Globalization and Indian political modernity

One of the most often used concepts in understanding Indian realities is that of the ‘modern’. Numerous visions of the modern coexist. The main feature of the transition to modernity is generally understood as a rupture with a medieval fixed and unitary cosmic order in which the sources of law and power were reduced to the will of an unchallenged ruler and were not detached from their communal or religious legacy or other popular customs. But, the modern can also manifest itself, as in India, in using a great variety of other forms. In this regard, Indian law provides a fascinating example of universal appeal in terms of law and democracy. While the post-colonial legislator had tried to develop a robust set of norms suited to the political aspirations of the new Indian Republic in the form of an evolutionary constitutional project, this dynamic process has also been supported by a vibrant judiciary, which has had recourse to foreign and international laws as engines for social modernization. Law has been internationalized and democracy domesticated. With the challenges posed on the Constitution, today’s interrogations on Indian democracy show that this dynamic and incomplete process of modernization is all but irreversible.