The remarks against Arghya/Vidhi are baseless and comical. When J Sai Deepak makes the same argument you people praise him. Then why target Arghya? No doubt borne out of resentment for NLSIU. Some points to rebut all of you:
ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS:Arghya is from NLSIU with a DPhil from Oxford (in Constitutional Law). Arghya is also a Rhodes scholar and NLSIU gold medalist. The person criticising him is from NUJS with an LLM from King's College London (in Tax Law). Even if I assume parity between NLSIU (NIRF rank 1) and NUJS (NIRF rank 4), or Oxford (QS rank 2) and KCL (QS rank 15), a person with a DPhil/PhD in Constitutional Law is unquestionably superior to an LLM in Tax Law when it comes to matters of constitutional law.
ENDORSEMENTS:
Fali Nariman has praised Arghya's book. You will see his quote on the cover. Need I say more?
IDEOLOGY:
Everyone is free to have an ideology. We are not a communist country like China and North Korea. Also, is Fali Nariman pro-BJP as per your logic? Finally, show me ONE place where Arghya/Vidhi has endorsed the BJP. Yes, Vidhi drafted a version of the UCC and has supported it in newspapers. So what? Since when is UCC = BJP? The Constitution mandates it (in the DPSP) and the Supreme Court has also said we should have it. A Muslim judge like AS Ahmadi has supported UCC.
MERITS OF THE ARGUMENT
Finally, and most importantly, the Constitution indeed needs a review. The Vajpayee government set up an excellent committee to review the working of the Constitution. It pointed to legitimate problems like a backlog of judges, lack of police and administrative reforms, etc. The Committee was headed by a very respected judge (Venkatachaliah) had distinguished people from all backgrounds, like BP Jeevan Reddy, RS Sarkaria Soli Sorabjee, PA Sangma, CR Irani, Abid Hussain etc. I quote from the report:
" During the last two decades and more, there was a persistent demand in the civil society – from some NGOs, academics, constitutional scholars and others – that the working of the Constitution be subjected to a comprehensive review. Several books and a large number of articles and research papers devoted to the theme of constitutional review and reforms were published (some of these have been listed in the bibliographies annexed to Consultation Papers and were taken fully into account and used by the Commission in its study and deliberations) and many seminars and conferences organised in different parts of the country."
ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS:Arghya is from NLSIU with a DPhil from Oxford (in Constitutional Law). Arghya is also a Rhodes scholar and NLSIU gold medalist. The person criticising him is from NUJS with an LLM from King's College London (in Tax Law). Even if I assume parity between NLSIU (NIRF rank 1) and NUJS (NIRF rank 4), or Oxford (QS rank 2) and KCL (QS rank 15), a person with a DPhil/PhD in Constitutional Law is unquestionably superior to an LLM in Tax Law when it comes to matters of constitutional law.
ENDORSEMENTS:
Fali Nariman has praised Arghya's book. You will see his quote on the cover. Need I say more?
IDEOLOGY:
Everyone is free to have an ideology. We are not a communist country like China and North Korea. Also, is Fali Nariman pro-BJP as per your logic? Finally, show me ONE place where Arghya/Vidhi has endorsed the BJP. Yes, Vidhi drafted a version of the UCC and has supported it in newspapers. So what? Since when is UCC = BJP? The Constitution mandates it (in the DPSP) and the Supreme Court has also said we should have it. A Muslim judge like AS Ahmadi has supported UCC.
MERITS OF THE ARGUMENT
Finally, and most importantly, the Constitution indeed needs a review. The Vajpayee government set up an excellent committee to review the working of the Constitution. It pointed to legitimate problems like a backlog of judges, lack of police and administrative reforms, etc. The Committee was headed by a very respected judge (Venkatachaliah) had distinguished people from all backgrounds, like BP Jeevan Reddy, RS Sarkaria Soli Sorabjee, PA Sangma, CR Irani, Abid Hussain etc. I quote from the report:
" During the last two decades and more, there was a persistent demand in the civil society – from some NGOs, academics, constitutional scholars and others – that the working of the Constitution be subjected to a comprehensive review. Several books and a large number of articles and research papers devoted to the theme of constitutional review and reforms were published (some of these have been listed in the bibliographies annexed to Consultation Papers and were taken fully into account and used by the Commission in its study and deliberations) and many seminars and conferences organised in different parts of the country."
So why single out Arghya?