Most of the papers presented at a conference held at Bloomington in 1999; some previously published.

The viability of the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has always been a bone of contention in socially and politically plural South Asia. It is entangled within the polemics of identity politics, minority rights, women’s rights, national integration, uniform citizenry and, of late, global Islamic politics and universal human rights. While champions of each category view the issue from their own perspectives, making the debate extremely complex, this book takes up the challenge of providing a holistic political analysis. As most of the South Asian states today subscribe to a decentralised view and share a common history, this study is an excellent comparative analysis of the applicability of the UCC. In this work, India figures prominently, being the most plural and vibrant democracy, as well as accounting for almost three-fourths of the region’s population. This provides the backdrop for an analysis of the other states in the region. This second edition will be indispensable for scholars, researchers and students of law, political science and South Asian Studies.

This book argues that the shared adjudication model in which the state splits its adjudicative authority with religious groups and other societal sources in the regulation of marriage can potentially balance cultural rights and gender equality. In this model the civic and religious sources of legal authority construct, transmit and communicate heterogeneous notions of the conjugal family, gender relations and religious membership within the interstices of state and society. In so doing, they fracture the homogenized religious identities grounded in hierarchical gender relations within the conjugal family. The shared adjudication model facilitates diversity as it allows the construction of hybrid religious identities, creates fissures in ossified group boundaries and provides institutional spaces for ongoing intersocietal dialogue. This pluralized legal sphere, governed by ideologically diverse legal actors, can thus increase gender equality and individual and collective legal mobilization by women effects institutional change.

It is a political study of the controversy surrounding the issue of the uniform civil code vis-à-vis personal laws from a South Asian perspective. At the centre of the debate is whether there should be a centralized view of the legal system in a given society or a decentralized view, both horizontally and vertically. This issue is entangled within the threads of identity politics, minority rights, women's rights, national integration, global Islamic politics and universal human rights. Champions of each category view it through their own prisms, making the debate extremely complex, especially in politically and socially plural South Asia. So, this book attempts to harmonize the threads of the debate to provide a holistic political analysis.

Examining the constitutional and legal foundations of the place of religion in India, Articles of Faith studies the relationship between religion and state. It closely analyses the decisions of the Supreme Court from the 1950s on Articles 25–30 of the Indian Constitution, as well as other relevant laws and constitutional provisions. The book discusses the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the constitutional right to freedom of religion and its influence on the discourse of secularism and nationalism. While examining the role of the Court in defining and demarcating religion as well as religious freedom, practices, and organizations, this volume also highlights important issues such as interpretative traditions and legal doctrines developed by the judiciary over the years. This new edition has an expanded and revised introduction, which looks at the new literature on secularism and religious jurisprudence, both in India and other secular democracies. It also includes an afterword, which examines recent landmark judgments on religion by the Supreme Court of India, such as the one on triple talaq.

This book highlights the relationship between the state and religion in India and Europe. It problematizes the idea of secularism and questions received ideas about secularism. It also looks at how Europe and India can learn from each other about negotiating religious space and identity in this globalised post-9/11 world.

The interaction between individual rights, which are often seen in secular terms, and religion is becoming an important and complex topic not only for academic study but for practical policy. This volume collects a range of writings from journals, edited collections and individual books which deal with different aspects of the interaction within the context of family life, and which appear with their original pagination. These studies have been selected because they throw a sharp light on central elements of the role of religion in determining the structure of the rights of family members in relation to one another, both from an historical and contemporary perspective. While many of the writings are focused on US and European systems, selected writings covering other systems illustrate the universal nature of the topic. The studies are accompanied by a reflective commentary from the editor which sets the writings in a broad context of social, constitutional and philosophical thought, with the aim of stimulating critical thought and discussion.

Offers a comprehensive overview of the key issues facing family law globally, and explores how different countries have tackled them.

The study of religions concerns enduring question about religions, human society, and the meaning individuals and communities make in life. The study of different religions also facilitates interaction with people of other religions and their cultural, historical, intellectual, and social phenomena. This also provides a basic understanding of major religious traditions of the world, their-ethico-social and mystical approach to religion but more so a deep understanding of their fundamental principles and philosophical concerns such as ethical foundation, metaphysics and the nature and form of salvation. I also feel that studying such material is bound to give one richer and more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices regarding sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine. Another reason why one should undertake study of different religions is the analysis of influential cultural definition of individual and social identity as it will contribute significantly and distinctively to our knowledge of human nature, global cultures, diversity and ethical standards and practices. This subject has assumed greater importance in the contemporary world as we are living in a pluralistic society which contains people belonging to diverse groups of religious cultures and traditions. Pluralistic societies now exist around the world which contain many different religious groups. There is constant mutual interaction between these groups in one and the same society. For maintaining civic peace, tranquility and harmony, it has become imperative for those religious groups to tolerate each other and build relationships. Pluralism is more than mere tolerance of differences – it requires knowledge of them. Tolerance is no doubt important but it does little to remove our ignorance of one another. In order to overcome preconceived notions, constituents of the society have to be educated to know the basics of those religions. This involves understanding people with different religious beliefs and knowing the fundamentals of their religions. In the contemporary world it is impossible for any one religion to exist in splendid isolation and ignore the others. In spite of science, technology and modernity dominated scenario religious freedom remains one of the most cherished and treasured liberaties of mankind. P/2 # 2 # Considering the significance and importance of this subject even many of the universities around the world have started Centres for the study of Comparative Religions. In these Centres specialized courses of study are provided to impart education and knowledge on different religions in order to combat the challenges posed by religious pluralism. Keeping this in view, I have briefly attempted to present in this monograph basic and fundamental aspects of all the major practising religions of the world so that we should be able to find common grounds of understanding for peaceful co-existence for the betterment of the society in which we live. The monograph, for easy comprehension of readers, has been set out in four sections as follows – 1. Section I – Study of Different Religions: In this part are dealt: Religion its meaning – Importance of comparative study of religion –Different aspects and dimensions of religion. 2. Section II – Major Religions of the World: In this part are dealt major religions of the world and their fundamentals as I understand – Judaism – Christianity – Islam – Zoroastrianism – Hinduism – Jainism – Buddhism – Sikhism – Taoism – Confucianism – Shintoism. 3. Section III – Unity and Universality of Religions: In this part are dealt different prayers of religions and also subjects such as – Unity in Diversity – Unity of Religions and Metaphysics – Similarities in Religions – Essential Unity of all Religions. 4. Section IV – Essays on Religion : In this part are dealt subjects, such as, Religion and Science – Religion and Modernity – Secularism – Philosophy of Religion – Do we Need Religion – Inter-religious Dialogue. The approach taken in this book is one to understand the basic and fundamental principles shorn of their superfluous forms and formalities, rites and rituals, of all the major practicing religions of the world and to underscore points of commonalities in them regarding truth, spirituality, ethics and morals. I am of the firm conviction that the same essence and energy run through all the religions.

This collection reframes the debate around Islam and women's rights within a broader comparative literature that examines the complex and contingent historical relationships between religion, secularism, democracy, law, and gender equality.