The Constitution is often treated as just a legal document.
We approach it as something more.
At The Equals Project, we see the Constitution as a political, moral, and human framework – one that shapes how we live our lives today.
At the core of our work is an understanding that we are all constitutional actors, and a belief that we need to develop a compassionate understanding of what this means.
The Equals Project was founded in 2020 to intentionally understand the contradictions that dominate public life in India today. We believe that to understand the story of India today, we need to go back to its founding moment.
TEP is a research and teaching organization dedicated to fostering empathetic deliberation, moving beyond simplistic notions of right and wrong.
We design courses, workshops, and public programmes that create a space for people to engage seriously with India’s founding moment – and how it can improve our understanding of justice, power, and belonging in India today.
What we do
Teaching Nation-Building
We design and run courses, workshops, and structured learning experiences that discuss the creation of the Indian Constitution, and nation, and the political, moral and military forces that shaped this founding moment. Here, we actively discard notions of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ and explore forces that influence our understanding of identity. Our model is student-led, with a focus on values learnt.
Taking this to institutions
We work with colleges, universities, and organisations to bring sustained constitutional engagement into classrooms and campuses. This can include short one-day workshops or moving beyond one-off sessions to deeper, ongoing learning. We offer immersive summer courses, semester-long curriculum, engagement through constitution clubs, reading circles and more!
Dakshayani Velayudhan and Hasrat Mohani Fellowship
on Constitutional History
We recognize that experiences of the Constitution and Constitution making are intertwined with individual identity. To promote diverse scholarship on constitutional history, we instituted the Dakshayini Velayudhan and Hasrat Mohani Fellowship. This fellowship provides a stipend and research guidance for students from the SC/ST and Muslim community to explore constitutional history.
Accessible Research
TEP began with a fundamental premise: Constitutional history needs to be discussed outside of law schools and courtrooms. Our work focuses on discussing constitutional history with a wider audience.
The story of India, and its Constitution, is deeply fascinating and human. This story needs to be told in a language, and through mediums, that are easy to engage with.
Our research can ‘look’ very different – a heritage walk, a lecture at a pub, an Instagram post. What matters is that it is something people can engage with.
In the Media
Our Team
Shruti Viswanathan
Founder
Shruti Viswanathan is the founder of the Equals Project. She is a lawyer and policy professional with over 13 years of experience working with national and international organisations in building just,inclusive societies. She is a graduate of the National Law School of India University, Bangalore. Shruti has a Masters from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She is focused on contributing to community-led social change.
Currently Reading : Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-zi
Preeti Uthra K.S.
Research Associate
Preeti is currently pursuing a law degree in Shiv Nadar School of Law. She is interested in making constitutional history more engaging through non-academic mediums.
Currently Reading : The Tamarind Tree by Sundara Ramaswamy
Arundathi Rajan
Research Associate
Arundathi Rajan is an Exhibition Design graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. She is currently working as a Research Associate with The Equals Project. Her interests sit at the intersection of design, data feminism, and equitable technology. She is currently exploring how colonial spaces were reinterpreted during India’s nation-building process through the lens of place-making, and spatial studies.
Currently Reading : The House of Blue Mangoes by David Davidar
Our partners
