Constitutional Transformation Vis-À-Vis Transformative Constitutionalism: The Indian Experience in Post-Colonial Era

Abstract

The post-colonial world marked a significant transformation in the Asian and the African political and social order so as to ensure to their citizens a better and promising future. India, among various other dominions, emerged as an independent nation tasked with the monumental project of constitution making for establishing a just political and social order for its citizens. Among various contemporaries, the Constituent Assembly of India gifted Indian citizens an indigenous constitution that has endured for more than seven decades while becoming the longest surviving constitution in the post-colonial world with its promise of dispensing justice intact to date. However, the role of transformative process involved therein still remains an underexplored subject in the domain of constitutional jurisprudence. This article identifies, explains and analyzesconstitutional transformation in India in relation to the concept of transformative constitutionalism as this has formed the very basis of successful working of the Indian constitution. Through an understanding of the interplay of these core transformative concepts in the Indian experience, the article unveils the secrets of a long-lasting and promising constitutionwhile ensuring real and substantive justice to its people.