Pluralism and Democracy in India

Edited by Wendy Doniger

and Martha C Nussbaum

Oxford University Press

416 pages, Rs. 895

Doniger and Nussbaum bring together leading scholars from an array of disciplines to address a crucial question: How does the world’s most populous democracy survive repeated assaults on its pluralistic values? India’s stunning linguistic, cultural and religious diversity has been supported since Independence by a political structure that emphasises equal rights for all and protects the liberties of religion and speech. The essays in the volume examine the roles of political parties and people’s movements, as well as of the arts, the press, the media, and a historical legacy of pluralism and critical argument.