Ornit Shani

How India Became Democratic book review: Ornit Shani unravels how the first electoral rolls were made

How India Became Democratic reflects the socio-cultural peculiarities of pre-Independent India, a time when the idea of ‘one nation, one vote’ was path breaking | #FirstCulture

How India became democratic - Part II: On the preparation of the electoral roll as a state building project

In her book, Ornit Shani examines the role adult franchise played in India, in connecting the people to a popular democratic imagination

How India became democratic - Part I: Laying the foundations of universal adult franchise

Ornit Shani’s How India Became Democratic: Citizenship And The Making Of The Universal Franchise tells the fascinating story of independent India’s first general election. Suhrith Parthasarathy comments on the main themes of Shani's book, and their impact on Indian constitutionalism

How India became democratic - Part III: The Constitution as an instrument of foundational, radical change

Ornit Shani’s account of independent India’s first general election is invaluable: it is a point of departure for all of us to think more deeply about what 1947 meant, and how the transformative character of that moment ought to map onto how we think about our Constitution, our citizenship, and our rights