The NUJS Law Review was pleased to host Professor Balakrishnan Rajagopal for a conversation on July 2, 2025, as part of its Special Issue on Subaltern Perspectives and Alternative Epistemologies in International Law. Professor Rajagopal, currently serving as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, reflected on his longstanding engagement with Third World Approaches to International Law (‘TWAIL’) and its relevance in understanding the relationship between international law, development, and power. The conversation examined how housing, land, and sovereignty serve as intersecting sites through which TWAIL interrogates both global and domestic structures of domination. Reflecting on bulldozer demolitions in India and the destruction of homes in Gaza, Professor Rajagopal illustrated how international law can function beyond institutional confines, as a tool of resistance, narrative, and political imagination. He warned against the appropriation of decolonial language by hegemonic actors and the erasure of internal colonialism in legal discourse. Situating these concerns within the broader crisis of the international legal order, he challenged the state-centric focus of mainstream legal thought and called for frameworks rooted in the lived experiences of affected communities. His reflections urged a reimagining of international law through post-developmental and movement-oriented approaches. The interview was conducted by Dr Vijay Kishore Tiwari, Special Advisor for the Special Issue, along with members of the NUJS Law Review Editorial Board. It was subsequently transcribed, edited, and finalised by the Board. The Review hopes that this dialogue offers a valuable contribution to ongoing conversations on the future of TWAIL, the legitimacy of international law, and the construction of counter-hegemonic frameworks of development and global justice.
