The Threat to the Unity and Territorial Integrity of India: The Dangers and Implications of Unravelling the Constitutional Minority Rights Package
On February 17, 2020 Joshua Castellino gave a guest lecture titled, “The Threat to the Unity and Territorial Integrity of India: The Dangers and Implications of Unraveling the Constitutional Minority Rights Package” for the Center. The talk was set against the background of current events including the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, the unveiling of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and the prospect of similar exercises elsewhere. It assessed these activities against the protections envisaged and designed by drafters of the Constitution of India, highlighting the promises made to disparate communities, explored the rationale behind those aspirations, and assessed the thresholds that may be necessary to cross in generating radical change against these. The talk focused attention on identifying and emphasizing the importance of a set of measures in Indian law that could be termed as its ‘package of minority rights’, as a key component for maintaining Indian unity.
Executive Director of Minority Rights Group, Professor of Law, and founding Dean of the Law School, Middlesex University, Joshua Castellino holds visiting academic positions in the UK, Poland, Ireland, Italy and Hungary; serves on boards of a number of civil society organizations, and works with litigators around the world.
View the lecture transcript.
