The Centre for Policy and Research in International Law (CPRIL) organised the first online guest lecture on the topic Governments and Nation Making in South Asia: the Developments in Bangladesh on 3rd October 2024. The lecture was delivered by Dr. Cynthia Farid. Dr. Farid is currently a Global Academic Fellow at the University of Hong Kong, and a member of the Global Young Academy in Germany. She has an extensive experience in research, legal practice, and judicial reform and human rights work with INGOs, think tanks, and legal rights organizations.
This guest speaker discussed the formation of governments and nation making in South Asian states post decolonisation such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh. She elaborated on the Government in Exile (GIE), the first government of independent Bangladesh which was crucial in defining the founding moment of the state legally. Through its commitment to legalism and the internationalization of the conflict, the GIE significantly influenced the 1971 independence movement. Comprised of lawyers, economists, and other intellectuals who sought refuge in neighbouring India, the GIE’s founders were dedicated to constitutional principles, which facilitated the establishment of an independent state and the rapid adoption of a constitution that has endured despite ongoing instability. The national struggle of 1971 when unfolded on the international stage, the lawyers from the Third World states were engaged in reshaping debates around international legal principles like sovereignty, territoriality, use of force and self-determination—topics that were previously thought to be settled, particularly regarding the legitimacy of exiled governments. Drawing upon the same the speaker also explained the current situations unfolding in Bangladesh.
Dr. Varsha Singh, Executive Director of the Centre also gave her inputs on the international legal implications of the current situations in Bangladesh and the role of NGOs and civil society organisations in the functioning of constitutional governments.
