Prologue. p. 4

Part I : The Great Constitutional Themes
Emerge, 1950-66. p. 11
1 SETTLING INTO HARNESS. p. 13
The Broad Context. p. 15
Power Relations and Adjustments. p. 18
The Nehru Years Reviewed. p. 36
2 FREE SPEECH, LIBERTY AND PUBLIC ORDER. p. 38
Freedom of Expression. p. 40
Freedom of Expression: The Sixteenth Amendment. p. 50
Individual Liberty and Preventive Detention. p. 53
Preventive Detention During An Emergency. p. 63
3 THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION AND THE
FIRST AMENDMENT. p. 69
The Background. p. 70
The Amendment and Agricultural Property. p. 78
The Amendment and Non-Agricultural Property. p. 92
Removing Man-Made Inequalities. p. 94
4 THE RIGHTS AND THE REVOLUTION:
MORE PROPERTY AMENDMENTS. p. 99
The Fourth Amendment. p. 101
The Seventeenth Amendment. p. 110
Democracy and Socialism: The Nehru
Years in Retrospect. p. 116
5 THE JUDICIARY: 'QUITE UNTOUCHABLE'. p. 123
Judicial Independence: Appointments. p. 124
Judicial Independence: Other Risks, Other Protections. p.135
The Quality of Justice. p. 138
6 MAKING AND PRESERVING A NATION. p. 143
Forces for Unity. p. 144
Forces Against Unity. p. 148
Constitutional and Sub-Constitutional
Mechanisms for Unity. p. 156

Part II: The Great Constitutional
Confrontation: Judicial versus
Parliamentary Supremacy, 1967-73.
p. 171
7 INDIRA GANDHI: IN CONTEXT AND IN POWER. p. 173
Mrs Gandhi, 'Socialism', and Power. p. 176
An Activist Political Generation. p. 182
The Year of the 'Socialists'. p. 186
The Migration of Power. p. 190
8 THE GOLAK NATH INHERITANCE. p. 196
Sowing the Wind. p. 197
Reaping the Whirlwind. p. 202
9 TWO CATALYTIC DEFEATS. p. 209
Bank Nationalization. p. 209
The Princes and their Purses. p. 220
An Evening of Mystery. p. 227
10 RADICAL CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS. p. 234
Framing the Amendments Begins. p. 236
Amendments in Parliament: The Twenty-Fourth. p. 243
Positive and Negative Reactions. p. 247
Amendments in Parliament: The Twenty-Fifth. p. 250
Tile Web's Seamlessness Forgotten. p. 253
11 REDEEMING THE WEB: THE KESAVANANDA
BHARATI CASE. p. 258
Kesavananda: The Case. p. 260
A Confusing Decision. p. 265
'Unusual Happenings' on the Bench. p. 265
12 A 'GRIEVOUS BLOW': THE SUPERSESSION
OF JUDGES. p. 278
The Supersession. p. 279
The Public Rationale. p. 283
Public Reactions. p. 285
A Brief Assessment. p. 289

Part III: Democracy Rescued Or the
Constitution Subverted?: The Emergency
and the Forty-second Amendment,
1975-7. p. 293
13 26JUNE 1975. p. 295
The Culmination of Trends. p. 297
More Immediate Origins. p. 298
Democracy is Extinguished. p. 309
14 CLOSING THE CIRCLE. p. 314
The Indira Gandhi Election Case. p. 314
Tile Protective Amendments. p. 319
Completing the Circle. p. 325
15 THE JUDICIARY UNDER PRESSURE. p. 328
Basic Structure Revisited:
The Kesavananda Review Bench. p. 328
An Anonymous Attack. p. 333
The Habeas Corpus Case. p. 334
The Transfer of Judges. p. 344
16 PREPARING FOR CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE. p. 348
Change Takes Shape. p. 350
The Swaran Singh Committee. p. 353
The Committee As a Puzzle. p. 364
Tile Critics. p. 366
17 THE FORTY-SECOND AMENDMENT:
SACRIFICING DEMOCRACY TO POWER. p. 370
The Amendment. p. 371
Who Were Its Authors?. p. 374
Four Mysterious Resolutions. p. 377
The Amendment's Supporters and Opponents. p. 381
Conclusion. p. 388

Part IV: The Janata Interlude: Democracy Restored. p. 391
18 INDIRA GANDHI DEFEATED--
JANATA FORMS A GOVERNMENT. p. 393
Opposition Attempts at Unity. p. 395
Creating One from Many. p. 400
The Congress Party:
Death and Reincarnation. p. 405
19 RESTORING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE. p. 409
Lengthy Amending Preparations Begin. p. 411
The Forty-third Amendment Emerges. p. 417
Drafting the Forty-fourth Amendment Continues. p. 420
The Forty-fourth Amendment in Parliament. p. 424
20 GOVERNING UNDER THE CONSTITUTION. p. 431
Fundamental Freedoms. p. 432
Judicial Independence. p. 435
Federal Issues. p. 441
Protecting Civil and Minority Rights. p. 450
21THE PUNISHMENT THAT FAILED. p. 453
22 A GOVERNMENT DIES. p. 466
A President's Discretion. p. 468

Part V: Indira Gandhi Returns. p. 483
23 GHOSTS OF GOVERNMENTS PAST. p. 484
Anthoritarianism, Dynasty, and the
Presidential System. p. 489
Reawakened Fears for the Judiciary. p. 492
24 THE CONSTITUTION STRENGTHENED
AND WEAKENED. p. 498
Parliamentary Supremacy Revisited:
The Minerva Mills Case. p. 498
Liberties Lost. p. 507
25 JUDICIAL REFORM OR HARASSMENT?. p. 516
Appointments and Transfers of Judges. p. 517
Transfers Go To Court. p. 521
The Battle of the Affidavits. p. 528
26 TURBULENCE IN FEDERAL, RELATIONS. p. 534
The Dissolution of State Assemblies. p. 536
Background to the Constitutional Revolt of 1983. p. 537
The Constitutional Revolt. p. 541
Pathway to Death. p. 546

Part VI: The Inseparable Twins: National Unity and Integrity and the Machinery of Federal Relations. p. 553
27 TERMINOLOGY AND ITS PERILS. p. 555
Definitions and Their Uses. p. 556
The Constitution's 'Federal' Provisions:
Definitions and Uses. p. 560
Federalism's Phases. p. 565
The Nehru Years. p. 565
The Indira Gandhi Years. p. 568
The Janata Years. p. 571
Nehru and Mrs Gandhi Compared. p. 572
28 THE GOVERNOR'S 'ACUTELY
CONTROVERSIAL: ROLE. p. 574
Gubernatorial Independence. p. 577
Discretionary Authority of the Governor. p. 582
Reservation of Bills. p. 590
29 NEW DELHI'S LONG ARM. p. 594
National Emergencies. p. 595
Central Forces in a State. p. 597
Political Parties and President's Rule 604
30 COORDINATING MECHANISMS: HOW 'FEDERAL' ?. p. 614
The Finance and Planning Commissions. p. 614
Other Coordinating Mechanisms. p. 623
'Federalism' and the Seamless Web. p. 628

Part VII: Conclusion p. 631
31 A NATION'S PROGRESS. p. 633
The Well-Shaped Cornerstone. p. 634
Conditions. p. 636
The Fourth Strand: Culture and the 'Survival Society'. p. 637
The Fourth Strand, Democracy and Social Revolution. p. 645
The Constitution Against Itself. p. 651
Branches and Strands. p. 658
Summing Up. p. 665

Bibliography. p. 670

Index