Centre for Legal History of India (CLHI) Launch Conference

This conference officially marks the launch of the Centre for Legal History of India (CLHI). Supported through generous funding provided by the Max Planck Society, CLHI is dedicated to advancing research and academic collaboration in the field of legal history of India. This conference builds on conversations, and ideas with legal historians and institutions in India and South Asia over the last few years through bilateral collaboration between the Department of European and Comparative Legal History at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory (mpilhlt) and Indian universities and scholars.  This conference brings together  a  wide range of research areas, methods, and archives to underscore the breadth of the field of legal history of India. It is understood that histories surpass and transgress modern nation-state boundaries and jurisdictions. Therefore, the conference will  showcase  therichness and breadth of research in legal history of India and beyond.   The conference  brings researchers at all stages of their careers to collectively examine the contours of India’s legal history.  The conference is bookended  by two keynote lectures by field defining historians. The opening keynote will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Radhika Singha, and  the  closing keynote will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Janaki Nair.  

Many  of the questions that animate this  event  and CLHI’s research mandate  are part of ongoing discussions  that were  raised and addressed in  a  workshop co-organised  by  mpilhlt  and  National  Law  School of India University Bangalore  in 2025. The ongoing  discussions  and questions include but are not limited to the following: Do  legal historical frameworks challenge conventional temporal and spatial  periodizations  to reveal new connections? How can legal studies be historically situated beyond formal doctrines, regulations, and judicial rulings? How can we rethink ‘law’ considering  the political and disciplinary lives of ‘ancient histories’ in the present? How does  statutory  law intersect with caste, indigenous customary law, and other  non-normative legal orders? How do marginal spaces and subjects of law influence legal formation and challenge and reshape the  supposedly universal  principles of law? 

In a society historically shaped by entrenched inequalities and asymmetries of power, law has often been understood as  carrying out  the potential for transformation. This transformative promise is repeatedly unsettled, as social realities continue to shape judicial decisions and legal reasoning.  In this context,  this conference will address  how  legal research engages  with  historical narratives. 

The conference will be held  at  mpilhlt  Frankfurt,  situated  on Goethe University Campus Westend.  Conference participants will also  have the opportunity to  join a  short, guided  tour of the historic campus.  ​

For further information, please contact Reeju Ray.