Pluralizing Pluralism: Lessons from, and for, India

Bajpai, Rochana

Abstract

Embracing religious belief and societal norms, in addition to state laws and policies, covenantal pluralism has the potential to address key limitations of existing approaches to dealing with religious diversity. Nevertheless, it also shares some of the problems of other ideals. Notably, the demands of covenantal pluralism seem too onerous for most of the world, relying as they do on most of the population recognizing the value of religious pluralism. This article explores the possibilities and limits of covenantal pluralism in India, once heralded as a pluralist democracy, currently under the grip of Hindu supremacist authoritarianism. India’s historical record challenges key assumptions of theories of pluralist co-existence, illuminating problems and prospects for covenantal pluralism across the globe.

Citation

Bajpai, R. (2022). Pluralizing Pluralism: Lessons from, and for, India. The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 20(1), 27-42. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2022.2031046

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 18, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Mar 7, 2022
• Publication Date: Mar 7, 2022
• Deposit Date: May 15, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: May 15, 2022
• Journal: The Review of Faith and International Affairs
• Print ISSN: 1557-0274
• Electronic ISSN: 1931-7743
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 20
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 27-42
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2022.2031046
• Keywords: India, Hindu nationalism, religious diversity, pluralism, secularism, multiculturalism, citizenship
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15570274.2022.2031046