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Sujata Massey's lawyer-detective heroine Perveen Mistry is based on the real-life Cornelia Sorabji and Mithan Lam, the first female Indian lawyers. Over the course of three published novels, Mistry is shown as a true hero with agency over her life, one who investigates, gets into trouble, and ultimately solves cases, albeit with a little help from others. While there has been some representation of women legal professionals in Indian movies or series, the Perveen Mistry series marks the first such depiction in print. Since Mistry is based on real female lawyers, Massey has remained true to the historical realities of pre-Independence India. In this paper, I will examine how realistic is the portrayal of Perveen Mistry as India's first female lawyer, drawing comparisons with Sorabji's and Lam's lives and the lived experiences of women lawyers today. I will also undertake a close textual reading of the novels to attempt a socio-political analysis of the three books' plots and their role in making or breaking the female lead character. Emphasis will be placed on the interconnected themes of gender, religion, time, and law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the Indian judiciary's attempt to regulate humor within the context of freedom to religion and speech in India. Topics include the context of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition to ban the online dissemination of Santa Banta jokes or Sardarji jokes, a description of ethnic jokes and the Sikhs, the arguments raised in the PIL, a brief history of Santa and Banta jokes in India, and an overview of the constitutional jurisprudence regarding the freedoms at stake.

Key points: Building an ethos of trust and respect is a key factor in the success of engaging early career researchers (ECRs) in editorial teams.Regular meetings and open communication ensure accountability and sharing of responsibilities.Nurturing and sustaining an ethic of collaboration with senior editors mentoring junior ones ensures a strong allegiance and sense of responsibility to the journal.Being part of a journal editorial group can help build community and solidarity with other researchers which may not be so easily achieved within academia.Real‐time engagement, whilst beneficial to the journal and to authors, may be too onerous for ECRs and separation of work and personal life should be maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic presented educators across the world with a unique set of challenges. In this Article, I reflect on my experience of transitioning to the online medium mid-semester without much preparation. I compare the vastly dissimilar experiences of conducting classes "physically" and remotely, highlighting the difficulties I experienced in translating to the online realm, and the pedagogical methods I usually employed while teaching Contract law to first-year students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]