Articles by Kalpana Kannabiran

The right to liberty for Adivasi communities is expressed in terms of territoriality--homelands that could be mobile or fixed, which confer a particular identity on its people, enabling distinct livelihood practices. Relations of land have been at the core of the Adivasi engagement with the law and the Constitution--both in the case of the peasant and non-peasant communities-- engagements that have signalled major victories through taking struggles into courts of law. This paper explores the fields of constitutionalism and human rights with specific reference to tribes/Adivasis in India. In doing this, the attempt has been to trace some connections that emerge from collective engagements with the Constitution and law with respect to Adivasi rights in India. Popular sovereignty has given voice to practices of sustainability, environmental protection, the nurturing of ecological systems, traditional knowledge systems and the indispensable right "to stay put"--to refuse to move.

We, the undersigned teachers and researchers of institutions of higher education in India and independent scholars, appeal to you to intervene with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the Government of India to ensure the constitutional right to life and liberty as well as the f

From laws on sedition and censorship to the vitality of resistance literature in times of struggle, creative writing and performance have played a critical role in shaping the public conscience. The ways in which law weaves into and through creative writing as also the ways in which literary criticism and literary debates crosspollinate ideas of law, consciously or implicitly, need to be better understood. Where does justice figure in relation to law in literature? Do literatures constitute the commons? And what are the boundaries and limits of literary commons, and who are the keepers of these boundaries?

Budaun is not an isolated story. It illustrates the vulnerability and disentitlement of dalit-bahujan groups everywhere.

This edition focuses on the relations between caste and gender and explores the intersectionalities involved. It includes articles exploring the politics of feminism and dalit activism located in urban spaces, in working class sites, through labour, "traditional" rituals, issues of honour and inter-caste marriage.