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New
Delhi, November 2025 : Unshackling the Elephant by Anand Prasad
is a deeply insightful examination of India’s justice delivery system — its
challenges, contradictions, and the urgent reforms required to restore public
trust. Published by Bloomsbury India, the book is both a mirror and
a manifesto for reforming one of the country’s most critical institutions.
Drawing
from over three decades of legal practice across commercial, transactional, and
constitutional law, Anand Prasad takes readers inside India’s courts to reveal
both the ideals that shaped them and the structural flaws that now impede their
purpose. Written with honesty and clarity, Unshackling the Elephant
invites policymakers, lawyers, and citizens alike to rethink how justice can be
made accessible, transparent, and truly equitable.
“My three
decades as a lawyer practicing commercial, transactional and constitutional law
got me to realise a few essential aspects of our justice delivery system: (i)
basis text books, it is easy to assert that we have an equitable and fair
justice delivery system, which protects all citizens equally, and that
sometimes the system does indeed rise to deliver on this expectation; (ii)
however, the system has been sliding for the last few decades and has slowly
but surely turned oppressive. Everyone, rich or poor, face unfair and arbitrary
behaviour. While the rich insulate themselves from such a system using
influence and throwing money at lawyers, the middle classes and the poor have
to be very lucky to find justice, and are always faced with the risk of getting
crushed by the slow, often inadequate and expensive justice system; (iii) the
situation is however not beyond repair, and with little tweaks and the use of
technology, the justice system can easily be made so much more effective, more
fair and truly available to all regardless of their economic or social standing
– we could easily be a lot more honest as a society; and (iv) with some
additional imagination, transform our nation almost completely, culturally and
economically, included,” says Anand Prasad.
He adds,
“Each of the topics in the book could easily form the basis of a detailed
report or PhD thesis. I hope the book opens the minds of policymakers and those
in charge of the state’s affairs — and encourages blue-sky thinking on
transforming India through a focused set of legal reforms. Most importantly, I
hope it helps the thinking people of our nation understand the reasoning that
drives our current legal framework, and how there might be more culturally
aligned ways to rethink justice in India.”
“We have
all experienced the frustration of engaging with India’s legal system — its
slowness, its opacity and the sheer cost of it. Anand Prasad proposes radical
reforms based on deep analysis and his long experience being part of the
system. It is truly exciting to publish this manifesto for legal reform,”
— R.
Sivapriya, Publisher, Bloomsbury India
Through
compelling analysis and grounded optimism, Unshackling the Elephant
shines a light on how small, practical changes — driven by intent and
technology — can have transformative impact. It’s both a critique and a
blueprint for a more efficient, fair, and humane justice system.
Published
by Bloomsbury India and marketed by The Sunflower Seeds.
