New Delhi: “What is a home? A place of belonging, shelter, and source of identity. There is immense power in calling the Constitution one’s home. A profession may describe what we do, a calling may describe what inspires us, but a home is where we return to, where we locate ourselves and where our deepest convictions reside.”These remarks were made by Justice B.V. Nagarathna, while delivering the keynote address at the launch of one of India’s most celebrated human rights lawyers Indira Jaising’s memoir The Constitution Is My Home, which is in the form of a conversation with co-author Ritu Menon, in Delhi on Thursday, May 21.The book launch, organised by HarperCollins India, was held at the Kamala Devi Complex, India International Centre, with the crowd spilling beyond the hall. The evening, much like the book, involved a candid but perceptive conversation, this time between senior advocate Jaising and journalist Sreenivasan Jain.In her opening remarks on the book, Jaising reflected on why they chose the title for the book. The answer, she said, emerged from a question she was often asked: “Where are you from?”. Over time, she realised the response was, “I belong to the Constitution of India”.The launch of Indira Jaising’s book in New Delhi. Photo: The WireThe conversation moved from questions around the legal system and how effective it is today, gender discrimination clashing with religious beliefs, India’s bend towards majoritarianism, missing women in courts, and much more.Jaising’s pioneering work, which spans over nearly seven decades, includes all these issues and more – be it the case of Mary Roy and the fight for equal inheritance, Rupan Deol Bajaj and the pursuit of justice in the face of sexual harassment, Olga Tellis, which recognised the right to livelihood for pavement dwellers, Shayara Bano and the challenge to triple talaq; or the Sabarimala case, which includes women’s right to worship.Eighty five now, Jaising said that “all governments have tried to shake the foundation of the constitution”. The difference, she noted, is that today, the sense of belonging is changing.Emergency and beyondDuring the Emergency, the constitution itself was changed and used to oppress the public, she said. However, she added, “what’s happening now is that without changing the written text, every other form of transformation is happening. Which is why it’s much more difficult to deal with.”Jaising also argued that it cannot simply be characterised as an ‘undeclared emergency’. “An emergency, for God’s sake, is an emergency. It’s temporary…[but] we’ve gone past the temporary stage.”Though she stopped short of describing what this stage may be now, Jain asked whether the courts have then failed to put the brakes on this transformation. To this, Jaising said, “I’m an eternal optimist and I do believe that the brakes are on the way. The thing is, when you hit rock bottom, there’s nowhere else to go except up.”Jain stressed on the growing sense that the country is drifting towards majoritarianism, limiting a citizen’s ability to secure rights. The two also discussed the matter of Umar Khalid’s bail and how the Supreme Court critiqued its own judgement, and the need for a strong bar to keep the judiciary in check.Jaising, still an optimist, held that with successive CJIs, regardless of who is in power, there is bound to be a difference. “But that is not the reason to abandon the constitution and constitutional courts,” she stressed.‘Parasite’In a lightly provocative vein, Jain then tried to bring up the fear of judiciary, a contempt case, or being labelled a “parasite”. The last reference was to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s recent remarks likening a section of the unemployed youth of this country to “cockroaches” and “parasites”.CJI Kant, who was also to give the keynote address, could not appear in person but delivered his message though a video note extending his greetings.At the podium next, Justice Nagarathna, who is currently the only woman judge in the Supreme Court, highlighted that even as a reader, there would naturally be perspectives that different readers engage with differently.In poignant remarks, she noted, “Divergent thoughts and expressions must always be allowed to be expressed. Freedom of expression under Article 19 is very important. That is how it is in a democracy, which we are.”She also emphasised the need for sisterhood in the judiciary to challenge the long-standing “exclusive domain” of male lawyers, who have for generations benefitted from social networks and professional solidarity, echoing Jaising’s call for more women judges.On Jaising’s life, Justice Nagarathna noted how the journey represented far more than mere professional success – in the quiet reshaping of institutions. She noted how the octogenarian has consistently been at the forefront of articulating alternative viewpoints and perspectives on important issues, particularly those relating to status and position of women in India and the constitutional rights of the marginalised sections of society.“Lawyering of this kind deepens democracy,” she noted.“Very few people alter the vocabulary of public life and Ms. Jaising has done that to a great extent… That is an extraordinary legacy by itself.”The evening concluded with the unveiling of the book, and the hall still buzzed with people as an ever-cheerful Indira Jaising stayed back to sign copies and greet those eagerly waiting to meet her.