Religious and political communities in India. Grounding minority rights in the democratic principle. Grounding minority rights in the principles of substantive equality. The individual and community. Negotiating collective and individual rights.
Secularism poses among the most pressing, disturbing and vexed questions of our times.
This book explores how and why the concept of secularism has proved to be inadequate for dealing with the complex and specific problems of Indian society. The argument in this book suggests that the entire debate on secularism has entered a theoretical and political cul de sac, and that we should shift the ground of the debate in order to infuse it with relevance for the contemporary moment. Dealing in general with the global 'ethnic explosion' and in particular with the rise of majoritarianism in India, the author argues that we need to move beyond the prevalent understanding of secularism in order to protect minority identities that are currently under attack by majoritarianism. The author exposes the theoretical shortcomings of secularism and the alternative, toleration, and deals in detail with associated normative political concepts such as democracy, equality, and rights. Anchored firmly in political theory and attempting a new perspective on minority rights, Beyond Secularism serves both as an intervention into the debate on secularism and minority rights, as well as valuable material for political scientists, sociologists, philosophers, postgraduate students and researchers of political theory and Indian politics.