{"product_id":"secularism-how-india-reshaped-the-idea-9789354476730","title":"Secularism How India Reshaped the Idea","description":"\u003cp\u003eSecularism emerged in 17th-century Europe as an essential element of what\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ebecame the modern state. The separation of church and state that it entailed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epaved the way for the democratic republics we take for granted today.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTolerance, as understood in the West, was sought to be introduced as state\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epolicy by the British in India too. But our nationalist leaders understood their\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecountry better than to adopt the concept without local adjustments.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePolitical philosopher Nalini Rajan examines the tension between religious\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efreedom and state intervention in India, a tension that comes with the idea\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof 'principled' state intervention in matters of religion, as mandated by the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConstitution. Demands for reservations and separate electorates by minorities\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein the early twentieth century had essentially ruled out absolute state neutrality\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein this respect. But it is only by analysing the fascinating debates on secularism\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein the Constituent Assembly (1946-49) that we see how and why the specific\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eprovisions on minority rights-Articles 25 to 30-came to be adopted. These\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eprovisions implicitly envisioned a key role for the judiciary. A full section of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethis book is thus devoted to understanding the role that the courts have played\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein establishing, and just as importantly, defining Indian secularism-through\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esuch judgements as in the Shirur Mutt case of 1954, the Durgah Committee case of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e1961, the Satsangi case of 1966, the Stanislaus case of 1977, the Shah Bano case\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eof 1985, the so-called 'Hindutva' cases of 1996, the Vaishno Devi case of 1997, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand the Puttaswamy case of 2017.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis exhaustive monograph should be read by all those interested in\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eunderstanding how a distinctive secularism shaped modern India, and how the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003elatter shaped our secularism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Speaking Tiger Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/20\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9789354476730\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 172\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.42lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.40d","brand":"Nalini Rajan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52507611889845,"sku":"9789354476730","price":27.2,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_5f91ff1c-4436-45df-9c9b-3fb0e1fbe592.jpg?v=1778566125","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/secularism-how-india-reshaped-the-idea-9789354476730","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}