Religion and Personal Law in Secular India

by Larson, Gerald James

• ISBN13: 9780253214805
• ISBN10: 0253214807
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-11-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

Though mandated by the constitution, a uniform civil code of law has never been written or instituted in India. As a result, in matters of personal law--the segment of law which concerns marriage, dowry, divorce, parentage, legitimacy, wills, and inheritance--individuals of different religious backgrounds must appeal to their respective religious laws for guidance or rulings. But balancing the claims of religious communities with those of a modern secular state has caused some intractable problems for India as a nation.Religion and Personal Law in Secular Indiaprovides a comprehensive look into the issues and challenges that India faces as it tries to put a uniform civil code into practice. Themes such as the extent and jurisdiction of civil laws, the relationship between religious law and a system of personal law, the desirability of a uniform civil code, the treatment of women and minorities under a single law, and the maintenance of religious pluralism in India, are explored in 16 thought-provoking essays. Scholars representing a wide range of disciplines, from both North America and India, provide a unique comparative perspective on complex issues of multiculturalism that characterise Indian society and identities. Readers seeking deeper understandings of Indian history and culture will find a sensitive handling of the tensions between religious law and the claims of a modern, secular state in this timely volume. Contributors include Granville Austin, Robert D. Baird, Srimati Basu, Kevin Brown, Paul Courtright, Rajeev Dhavan, Marc Galanter, Namita Goswami, Laura Dudley Jenkins, Jayanth Krishnan, Gerald James Larson, John H. Mansfield, Ruma Pal, Kunal M. Parker, William D. Popkin, Lloyd I. Rudolph, Susanne Hoeber Rudolph, Sylvia Vatuk, and Arvind Verma.

Author Biography

Gerald James Larson is Rabindranath Tagore Professor of Indian Cultures and Civilization and Director of the India Studies Program at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is author of India's Agony over Religion and Classical Samkhya: An Interpretation of Its History and Meaning and co-editor of Interpreting across Boundaries: New Essays in Comparative Philosophy and The Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies, vol. 4, Samkhya: A Dualist Tradition in Indian Philosophy.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Introduction: The Secular State in a Religious Society	1	(14)
Gerald James Larson
PART I The Secular State and Legal Pluralism: The Current Debate and Its Historical Antecedents
Religion, Personal Law, and Identity in India	15	(9)
Granville Austin
Religious Minorities and the Law	24	(12)
Ruma Pal
Living with Difference in India: Legal Pluralism and Legal Universalism in Historical Context	36	(33)
Susanne Hoeber Rudolph
Lloyd I. Rudolph
PART II Religious Endowments, Reservations Law, and Criminal Law
Religious and Charitable Endowments and a Uniform Civil Code	69	(35)
John H. Mansfield
Personal Law and Reservations: Volition and Religion in Contemporary India	104	(20)
Laura Dudley Jenkins
The Uniform Civil Code Debate: Lessons from the Criminal Procedures	124	(21)
Arvind Verma
PART III Personal Law and Issues of Gender
Gender Implications for a Uniform Civil Code	145	(18)
Robert D. Baird
The Personal and the Political: Indian Women and Inheritance Law	163	(21)
Srimati Basu
Observations on the Historical Destruction of Separate Legal Regimes	184	(16)
Kunal M. Parker
Who Was Roop Kanwar? Sati, Law, Religion, and Postcolonial Feminism	200	(26)
Paul B. Courtright
Namita Goswami
``Where Will She Go? What Will She Do?'' Paternalism toward Women in the Administration of Muslim Personal Law in Contemporary India	226	(25)
Sylvia Vatuk
PART IV Cross-Cultural Perspectives
Affirmative Action in the United States and the Reservation System in India: Some Comparative Comments	251	(19)
Kevin Brown
Personal Law Systems and Religious Conflict: A Comparison of India and Israel	270	(31)
Marc Galanter
Jayanth Krishnan
The Road to Xanadu: India's Quest for Secularism	301	(29)
Rajeev Dhavan
Some Continuing Issues	330	(19)
William D. Popkin
Bibliographical Note	349	(2)
Gerald James Larson
Contributors	351	(2)
Index	353