Constitutional Morality Guides Public Life: Abhishek Manu Singhvi at Granville Austin Memorial Lecture At JGU

SONIPAT: 3rd November, 2025: Distinguished Jurist, Parliamentarian, and Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India, Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, delivered the Dr. Granville Austin Memorial Lecture at O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), commemorating the legacy of one of India’s most revered constitutional scholars, Dr. Granville Austin. The theme of the lecture was Indian Constitution at 75: the Story of the World’s Largest Democracy” while reflecting on India’s Constitutional Journey and the Road to 2047.

In his wide-ranging and deeply reflective address titled “India at 75: The Constitutional Republic and the Road to 2047”, Dr. Singhvi celebrated India’s constitutional achievements while cautioning against the challenges confronting its democratic ethos. Recalling his personal interactions with Dr. Granville Austin—author of The Cornerstone of a Nation and Working a Democratic Constitution—Dr. Singhvi paid tribute to Austin’s humility, scholarship, and lifelong devotion to India’s constitutional journey. He described Austin as “a red-haired American who made India his karmabhoomi,” whose empathy and intellectual rigor made him “a friend of India in the truest sense.”

Dr. Singhvi highlighted India’s constitutional resilience, observing that among the 30–40 nations that emerged from the yoke of imperialism, India remains the only one that has sustained a vibrant democracy for over seven decades. “Indian democracy may have been bent, but never broken,” he remarked, attributing this to the strength of India’s institutions and the moral conviction of its leaders. He emphasized that India’s story is both constitutional and organic—as much about governance as it is about law. Reflecting on the Constitution’s framers, Dr. Singhvi noted, “From the carnage of partition, they fashioned fundamental rights. They created not just a constitutional democracy but a social democracy.” Charting India’s progress, he cited milestones such as the adoption of universal adult franchise in 1951-52, rising literacy rates, the deepening of federalism, and the empowerment of women through Panchayati Raj institutions.