Introduction
The panel paid tribute to Professor M.P. Singh by showcasing his academic work, his role as head of NUJS, and his ability to unite diverse groups in legal education. Dr. Satya Prasoon, who serves as an Assistant Professor at NALSAR University of Law, moderated the panel. Professor Sudhir Krishnaswamy discussed the scholarly works of Professor Singh, including V.N. Shukla’s Constitution of India, and his institutional patience. Professor Philipp Tschiedert reflected on his role in fostering India-Germany academic ties and his humility. Professor Arun K. Thiruvengadam explained that Professor Singh valued his relationships with students and dedicated himself to studying various constitutional systems. Professor Pritam Baruah portrayed Professor Singh as a wise, rooted institution-builder who valued deliberation.
Moderator Brief: Prof. Satya Prasoon (Professor of Law, NALSAR)
Dr. Satya Prasoon introduced the panel with a poignant tribute to the tenure of Professor M.P. Singh as Vice-Chancellor of NUJS (2007-2012), where he globalized the institution through partnerships and faculty recruitment. He described Prof Singh’s intellectual outlook as embedded cosmopolitanism, rooted in Indian traditions (Dharma and Nyaya) but deeply open to global legal influences. He highlighted his writings on justice, equality, affirmative action, and comparative constitutional law, as well as his support for diversity initiatives like IDIA. Dr. Prasoon concluded by reciting a Hindi poem that described his lifelong pursuit of major concepts.
Speaker 1: Dr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy (Vice-chancellor, National Law School of India University)
Prof. Krishnaswamy analyzed his scholarly purpose through key works. The analysis began with his leadership of V.N. Shukla’s Constitution of India, which he used as a streamlined reference work during a time when legal texts had become excessively long. The Supreme Court’s analysis of the book achieved a complete understanding of legal precedents. In contrast, his later collaboration with Niraj Kumar on Indian legal history demonstrated the unbroken legal traditions of India. Professor Singh showed infinite patience with faculty members and students as he handled institutional work through his non-performative approach to accomplishing objectives, which he applied to faculty hiring and curriculum development. His materialism, as demonstrated by his support for poverty-reduction programs over pure political freedom, indicated his identification with social democratic socialism.
Speaker 2: Dr. Phillippe Dann (Professor, Law Faculty of Humboldt University Berlin)
Prof. Phillippe Dann described him as a bridge-builder, crediting him for inviting him to NUJS in 2010, sparking ongoing India-Germany collaborations that connected civil and common law scholars from North and South. He highlighted his 1980-1982 Humboldt fellowship in Heidelberg, his friendships with Dieter Conrad and others, and his 1985 monograph, German Public Law: In Common Law Perspective (reprinted 2001), which explained German concepts such as public-private law separation and proportionality to common law readers. He remembered treating all students with warmth, showing curiosity about knowledge, and conducting himself as a professor, teacher, and administrator.
Speaker 3: Dr. Arun Thiruvengadam (Professor of Law, National Law School of India University)
Prof. Thiruvengadam focused on his teacher relationships, citing his loyalty to mentor V.N. Shukla by retaining the book’s title despite decades of updates (latest 2025 supplement). He examined three comparative works: German Administrative Law: In Common Law Perspective (1985), Comparative Constitutional Law (1989/2011 editions, expanding from a Eurocentric to a Global South focus, including China and Singapore) and the Indian Yearbook of Comparative Law (2016), urging that festschrifts elevate Indian legal scholarship from marginalization. Prof. Thiruvengadam shared personal anecdotes, like Professor Singh’s loving WhatsApp sign-offs and gentle persuasion to return to India, underscoring his non-hierarchical ethos. He called for recording such legacies to bridge generations of scholars.
Speaker 4: Dr. Pritam Baruah (Professor and Dean of the School of Law BML Munjal University)
Prof. Baruah painted Professor Singh as a wise, towering figure who lived in his Chittoli village, where he built a school with German friends. He was always writing for the good of society and was like Buddha, always giving people space to think without being egotistical. He thanked Professor Singh for helping him get his first job at NUJS after a seminar. He praised him for building a community through Wednesday seminars and invitations, which led to projects on transformative constitutionalism. Prof. Baruah defended his openness to gender, sexuality, and indigenous law in response to critics. He also pointed out his criticism of legal education that is only useful for getting a job.
The panel agreed that Professor M.P. Singh’s lasting legacy is that he was a humble, patient scholar-administrator who brought together different traditions, put justice first through affirmative action and material equity, and built diverse academic communities through global exchanges and local roots. Interactions with the audience made him more likely to respond to emails and support students who disagreed with him. His vision urges sustained comparative scholarship, teacher-student bonds, and non-performative institution-building for an egalitarian constitutional classroom.
Edited by: Aditi Bhojnagarwala and Keerthi Sathvika Tammineedi
