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October 14, 2026

Articles, Public Policy

Autonomy on Paper, Autonomy in Practice: Examining the Enablers and Barriers to Reproductive Choice in India

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Authors : Shruti Nair , Sneha Kohli , Staicy Thomas

Abstract

The paper examines the evolution of reproductive autonomy in India and evaluates whether legal and judicial recognition has translated into meaningful access to abortion. It discusses various aspects like theoretical, judicial, legal, socio-economic, and international comparisons, that are needed to evaluate whether India has in fact transitioned towards reproductive autonomy or not. For this analysis, it uses the qualitative method with secondary data evidence. Through this analysis, the paper finds that India has moved towards recognizing reproductive autonomy as an integral implicit component of constitutional rights as interpreted through judicial and legislative reforms. However, this recognition is incomplete in practice. Since a persistent lack of harmony between constitutional principles- articles 14, 15, 21, judicial interpretations- X v. Principal Secretary (2022) and legal frameworks, MTP Act 1971 and its 2021 amendment, POCSO Act, 2012, in India has made it difficult to achieve the objective of reproductive autonomy. Moreover, the paper also finds that the provisions governing abortion of adolescent girls are not in line with the realities of the day and the health systems are also not equipped properly to provide abortion services and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and contraception information. Thus, all these factors together push women and girls towards unsafe options showing that legal recognition must be accompanied by socio-economic realities.

Keywords:
 Reproductive Autonomy, Pro Choice and Pro Life, Abortion Law Liberalization, Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), MTP Act, 2021, NFHS-5

Articles, Public Policy

Evaluating the Implementation of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Act: An Analysis of Administrative Access and Article 21

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Authors : Anuja Amralkar , Yashaswini Yadav , Anushka Dixit

ABSTRACT

This study examines the legal, constitutional, and administrative effects of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act and the later 2026 amendment, alongside the constitutional protections guaranteed under Articles 14, 15, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution and the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment in NALSA v. Union of India. By looking closely at how procedural delays, medical board rules, and mandatory ID checks create administrative gatekeeping hurdles that impact personal dignity, this research maps out a constructive way forward using global models and cooperative federalism. Using a qualitative doctrinal and desk-based legal and policy analysis rather than primary field case studies, the paper clearly separates what the written statutory text says from actual administrative realities and prospective projections. It highlights practical policy solutions, such as official selfidentification, simpler paperwork, community support groups, and better trans-friendly healthcare. Ultimately, this study shows how public systems can be reformed to truly protect personal dignity, guarantee fair welfare access, and uphold constitutional rights for all genderdiverse people.

Keywords:
 Transgender Rights, NALSA Precedent, Article 14, 15, 19 and 21, Constitutional Protections, Self-Identification, Cooperative Federalism, Personal Dignity, Gender Diversity

Articles, International Relations

POWER, RHETORIC & PERCEPTION: A REALIST ANALYSIS OF THREAT CONSTRUCTION IN INDIACHINA RELATIONS POST-GALWAN CRISIS

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Authors : Nandiinii Gupta , Aanvi Kapoor , Bhumi Goyal , Khushal Goel , Lumbini Anand , Venika Sai Talluri

ABSTRACT

The Galwan Valley clash in June 2020 changed the way India and China saw each other. It began as a military clash along the Line of Actual Control, but its effects went beyond that of a border conflict. It changed how both countries talked about security, how they built their narratives, and how they acted toward one another. This study analyses this shift through the lens of power, rhetoric and perception. It aims to understand how China’s image as a threat changed within India’s foreign policy after Galwan. In order to provide a clearer picture, the study compares Galwan to the 2017 Doklam standoff. It draws on public statements, official press releases, and parliamentary records from both India and China, examining them for shifts in tone, recurring themes, and how each country described the other’s intentions. The findings show that both India and China constructed threats by blaming the other side’s intentions. Each used existing bilateral agreements selectively, framing them in ways that supported its own position. Both also pointed to the other’s infrastructure projects as evidence of an attempt to alter the existing situation on the ground. One key difference between the two crises lies in how they ended. Doklam was resolved through diplomatic talks, and both sides were able to present the outcome as a success. Galwan did not end this way. It led instead to a prolonged military stand-off, in which the confidence-building measures that had once been trusted lost their credibility rather than restoring it. Drawing on Walt’s Balance of Threat Theory, the study argues that the shift in India’s perception of China after Galwan was greater than what military economic changes alone could explain. This suggests that perception, shaped by narrative and rhetoric, played a role as significant as material capability itself. Briefly, the shift in India’s view of China was not just about power. It was about how India and China told stories about each other, and how those stories reshaped the way India came to see China as a threat.

KEYWORDS:
 Indo-China relations, Galwan Crisis, Threat Construction, Balance of Threat Theory, Strategic Rhetoric, Realism, Line of Actual Control (LAC), Narrative and Perception

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