The Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience

India has many religious groups, of which Hindus are a majority, and Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains are minorities. India’s Constitution, adopted in 1950, departed from the existing norms of secularism in Europe and elsewhere, which suggested a strict separation of religion and stat...

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Autor principal:	Vikas K. Choudhary
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	minority rights equality constituent assembly independence secularism personal law Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/8fd5e40e94c14d42a8aed495c8475917
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:8fd5e40e94c14d42a8aed495c84759172021-11-25T18:52:28ZThe Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience10.3390/rel121109102077-1444https://doaj.org/article/8fd5e40e94c14d42a8aed495c84759172021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/11/910https://doaj.org/toc/2077-1444India has many religious groups, of which Hindus are a majority, and Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains are minorities. India’s Constitution, adopted in 1950, departed from the existing norms of secularism in Europe and elsewhere, which suggested a strict separation of religion and state. Moreover, freedom of religion is a Fundamental Right guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. With its distinct model of secularism and special provisions for religious minorities, India’s social cohesion arrangement needs special attention. On one hand, the distinct understanding of secularism in the Indian context has led to the advancement of religious pluralism. At the same time, it has invited criticism for selective intervention in the affairs of religious communities from governments in power. The selective intervention has challenged the exclusivity of Indian secularism. This article evaluates the constitutional and theoretical ideas underlying provisions on religious minorities and freedom of religion enshrined in the Indian Constitution. It appraises the idea of religious minorities enshrined in the constitution through a discussion of the process that shaped the idea. The article reflects on the Indian experience of managing the rights of religious minorities and freedom of religion. By analysing a landmark judgement related to freedom of religion and the rights of religious minorities, the article evaluates whether the Indian Constitution advances a model of social cohesion by balancing freedom of religion and the rights of religious minorities or remains ineffective in achieving the same.Vikas K. ChoudharyMDPI AGarticleminority rightsequalityconstituent assemblyindependencesecularismpersonal lawReligions. Mythology. RationalismBL1-2790ENReligions, Vol 12, Iss 910, p 910 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	minority rights equality constituent assembly independence secularism personal law Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790
spellingShingle	minority rights equality constituent assembly independence secularism personal law Religions. Mythology. Rationalism BL1-2790 Vikas K. Choudhary The Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience
description	India has many religious groups, of which Hindus are a majority, and Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains are minorities. India’s Constitution, adopted in 1950, departed from the existing norms of secularism in Europe and elsewhere, which suggested a strict separation of religion and state. Moreover, freedom of religion is a Fundamental Right guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. With its distinct model of secularism and special provisions for religious minorities, India’s social cohesion arrangement needs special attention. On one hand, the distinct understanding of secularism in the Indian context has led to the advancement of religious pluralism. At the same time, it has invited criticism for selective intervention in the affairs of religious communities from governments in power. The selective intervention has challenged the exclusivity of Indian secularism. This article evaluates the constitutional and theoretical ideas underlying provisions on religious minorities and freedom of religion enshrined in the Indian Constitution. It appraises the idea of religious minorities enshrined in the constitution through a discussion of the process that shaped the idea. The article reflects on the Indian experience of managing the rights of religious minorities and freedom of religion. By analysing a landmark judgement related to freedom of religion and the rights of religious minorities, the article evaluates whether the Indian Constitution advances a model of social cohesion by balancing freedom of religion and the rights of religious minorities or remains ineffective in achieving the same.
format	article
author	Vikas K. Choudhary
author_facet	Vikas K. Choudhary
author_sort	Vikas K. Choudhary
title	The Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience
title_short	The Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience
title_full	The Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience
title_fullStr	The Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience
title_full_unstemmed	The Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience
title_sort	idea of religious minorities and social cohesion in india’s constitution: reflections on the indian experience
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/8fd5e40e94c14d42a8aed495c8475917
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The Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience

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