Ornit Shani retweeted
I spoke to Ornit Shani @OrnitShani and Rohit De @itihaasnaama about their book, Assembling India’s Constitution. We discussed how their book is a radical departure from the usual telling of the making of the Indian Constitution as an elite project; the mass mobilization that took place during the drafting of the Constitution; the role of public participation in political negotiation; the status of provincial legislatures and princely states during constitution-making; and much more.
mercatus.org/ideasofindia/or…
Ornit Shani retweeted
(1/7)
Hansa Mehta took her ideas on women's rights to a UN conference and they were adopted into the report word for word. Back home she was in the Constituent Assembly, holding informal meetings with the other women members to work out how to push representation through.
In the official record of how India's Constitution was made, she is barely visible. Rohit De and Ornit Shani went looking for people like her, and found a great many.
Assembling India's Constitution is longlisted for the NIF Book Prize 2026.
#KCBP2026 #Newindiafoundation #bookrecs #bookprize #indianhistory
@PenguinIndia @OrnitShani @itihaasnaama @NandiniNai
Ornit Shani retweeted
A great start to a new exploration of building communities of readers in this age of miniscule attention spans.
We discussed the brilliant work of @itihaasnaama & @OrnitShani - Assembling India's Constitution.
Have you read the book?
Ornit Shani retweeted
Many congratulations to Profs @itihaasnaama and @OrnitShani for being awarded the ICON•S annual book prize 2026 for their new book, 'Assembling India's Constitution: A New Democratic History'.
Ornit Shani retweeted
History focuses on the Constituent Assembly that created India's constitution, but that only captures part of the story.
@itihaasnaama and @OrnitShani join @MilanV on this week's Grand Tamasha to discuss how the final constitution reflects the debates and decisions of an entire nation.
Listen here: grand-tamasha.simplecast.com…
Ornit Shani retweeted
New #GrandTamasha: The making of India’s Constitution is usually told as an elite-driven story. But what if the reality is the opposite? @itihaasnaama and @OrnitShani join me to discuss their excellent new book, “Assembling India’s Constitution” grand-tamasha.simplecast.com…
Ornit Shani retweeted
Click here to read!
Part 1: forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl…
Part 2: forum.nls.ac.in/slr-forum-bl…
Ornit Shani retweeted
Our conversation with Rohit De and Ornit Shani on their latest book ‘Assembling India’s Constitution’ is now live on the SLR Forum!
Ornit Shani retweeted
April 6th | 4:30 pm | Luce 203
Please join co-authors Rohit De and Ornit Shani for a conversation on their recently released book, Assembling India's Constitution: A New Democratic History, featuring discussants David Engerman, Karuna Mantena, and Nazmul Sultan.
Ornit Shani retweeted
Thrilled that @OrnitShani and my book, Assembling India's Constitution: A New Democratic History is shortlisted for the @ICON__S book prize and in excellent company!
1/2 The finalists are:
- Algorithmic Rule by Law by Nathalie Smuha (@NathalieSmuha)
- Assessing India’s Constitution by Rohit De (@itihaasnaama) & Ornit Shani (@ornitshani)
- Constitutional Intolerance by Mariëtta D.C. van der Tol
Ornit Shani retweeted
In the latest episode of @IdeasofIndia @mercatus I speak with @OrnitShani and Rohit De @itihaasnaama about their latest book Assembling India's Constitution, elite project versus mass mobilization, princely states and much more.
Audio + Transcript: mercatus.org/ideasofindia/or…
Ornit Shani retweeted
In this CASI Deep Dive IiT Interview, Managing Editor @RohanV speaks to @itihaasnaama & @OrnitShani about their new co-authored book on "'Re-assembling' India’s Constitutional History" casi.sas.upenn.edu/iit/casi-…
Ornit Shani retweeted
In Assembling India's Constitution; A New Democratic History (@CambridgeUP, 2025), @itihaasnaama and @OrnitShani argue that the canonical view of India's constitutional history ignores the widespread constitutional politics occurring *outside* the Constituent Assembly.
Ornit Shani retweeted
Rohit De and Ornit Shani’s new book, Assembling India's Constitution: A New Democratic History, traces the demands put forward by Dalit organisations, upper-caste groups, and individual petitioners — each articulating their fears, ambitions, and visions... indianexpress.com/article/re…
Ornit Shani retweeted
Assembling India's Constitution, @OrnitShani and I are looking forward to the conversation with @ataparnachandra @vanyavaidehi and @BrunnerJ on December 15 @NLSIUofficial
Ornit Shani retweeted
indianexpress.com/article/re…
"No system shaped everyday life in India more pervasively than caste. The Constitution held out the possibility of transforming this entrenched social order."
@OrnitShani @PenguinIndia @AdrijaRoychow
Ornit Shani retweeted
Looking forward to being in conversation with @anarrain and Arun Kumar Thirunvengadam at the @bicblr on Assembling India's Constitution on 16 Dec
@OrnitShani @PenguinIndia
bangaloreinternationalcentre…
Ornit Shani retweeted
Open Access | Rohit De and Ornit Shani’s Assembling India’s Constitution: A New Democratic History revisits the making of the Indian Constitution. The book offers a different approach to scholarly accounts that focus largely on the Constituent Assembly, and the debates and texts it produced. It explores instead “the proactive engagement with the constitution among diverse publics and state institutions from mid-1946 onwards.” The second chapter examines how communities and individuals across the country interacted with the drafting of the constitution, and many citizen translations that circulated at the time.
Read the excerpt: caravanmagazine.in/history/a…
Ornit Shani retweeted
I recently read the book Assembling India's Constitution by Rohit De and Ornit Shani. Absolutely enjoyed it, and learned a tremendous amount. Glad that @thewire_in published my reflections.
Ornit Shani retweeted
Stay tuned for this Constitution Day special episode with Rohit De @itihaasnaama and Ornit Shani @OrnitShani. Our first truly bilingual episode!
