South Asia has had a tumultuous and varied experience with constitutional democracy that predates the recent rise in populism (and its study) in established democracies. And yet, this region has remained largely ignored by constitutional studies and democracy scholars. This book addresses this gap and presents a contribution to the South Asia-centric literature on the topic of the stability and resilience of constitutional democracies. Chapters deal not only with relatively well known South Asian countries such as India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, but also with countries often ignored by scholars, such as Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, and Afghanistan. The contributions consider the design and functioning of an array of institutions and actors, including political parties, legislatures, the political executive, the bureaucracy, courts, fourth branch / guarantor institutions (such as electoral commissions), the people, and the military to examine their roles in strengthening or undermining constitutional democracy across South Asia. Each chapter offers a contextual and jurisdictionally-tethered account of the causes behind the erosion of constitutional democracy, and some examine the resilience of constitutional institutions against democratic erosion.

"This book interrogates the reasons why constitutional democracies in South Asia are under threat, provides a coherent and calibrated account of the causes behind their erosion, and evaluates the resilience of democratic institutions to combat such threats. It considers the design and functioning of institutions including political parties, legislatures, the political executive, the bureaucracy, courts, fourth branch/integrity institutions (such as electoral commissions) and the military to understand their roles in strengthening or undermining constitutional democracy in South Asia. It is written at a time when concerns about the stability of constitutional democracies, even long-established democracies, have been rising globally. South Asia has had a tumultuous and varied experience with constitutional democracy that predates the recent rise in populism. Pakistan and Bangladesh have frequently changed regime type, from democracy to autocracy and back. Sri Lanka and India have been relatively more stable, but serious concerns are being expressed about the resilience of their democratic institutions. Nepal and Afghanistan, as some of the youngest democracies in the world, pose another set of questions on the issue of democratic and constitutional stability. And yet, the global South has remained largely ignored by constitutional law and democracy scholars. This book addresses this gap. Contributors come from across South Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, to present a unified contribution to the South Asia-centric literature on the topic of the stability and resilience of constitutional democracies."--

This text discusses the principal political and constitutional questions that have arisen in the states of Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka following fifty years of independence. In Sri Lanka the pressing problems have been around the inter-ethnic civil war, experiments with constitutional designs, widespread prevalence of corruption and the recrudescence of Buddhist militancy. In India it has been corruption, Hindu nationalism and general political instability. In Bangladesh and Pakistan it has been the role of the military, the state and religion. A general theme is an analysis of the malaise that is prevalent and how and why this was inherited, despite the colonial legacy of parliamentary democracy, the steel framework of a trained bureaucracy, the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.

This volume addresses the idea of origins, how things are formed, and how they relate to their present and future in terms of 'constitution-making' which is a continuous process in South Asian states. It examines the drafting, nature, core values and roles of the first modern constitutions during the founding of the eight modern nation-states in South Asia. The book looks at the constitutions of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It provides an explanatory description of the process and substantive inputs in the making of the first constitutions of these nations; it sets out to analyse the internal and external (including intra-regional) forces surrounding the making of these constitutions; and it sets out theoretical constructions of models to conceptualise the nature and role of the first constitutions (including constituent documents) in the founding of the modern nation-states and their subsequent impact on state-building in the region.

This book examines constitutional law and practice in five South Asian countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

This publication contains case studies on human and minority rights in the South Asian countries, including a special focus on the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and articles on different forms of National Human Rights Commission and Immigration to the UK and «new minorities». It is further complemented by an in-depth study on Autonomy, Kashmir and International Law. Assembling articles authored by leading scholars from both South Asia and Europe, the book will contribute to a mutual exchange of views on human and minority rights issues in South Asia. In particular, the book is aimed at increasing awareness and understanding of current developments in South Asia and, on this basis, at enhancing a constructive dialogue between representatives of the scientific community, policy-makers and civil society in Europe and their counterparts in South Asia.

This collection of essays takes an in-depth and analytical look at India and its neighbourhood against a brief historical backdrop of each country and addresses the vital question of whether these political developments served as markers of substantial political change regarding constitutionalism, democracy, secularism, human rights, and human development in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It explores whether such political events of great magnitude had changed only political dispensations in these countries or have they actually inspired new political discourse and created a new vision among the political class. How had the people responded to these changes and the new situations triggered by them? This volume will provide a holistic view of the region while focusing on politics and political culture of each neighbouring country.