Thirty-six years ago, the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru adopted a game-changing legal education program in the form of a five-year BA.LLB course that transformed legal education in India. However, with the launch of a three-year BA (Hons) program from 2025, the institution is now diversifying its academic portfolio with non-law programs.
While these initiatives aim to transform NLSIU into a multi-disciplinary university, they have raised eyebrows that the institution is expanding its reach and moving away from its founding principles as a pioneering legal institution.
Since its inception in 1988, NLSIU has adopted a five-year integrated BA.LLB program conceived by NR Madhav Menon, considered the father of modern legal education in the country. The program’s interdisciplinary approach, combining law with humanities and social sciences, has become a benchmark for legal education, inspiring other law schools across India.
However, with the evolving higher education landscape and increasing competition from private universities, NLSIU is looking to redefine itself as a multidisciplinary university as part of its expansion plans. In fact, the Government of Karnataka has agreed to provide an additional seven acres of land at Bangalore University’s Jnanabharati campus to NLSIU on lease basis of Rs 50,000 per acre per annum for a period of 30 years. Currently, NLSIU is functioning on a 23-acre campus within the BU campus.
The NLS BA is designed to include a common core series of foundational courses offered jointly to all first-year students across the BA and BA LLB programmes; Option to select major-minor track or double major track in History, Sociology and Anthropology, Politics, Economics; learning a selection of Indian languages; and practicum courses in areas such as AI and machine learning, filmmaking, business consulting, user experience research, digital journalism, creative writing, entrepreneurship, policy advocacy and analytics.
NLSIU Vice-Chancellor Sudhir Krishnaswamy said the institution has tried to revise and revise the curriculum over the years, but the changes have not been widespread.
“The BA program in India has traditionally been viewed as a general degree. Unfortunately, this has often led to poor academic and graduate outcomes in some universities. While there have been some notable successes – such as strong honors programs in central universities and some private universities offering innovative, specialized BA programs — the overall model has struggled,” Krishnaswamy said.
“At NLS, we aim to reposition the BA as a highly aspirational degree, accessible through a public institution. We are not replicating existing models like Delhi University or private universities. Instead we are professionally addressing contemporary needs and skill sets and the demands of the 21st century. We are designing an orientation program,” he said.
Dr. Mohan Gopal, former director of the National Institute of Judicial Intelligence, said that the operation of the legal system should not be jeopardized to transform legal education with a multifaceted approach.
“I personally feel that the study of law should be interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary. However, this should be done within the purview of the NLSIU Act and establishment objectives. Multi-disciplinary programs should be introduced within the framework of Article 39A of the Constitution of India. The article requires the state to ensure that the legal system operates to promote justice based on equal opportunity. Therefore, any educational programme, legal and illegal, should be guided by the provisions of Article 39,” Gopal said.
“Introduction of BA (Hons) program should not be for revenue generation or profit making venture. Instead, the focus should be on strengthening the functioning of the legal system to ensure justice. In addition, multidisciplinary programs should also take into account political, social and historical dimensions to ensure justice. “When democracy is silent and the constitution is under threat, it is the role of NLS to prioritize the protection of democracy and law over the business of justice, not the business of education,” he said.
However, the university believes that the BA (Hons) program will not adversely affect the effectiveness of the integrated five-year BA.LLB program.
“To address this, let us return to the university’s founding principles in 1988. The success of the university was based on its ability to integrate multidisciplinary education into the study of law. This is evident in the core BA.LLB program, which combines the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws, focusing on one at the expense of the other. Instead of excelling in both components, the MPP program introduced in 2014 reflects this basic ethos, to complement the BA.LLB programme “From the beginning, an interconnected academic ecosystem has been envisioned to run in parallel. A strong BA program enhances the university’s intellectual environment and supports the continued strength of the BA.LLB program,” Krishnaswamy said.
“The introduction of non-law programs like MPP and BA Honors is not a departure from the core mission of NLS but an extension of its multi-disciplinary approach. Far from diminishing the integrated BA.LLB programme, these additions are likely to increase its relevance and impact by fostering a more dynamic and diverse academic culture,” he said.
Furthermore, the organization also highlighted that the size of the NLS faculty has tripled in size and the student body has grown by 235%. Besides, there has been a five-fold increase in the social science faculty with a sociology bent, university officials said.
Going forward, the university is in talks to introduce majors in philology, literature and arts and culture.