Tolerance, Secularization and Democratic Politics in South Asia

Critically analyzing the empirical and theoretical foundations of a putatively linear relationship between tolerance and secularization, this volume argues for moving past both romanticized readings of pre-modern tolerance, and the unthinking belief that secularisation and democratic politics will inevitably lead to tolerance.

What is the relationship between secularization and tolerance? Critically analyzing the empirical and theoretical foundations of a putatively linear relationship between the two, this volume argues for moving past both romanticised readings of pre-modern tolerance and the unthinking belief that secularization will inevitably lead to tolerance. The essays collected in this volume include contributions from across South Asia that suggest that democratic politics have added a layer of complexity to questions of peaceful co-existence. Modern transformations in religious thought and practice have had contradictory implications for tolerance, which offer rich insights into contemporary debates in the region. This multi-disciplinary volume, which spans history, sociology, anthropology and political theory, questions the uncritical acceptance of tolerance as the best framework for engaging with difference, and probes the complications created by and through democratic politics.