National Conclave 2026 on India @ 76 – Federal Crossroads [Offline, Salem, 19 September 2026; ISBN Publication]

The Central Law College, Salem is organising a National Conclave on "India @ 76 – Federal Crossroads" on Saturday, 19 September 2026 on its campus at Yercaud Main Road, Kannankurichi, Salem. The programme runs from the inaugural session at 10.00 am through four sessions to a valedictory session ending at 6.30 pm.

The organisers frame the conclave around the argument that India's federal story is still being rewritten: the imminent expiry of the Lok Sabha seat freeze and the coming Delimitation Commission, the GST compensation cess, a Governor's discretion over a State Assembly's bills, and a decades-old language debate have all brought structural anxieties into focus at the same time.

The Central Law College (CLC), Salem carries a 42-year legacy and, following a 1984 Madras High Court judgment, became the first private law college in Tamil Nadu. It ran its five-year integrated and three-year law degree courses under the permanent affiliation of the University of Madras and has been affiliated to The Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University since 1997, with Bar Council of India recognition. The college also offers postgraduate degrees in Constitutional Law and Criminal Law, and houses the Centre for Mediation and Arbitration (CEMA).

• The Constitutional Tug-of-War: Safeguarding State Sovereignty in the Modern Era
• The Changing Electoral Map: Delimitation Realities and Political Party Hopping
• The Price of Federalism: Balancing State Revenues, GST Reforms and the Battle for Ecological Federalism
• The Linguistic Issues: Our Language, Our Future, Reclaiming Education from the Concurrent List

The conclave is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students, research scholars, academicians, legal professionals and anyone with an interest in Constitutional Law, Polity, Governance, Sociology and Economics. Participants registering as UG or PG students must be enrolled in a full time course at a recognised university or college. A paper may carry one author and one co-author.

• Abstract: not more than 300 words with five keywords, specifying the title of the paper and the name and designation of the author or authors; submitted through the Google Form on or before 21 August 2026
• Full paper: not more than 3,000 words, original and unpublished, on the themes of the conclave, due on or before 4 October 2026; the submission link is shared with registered email IDs after the conference
• Plagiarism and AI content must together be less than 10%
• Text: 12 pt Times New Roman with 1.5 line spacing; headings 14 pt bold and sub-headings 12 pt bold, Times New Roman
• Citation: The Bluebook 21st edition or APA, applied uniformly
• The author's name and designation appear under the title of the paper on the first page or abstract

There is no presentation session at the conclave. Participants who submit abstracts must attend, and articles are considered for publication only for those present in person throughout the programme.

• Students and research scholars: Rs. 500
• Academicians: Rs. 750

Registration closes on 21 August 2026 and is done through the same Google Form. Payment is by bank transfer to Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Kannankurichi Branch, Yercaud Main Road, 636008, account number 60100050301715, IFSC TMBL0000060.

Articles submitted after the conclave are eligible for publication after scrutiny, with intimation regarding publication on 10 October 2026. The publication fee is separate: Rs. 750 for a soft copy and Rs. 1,000 per hard copy of the book, payable only after confirmation from the committee. E-certificates are shared for selected publications, which carry an ISBN. This is a book chapter route, not a journal, and no indexing claim is made.

Participants are provided with a conference kit, refreshments and lunch. Certificates are given to all participants only in person during the valedictory session. An e-copy of the book of abstracts is shared only with those who attend in person. Participants arrange their own travel.