The Longest Constitution with Priya Mirza
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Maneka Gandhi’s Passport
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the end, Maneka Gandhi did not in fact get her passport. But we end this year’s introspection into constitutional matters with a landmark case: M...
The Constitutionality of Sedition
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The fifth parliamentary elections of India in 1971, set into motion a series of events that shaped the nation and the constitution. While campaigning,...
Freedom from Surveillance
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees every person the right to life or personal liberty. But what good is such a right if it means being under su...
Indira Gandhi and Privy Purses
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Does merely disapproving of the government amount to sedition? In Debi Soren vs State, 1950, the court thought so. What consequences did that have f...
The Freedom to Fly!
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The fundamental right to movement under Article 19(1)(d) was carefully worded: (d) to move freely throughout the territory of India. But what about be...
A little more Goondagardi
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Land conflict is the most enduring form of conflict between the state and individuals. And it is here that the Goondas Act, in place in nine states, a...
Acting like a ‘Goonda’?: The Goondas Act
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who is a goonda? And what’s the problem with the ‘goondas’ act - in place in many states in India? As we dig deeper into Article 19, we consider...
Who appoints Supreme Court judges?
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What does the Supreme Court do when parliament tries to strike down the collegium system? It strikes it down! This episode of The Longest Constitution...
Kashmir Internet Shutdown
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is accessing the Internet a fundamental right? A recent judgment affirmed that since so many essential services depend on the internet, shutting down ...
The Fundamental Right to Property
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
If you use the internet (!), this is the episode you need to tune into! But first….what does it actually mean? To have a fundamental right to proper...
Twitter and Online Speech
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Are private corporations such as Twitter obliged to uphold constitutional freedoms? And why should they? Who constitutes the ‘community’ in the ‘...
A Rs. 1 fine for Contempt of Court
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A series of tweets by Prashant Bhushan seriously threaten the ‘majesty of the courts’? Well, the courts clearly thought so and charged Bhushan wit...
The making of a ‘world-class’ city
21 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How does one make a world-class city? By image management! And dislocating the poor. Between 1995 and the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi in 2010...
Scandalising the Court
14 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"Let’s send a woman to jail for a day for speaking her mind?"That’s what the Supreme Court did when Arundhati Roy protested against the court’s ...
What is a Nuisance?
07 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who is responsible for people shitting and urinating in public? This question shaped the fate of millions of slum dwellers in the capital, New Delhi. ...
Shilpa Shetty and Privacy Jurisprudence
31 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Other than you, who can talk about your sex life? A right to privacy means determining the boundaries about what can be spoken about, and what cannot ...
Khushwant Singh vs. Menaka Gandhi
24 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is the balance between privacy rights and freedom of expression? As we mark the progress of privacy rights, we examine an important case which va...
Independence Day Special!
17 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This 75th Independence Day is Amrit alright! But there is plenty of vish slushing around in this Amrit. In this special episode, we mark our independe...
Privacy in the Indian Constitution
10 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is the word ‘privacy’ in our Constitution? It isn't! Then how did we go from a point where it is not in our constitution to the Puttaswamy judgmen...
Phoolan Devi and Privacy
03 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is the ‘truth’ about ‘us’? Phoolan Devi discovered a movie allegedly based on the ‘truth’ about her, distorted her life completely. T...
The Taj Mahal
27 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What comes first? Monuments or people’s jobs? In this episode of The Longest Constitution, we take a look at yet another MC Mehta petition (there we...
Electoral Bonds
20 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's our 50th episode! And we are looking at a thoroughly unconstitutional affair: electoral bonds! This episode of The Longest Constitution looks int...
The Ambani’s and Defamation
13 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you read The Polyester Prince: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani? Chances are, not! While pirated copies may be in circulation, this episode of The Lo...
NOTA and Freedom of Expression
06 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Considering the number of candidates contesting in elections who have pending criminal cases against them, what if one does not actually want to vote ...
Freedom from Internet Censorship
29 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can you be arrested for a Facebook post? What are the laws which govern freedom of expression on the Internet? This episode of The Longest Constitutio...
Sholay and The Censor Board
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why is Indian cinema regulated by the Censor Board? And what are the archaic mores that regulate it? In this episode of The Longest Constitution we lo...
Bhopal Gas Tragedy & Employer's Responsibility
15 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It took the world’s worst industrial disaster, the gas leak on 3rd December 1984 Bhopal, for India to wake up to the fact that we did not have the l...
The First Amendment
08 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Finally, we are here. Sixteen months after completing the draft of the Constitution of India, the same bunch of people amended three fundamental right...
The Limits to Free Speech
01 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What led to the momentous and radical first amendment to the Constitution of India? This episode looks at another case, which compelled our first demo...
The Journey of Free Speech
25 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What's the big deal about an oath? A lot. And especially when it is to do with the people entrusted with the highest political offices under the Const...
No Country for the Adivasis
18 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a million-dollar mining corporation eyes a pristine ecological space protected by constitutional safeguards? Plenty of corruption fo...
Forced to Vote?
11 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can you be forced to vote? The Gujarat legislative assembly passed such a bill making it compulsory for voters in the municipality and panchayat elect...
MPs and Office of Profit
04 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
On what grounds can a MP be disqualified? Quite a few! In this episode of The Longest Constitution, we look into constitutional provisions on an MP or...
Freedom of Speech vs Legislative Privileges
27 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can the speaker of a legislative assembly issue an arrest warrant? Apparently yes! And it did happen. A few times at least. In this episode of The Lon...
Equal Pay For Equal Work?
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who are the Baiga people? And why were scheduled tribes like them granted protection in the Indian Constitution? This episode of The Longest Constitut...
India Fighting Casteism: Ambedkar Jayanti Special
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
B.R. Ambedkar. The man who did more than draft the Constitution of India. This special episode of The Longest Constitution looks at the pervasive and ...
Cow Slaughter and Livelihood?
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What does the fundamental right to livelihood and profession amount to? This episode of The Longest Constitution looks at the delicate balance between...
Regulating Your 'Spirit': Alcohol and Intoxicants
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What brought Gandhians and Muslims together in the Constituent Assembly? Prohibition! Really, why does our otherwise liberal Constitution have a provi...
A Woman on a Harley-Davidson
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What makes men hysterical? The women’s reservation bill! This episode of The Longest Constitution examines why women aren't in Parliament, and how t...
The 'Immunity' of Parliament Members
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Can you use pepper spray on your colleague and get away with it? No. But apparently, a Member of Parliament can…and did! This season is about work a...
Women Vs Men: A Women's Day Special
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout history, the biggest fights have been over the one thing which truly matters: property rights. In this Women’s Day Special we have a shor...
Javed Akhtar and The Copyright Law
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What do the Urdu lyricist Javed Akhtar and his speech in the parliament have to do with the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959? Nothing, really! B...
What is the Worth of Your Labour?
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is the measure of a person’s labour? And why is creativity valued more than physical labour? This episode of The Longest Constitution wades int...
A Woman's Right to Abortion?
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who has the right to abortion of a foetus and who does not? And how is that related to rights and even promotion at the workplace? This episode of The...
Pregnancy and Disability at Workplace
09 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is color-blindness a disability? And what happened when a color-blind bus driver sought relief under the People with Disabilities Act, 1995? And does ...
Menstruation and Disability at Work
02 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What does menstruation have to do with competence at work? The answer is absolutely nothing! Nonetheless, sexist and invasive policies at the workplac...
Where is Ambedkar's India? Republic Day Special
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What are we celebrating this Republic Day India? Is it enough to celebrate the coming into effect of the Constitution - 73 years ago - while the spiri...
The Rights of the Disabled
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What does it take to work? Sometimes a husband’s consent! Work or jobs are not necessarily about competence and ability, but often about what is con...
An important judgement on reservations- The Indra Sawhney Case
12 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is the word 'affirmative action' in the Indian Constitution? The Indra Sawhney judgement is important for not just the judgement itself but also the q...
The Mandal Commission
05 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1990, scores of students set themselves on fire to protest against the implementation of the Mandal Commission by the VP Singh government. Why did ...
Entitlement and reservations at the workplace
29 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What happened when KPS Gill, a ‘supercop’ slapped an IAS officer’s derrière, or bottom? For decades, sexual harassment was not seen as a crime ...
What is a workplace?
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Who determines the truth? The victim or the courts? This episode of The Longest Constitution looks at the many ‘sites’ of work, from fields to off...
Untouchability at the workplace
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Equality of opportunity is just one dimension of access to work, but what about dignity at the workplace? Article 17 of the Constitution of India stat...
Caste and access to work
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Is discrimination visible? Or just felt? In this episode of The Longest Constitution, we look into the history of caste-based discrimination and why o...
Constitution and Gender Inequality at Work
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What’s India’s foreign service got to do with an officer's marital status? A lot, apparently! If you are a woman. Laws, regulations and rules are ...
Season 2 Trailer
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do you work? What is work anyway! And does the constitution work for you?In the second season of The Longest Constitution, we are exploring everyday i...
The Third Gender and Constitution of India
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Who decides your gender? Your body or your mind? Or the state? This episode follows the NALSA judgment 2014 which recognized the third gender and more...
What is a person?
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What does a person look like? And what does our Constitution have to say about personhood and sexuality? Personhood legally means a rights-bearing bod...
Same sex love and the Constitution
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What’s wrong with same-sex love? Nothing! Sexual minorities have the same right as everyone else - to love, to marry, and live together with the pri...
What makes the Special Marriage Act so special?
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
And who invites trolls to a wedding? Nobody! And yet the Special Marriage Act, India’s only civil marriage act adds to the pressure of a young coupl...
Religious personal laws and the constitution?
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amar! Akbar! Anthony! Equal sons of India and their mother. But divided by the personal laws of this country. Religious personal laws shape citizens o...
Is the word divorce in our Constitution?
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Till death do us part?Or one could file for divorce! But Indian laws of marriage and divorce make it easy to marry, but hard to divorce. Because to th...
Barred from Dancing?
06 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Not everyone. Just bar dancers. Singing and dancing are our fundamental rights to freedom guaranteed by the Constitution of India. And yet at various ...
The Right to Prostitute?
29 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If you can make money with the application of your mind, why not your body? Anti-prostitution laws are a problem. In India, that is the Immoral Traffi...
Forced to live together?
22 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's a judge doing telling a wife to go back home to her husband, even if she doesn’t want to? Unfortunately, that’s what the law says. Under Se...
Domestic Violence and the Constitution
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Bringing the Constitution home? That’s been a difficult journey. Not the book, but the values and morality the constitution upholds. Are the great v...
Let’s be explicit about explicit material
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What is pornography and what does our Constitution have to do with it? The right to privacy and to receive information is a fundamental right as much ...
What’s obscene about obscenity?
01 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody can say for sure! Though Section 292 of the (IPC) which defines obscenity is vague, it has been used against writers and artists like Ismat Chu...
A constitution for children?
25 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Do children have rights? The constitution of India grants equality to every ‘person’, and children are persons and have a right to a safe childhoo...
How queer friendly is our constitution?
18 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The answer is: quite not! The word queer or sexual orientation does not exist in the constitution. Does that mean the constitution doesn’t see the q...
Adultery Laws and the Constitution
11 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What's the difference between an adulterer and an adulteress? Nothing, other than their gender! In India though until 2018, adultery laws treated men ...
Season 1 Announcement
31 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What did those three hundred men and a handful of women who drafted our Constitution want India to be? How far or close are we to achieving that radic...