Secularity and hinduism’s imaginaries in india

Partiendo del concepto de ‘imaginario social’ de Charles Taylos –es decir, el tipo de comprensión colectiva que un grupo debe tener para darles sentido a sus prácticas– el artículo sostiene que las contradicciones que emergen de las interpretaciones de la Corte Suprema de la India y del Hinduismo y de la gestión de la diversidad religiosa del Estado de la India proceden de la incapacidad de la Constitución de armonizar tres diferentes imaginarios del hinduismo –como una religión, una cultura y una antigua orden–. Sin embargo, además de fomentar el desacuerdo, estas contradicciones también proporcionan una zona franca para el estado de estos conflictos.Drawing on Charles Taylor’s concept of ‘social imaginary’ - the kind of collective understanding a group has to have in order to make sense of their practices - the article argues that the contradictions in the Indian Supreme Court’s interpretations of Hindutva and Hinduism and in the Indian state’s management of religious diversity stem from the inability of the Constitution to reconcile three different imaginaries of Hinduism – as a religion, culture and an ancient order. But these contradictions, while stoking discord, have also provided a buffer zone for the state from such conflicts

Is the Rule of Law an Antidote for Religious Tension? The Promise and Peril of Judicializing Religious Freedom (SWP 40)

Does the ‘rule of law’ act as a force of moderation and, in matters of religion, serve as a key tool for mollifying or resolving disputes? Drawing on experiences from Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, and Pakistan, we provide an alternative account of the link between legal processes and religious tensions, one that considers closely the roles played by constitutional law and legal procedure in perpetuating, deepening, or sustaining conflict. These case studies highlight four mechanisms that facilitate polarization: the procedural requirements and choreography of litigation (Sri Lanka), the language and decisions of courts (India), mobilization activities around litigation (Malaysia), and violent protest against legal defense of rights (Pakistan). In offering these re-evaluations and alternative narrations of polarization we seek to introduce a new spirit of creativity, modesty and humility among scholars about the ameliorative powers of law

Is the Rule of Law an Antidote for Religious Tension? The Promise and Peril of Judicializing Religious Freedom

Although “rule of law” is often regarded as a solution for religious conflict, this article analyzes the role of legal processes and institutions in hardening boundaries and sharpening antagonisms among religious communities. Using case studies from Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, and Pakistan, we highlight four specific mechanisms through which legal procedures, structures, and instruments can further polarize already existing religious conflicts. These mechanisms include the procedural requirements and choreography of litigation (Sri Lanka), the strategic use of legal language and court judgments by political and socioreligious groups (India), the activities of partisan activists who mobilize around litigation (Malaysia), and the exploitation of “public order” laws in contexts framed by antagonism targeting religious minorities (Pakistan)

Judicial Restraint in an Era of Terrorism: Prevention of Terrorism Cases and Minorities in India

The article assesses and compares the behaviour of India’s higher judiciary on Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) cases with the pattern of rulings on previous preventive detention and anti-terror laws in India. It tests the hypothesis in Scaling Justice: India’s Supreme Court, Anti-Terror Laws and Social Rights, that POTA cases would see more pro-state rulings, particularly after incidents of terrorism, but that Muslim minorities would not be unduly targeted by the judges. The findings from the 103 POTA cases affirm the hypothesis that the judgments of the high court and the supreme court do not exhibit a pattern of disfavouring Muslim accused. However, a more disquieting element with worrisome consequences for civil liberties is apparent in the framing of the anti-terror cases. The court is more likely to rule in favour of the state when a case is framed as ‘Islamic terrorism’. The impreciseness of this and other terms such as ‘urgency’ and ‘security threat’ have expanded the scope of the application of anti-terror laws, diluted the ‘due process’ protections, and reduced the ability of judges to make a distinction between the political aspirations and the religious affiliation of the accused. This has diluted the procedural and substantive protection for civil liberties of citizens and vulnerable minorities in India

Networks and Anti-Poverty Programs: The NREG Experience

Governments struggle with the reality that the beneficiaries of anti-poverty programs are powerless to influence policies and stem the possibility of capture of benefits by the nonpoor. Networks – social and political – are supposed to increase the ability of the lesspowerful to access their entitlements. The paper assesses whether socially and politically networked households do in fact have better awareness of the components of the program and of the processes of decision making, and whether such networking makes them more likely to vocalize their dissatisfaction when their entitlements are threatened. India's national rural employment guarantee scheme's (NREG) institutional design (mandating village assemblies to authorize decisions on the projects) makes it a good test case. Our results show that links to social and political networks do significantly increase the awareness of the villagers on the program's components and enhances their ability to seek redress of their grievances.Networks, anti-poverty programs, NREG, India

National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in India - A Review

This paper presents results on the participation of rural workers in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Program based on a pilot survey of three villages in Udaipur district, Rajasthan, India. Three villages (Dhundiya, Karanpur and Prithvisingh Ji Ka Khera) were covered. Total number of households interviewed in December, 2007, was 340. Here the focus is on participation in NREG of different socio-economic groups and the determinants of the participation of these groups. It is discovered that the mean participation was 59 days and that targeting was efficient with other labour, self employed in agriculture, SC and ST as well as those with smaller landholdings benefiting the most from the program. Thus the performance of the National Rural Employment Guarantee program has been far from dismal.National Rural Employment Guarantee Program

Information, Access and Targeting: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in India

In this paper, the relationship is assessed between possessing information on, gaining access to and the efficacy of delivery of India's national rural employment guarantee scheme (NREGA) in three states. The results suggest that the link between information, access and the delivery of the scheme is not straightforward. Information can increase the propensity for the programme to be accessed by those who are not its primary target population, and can enhance efficacy of delivery to such beneficiaries. Lack of information, on the other hand, decreases the ability of citizens, particularly the acutely poor, to benefit from the scheme.

Reviewing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme

This article presents results on the participation of rural workers in the National Rural Employment Guarantee programme based on a pilot survey of three villages in Udaipur district in Rajasthan. Its focus is on participation in the nreg programme of different socio-economic groups and the determinants of the participation of these groups. It is found that the mean participation was 59 days and that targeting was satisfactory. The performance of the programme has been far from dismal