms of letters or diary entries.” Her archival engagement with early Election Commission reports and the backend data of the Sachar Committee report closely aligned with Prof. De’s findings, leading them to merge their archival resources into their co-authored book.

 

Multidisciplinary Dialogue and Q&A

  • The session transitioned into a vibrant Q&A segment with scholars and students, covering a broad array of themes:
  • Land acquisition laws and public constitutional thinking
  • Social history of the Constitution vis-à-vis nomadic tribes
  • The Dravidian movement and the making of Telangana identity
  • Upper-caste identity politics and the Haj pilgrimage in Hyderabad
  • The Special Information Register (SIR) in West Bengal and archival methodology

The interaction concluded with Prof. De and Prof. Shani thanking the audience for their thoughtful, rigorous engagement.