New Delhi” Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi, Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Government of India hosted a Seminar “Seven Decades of the Constitution of India” on the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav (75 years of Independence of India) in coordination with MEA (Legal & Treaties Division) and Parliamentary Research & Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE) in the PRIDE Main Lecture Hall, Parliament Library Building on 28 March 2023. The Seminar was also organised in the context of India’s Presidency of the Asian African Legal Consultative Organisation (AALCO). The seminar covered the following themes: (i) Seven decades of the Indian Constitution; (ii) Indian Constitution and Human Rights (iii) Indian Constitution and Internationalism.
Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi, Hon’ble Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture inaugurated the Seminar. Ms. Uma Sekhar, AS (L&T) welcomed and introduced the speakers. Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) and former Chief Justice of India; Justice Arun Mishra, Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission and former Supreme Court Judge; and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Chairperson of National Green Tribunal and former Supreme Court judge were the distinguished speakers at the Seminar.
AALCO is an inter-governmental organization, headquartered in New Delhi, having forty-seven member states from Asia and Africa. It serves as an advisory body to member states on matters on international law. Over the years AALCO has been able to forge close links with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Law Commission (ILC).
For the benefit of diplomats &officials of Mission in New Delhi, it was felt appropriate to organize this seminar during India’s Presidency of AALCO and also to commemorate 75 Years of Independence of India. To have an interactive experience on the freedom struggle of India and making of its Constitution, as a part of the seminar, a visit to Parliament of India was also arranged for the participants.
Over 200 diplomats attended the Seminar. In a first, the diplomats also toured the Parliament, India’s Temple of Democracy. The Seminar provided an insight into our Constitution which is amongst the world’s biggest and has guided India’s nation building process for over seven decades.
