Gautam Bhatia (lawyer)

From Bharatpedia, an open encyclopedia


Gautam Bhatia is a scholar of constitutional law and science-fiction author from India.

Gautam Bhatia
Gautam Bhatia in Bangalore, Jan 2020.jpg
Gautam Bhatia at a Bangalore event in January 2020
Born1988 (age 35–36)
New Delhi
NationalityIndia
Alma materNational Law School of India University, Balliol College, University of Oxford, Yale University
Occupationscholar, lawyer, author
AwardsRhodes Scholarship

Early life and education[edit]

Bhatia was born to a mathematician father and a documentary-film-maker mother; he was raised in New Delhi.[1]

He attained his LL.B. from National Law School of India University in 2011,[1] and went on to pursue a B.C.L. (2012) and M.Phil. (2013) from Balliol College, University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.[2][3] Subsequently, he received a LL.M. from Yale University (2014) specializing in constitutional law, and is currently a doctoral scholar at University of Oxford.[1][4]

Works[edit]

Law[edit]

In 2016, Offend, Shock, Or Disturb: Free Speech Under the Indian Constitution was published by Oxford University Press. The book provides a philosophical as well as analysis of Indian free speech jurisprudence on the touchstone of Constitution of India, probing into issues of autonomy, equality, and anti-subordination from both legal and philosophical grounds.[5][6][7][8] Bhatia largely agrees with the decision of the Supreme Court of India in S. Rangarajan v. Jagjivan Ram and goes on to propose a realm of 'constitutional morality' to evaluate restrictions on free speech, wherein the identity of the speaker, target, historical and cultural associations, and social situation should be taken into account to decide upon each case.[5][6][8]

Arudra Burra, a professor of philosophy at IIT Delhi, reviewing for Scroll.in, noted it to be an interesting and illuminating "must-read" despite some issues.[5] Jinee Lokaneeta, a professor of political science at Drew University, noted the work to be powerful, chilling and insightful in that it "raised important questions about colonial continuities, postcolonial choices, and the quotidian life of the law in relation to societal hierarchies" but lacking in the subaltern.[6] Mark Tushnet noted the monograph to have provided a clear and comprehensive account of Indian free-speech-laws; however, he had mild criticisms for Bhatia's universalist and normative approach.[9] A review over Economic and Political Weekly admired of the work as splendidly erudite and a compelling marshaling of facts in favor of a liberal defense of free-speech-rights; however Bhatia's insistence on attributing judgements to legal theories whilst ignoring the practicalities of an over-burdened legal system and other external factors were criticized, and a series of questions were posed for a potential second edition.[8] Avantika Mehra, reviewing for The Hindustan Times, found the book to be a specialist work which was invaluable for research-purposes; however, she criticized Bhatia for locating his theorizing in a realpolitik vacuum and ignoring plausible cases which challenged his analyses.[10] A review in The Hindu noted of the work to be a lucid and detailed examination of the law of free speech in India, which provided valuable historical insight on its evolution.[7]

In February 2019, The Transformative Constitution: A Radical Biography in Nine Acts was published by Oxford University Press. The book drew praises from critics, and was shortlisted for the The Hindu Literary Prize, 2019 under Non-Fiction category.[11]

Sandeep Suresh, a professor of law at Jindal Global Law School, reviewing for International Journal of Constitutional Law, noted Bhatia to have added an erudite and painstakingly researched monograph to the existing literature on Indian constitutional law.[12] Mukul Kesavan, reviewing for The Hindu, admired Bhatia for his lucid writing, systematic argumentation and enviable marshaling of history, political ideas and jurisprudence; overall, he noted of the work to be a formidable achievement.[13] Nikhil Govind, a professor of philosophy at Manipal University, reviewing for Scroll.in, noted it to be a timely work that would aid in increasing legal literacy and lead to a more participative citizenship.[14][15] Shefali Jha, a professor of political science at Jawaharlal Nehru University, found the work to be a valuable contribution to the field of constitutional studies, which advocated for contestatory democracy in place of electoral democracy.[16] Rajeev Dhavan, reviewing for The Indian Express, admired of Bhatia as an excellent jurist but aired pessimism about the practicalities.[17][18][19]

Bhatia has contributed chapters on Directive Principles and 'Religious Speech' to The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution and The Oxford Handbook of Freedom of Speech respectively.[20][21][22][23] In 2021, on the wakes of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, he coauthored a book on the multiple dimensionalities of citizenship along with Romila Thapar, Gautam Patel, and N. Ram.[24] He has been published in several journals of repute including Economic and Political Weekly, Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, The Indian Law Review and Global Constitutionalism.

Science Fiction[edit]

In August 2020, The Wall was published by HarperCollins. A speculative fiction centered on law, it received critical acclaim.[25] Set in a dystopian city called Sumer guarded by impenetrable walls and having a strictly hierarchical society, the novel follows the chronicles of Mithila, a queer girl (and her cohort) who seeks to venture beyond those boundaries.[25][26][27]

Avantika Mehra, reviewing for Scroll.in, noted the work to be a fine and lucid debut, which mirrored today's realities in a continuation of the themes of equality and freedom traversed in his earlier legal works; however she criticized Bhatia's over-reliance on dialogues and sketchy character-building at the cost of superb world-building.[28] Omair Ahmad, reviewing for The Wire, raised similar issues about character-development but went on to admire Bhatia's introducing characters with little explanations, comparing favorably with Kraken; Bhatia was also admired for showing the varied POVs of varied groups of inhabitants in a sympathetic manner and his unique world-building which had as many similarities as dissimilarities with reality.[29] Overall, Ahmad found the work to be a "deeply imagined, stylish and confident debut".[29] A review in The Hindustan Times deemed the work to be an "allegorical examination of the present state of democracy" and an important addition to the corpus of speculative fiction.[30] Shrabontee Bagchi, for Mint Lounge, noted The Wall to be richly layered and highly satisfying.[26] A review in Open (Indian magazine) admired Bhatia for sketching a layered narrative and raising crucial political questions in a hard-to-put-down book.[27] Manjula Padmanabhan. for India Today, however found the novel to be a frustrating read, lacking in poignancy and character-development.[31]

Columns[edit]

Bhatia is a regular column writer for multiple Indian news-media outlets.[32]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Najib, Rihan. "Case by case". @businessline. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  2. ↑ "Rhodes scholar to Carnatic singer, meet 4 young lawyers in privacy fight". The Indian Express. 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  3. ↑ "Gautam Bhatia". Oxford Law Faculty. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  4. ↑ "Gautam Bhatia - Forbes India Magazine". Forbes India. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Burra, Arudra. "Why you must read Gautam Bhatia's 'Offend, Shock, and Disturb' to debate Free Speech in India". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Lokaneeta, Jinee (2020-12-01). "Book review: Gautam Bhatia, Offend, Shock, or Disturb: Free Speech Under the Indian Constitution, Abhinav Chandrachud, Republic of Rhetoric: Free Speech and the Constitution of India and Anushka Singh, Sedition in Liberal Democracies". Studies in Indian Politics. 8 (2): 300–303. doi:10.1177/2321023020963410. ISSN 2321-0230. S2CID 228084616.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Venkataramanan, K. (2016-02-28). "How free can free speech be?". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Taking Free Speech Seriously". Economic and Political Weekly. 51 (32): 7–8. 2015-06-05. Archived from the original on 2016-08-07.
  9. ↑ Tushnet, Mark (2017-01-02). "Offend, shock, or disturb: free speech under the Indian constitution, Gautam Bhatia, New Delhi, Oxford University Press, 2016, 392 pp., $39.95 (hardback), ISBN 9780199460878". Indian Law Review. 1 (1): 83–86. doi:10.1080/24730580.2017.1306993. ISSN 2473-0580. S2CID 166010258.
  10. ↑ "Offend, Shock, or Disturb: The limitations to free speech in India". Hindustan Times. 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  11. ↑ Datta, Sudipta (2020-03-14). "'The Constitution was meant to interrogate relationships of power': Gautam Bhatia". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  12. ↑ Suresh, Sandeep (2020-08-04). "The Transformative Constitution: A Radical Biography in Nine Acts". International Journal of Constitutional Law. 18 (2): 668–672. doi:10.1093/icon/moaa046. ISSN 1474-2640.
  13. ↑ Kesavan, Mukul (2019-05-18). "'The Transformative Constitution — A Radical Biography in Nine Acts' review: Progressive charter". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  14. ↑ Govind, Nikhil. "This biography of the Indian Constitution is not about the law today but about the ideal equilibrium". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  15. ↑ Narrain, Siddharth (2021-02-17). "Transformative constitutionalism: a radical biography in nine acts". Indian Law Review. 5: 139–147. doi:10.1080/24730580.2021.1880722. ISSN 2473-0580. S2CID 232020841.
  16. ↑ Jha, Shefali (2020-06-01). "Book review: Rohit De, A People's Constitution: The Everyday Life of Law in the Indian Republic and Gautam Bhatia, The Transformative Constitution: A Radical Biography in Nine Acts". Studies in Indian Politics. 8 (1): 118–120. doi:10.1177/2321023020918071. ISSN 2321-0230. S2CID 220321899.
  17. ↑ "Morning Constitutionals". The Indian Express. 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  18. ↑ Hailbronner, Michaela (2020-12-31). "Indian public law scholarship roundtable: An introduction". International Journal of Constitutional Law. 18 (3): 1021. doi:10.1093/icon/moaa080. ISSN 1474-2640.
  19. ↑ "The once and future Constitution | Books - UP Front News - Issue Date: May 13, 2019". India Today. 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  20. ↑ Bhatia, Gautam (2016-03-01). "Directive Principles of State Policy". The Oxford Handbook of the Indian Constitution. doi:10.1093/law/9780198704898.001.0001/oxfordhb-9780198704898-e-36. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  21. ↑ The Oxford Handbook of Freedom of Speech. Oxford Handbooks. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-882758-0.
  22. ↑ "Direct and Indirect Discrimination". Oxford Constitutions. doi:10.1093/law-mpeccol/law-mpeccol-e694. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  23. ↑ "Gender Discrimination". Oxford Constitutions. doi:10.1093/law-mpeccol/law-mpeccol-e127. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  24. ↑ "ON CITIZENSHIP | Aleph Book Company". Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Unudurti, Jaideep (2020-10-17). "Writing on the wall: Review of Gautam Bhatia's 'The Wall'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Your weekend fix: Lounge recommends 'The Wall' by Gautam Bhatia". Mintlounge. 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Bhatia, Gautam (2021-01-14). "Breaking Barriers". Open The Magazine. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  28. ↑ Mehta, Avantika. "'The Wall' can be read as a continuation in fiction of Gautam Bhatia's work on freedom and equality". Scroll.in. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 "Gautam Bhatia's Debut Novel Offers a Deeply Imagined Metaphor for Today's India". The Wire. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  30. ↑ "Review: The Wall by Gautam Bhatia". Hindustan Times. 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2021-02-21.
  31. ↑ Manjula Padmanabhan (2020-09-19). "Locked In - Leisure News - Issue Date: Sep 28, 2020". India Today. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  32. ↑ "Articles by Gautam Bhatia | MSN India, The Economic Times, The Times of India Journalist | Muck Rack". muckrack.com. Retrieved 2021-02-21.

External links[edit]

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