Subjects:

India, Other Jurisdictions

Contents:

Introduction - the secular state in a religious society, Gerald James Larson. Part 1 The secular state and legal pluralism - the current debate and its historical antecedents: religion, personal law and identity, Granville Austin

religious minorities and the law, Ruma Pal

living with difference in India - legal pluralism and legal universalism in historical context, Susanne Hoeber Rudolph and Lloyd I. Rudolph. Part 2 Religious endowments, reservations law and criminal law: religious and charitable endowments and a uniform civil code, John H. Mansfield

personal law and reservations - volition and religion in contemporary India, Laura Dudley Jenkins

the uniform civil code debate - lessons from the criminal procedures, Arvind Verma. Part 3 Personal law and issues of gender: gender implications for a uniform civil code, Robert D. Baird

the personal and the political - Indian women and inheritance law, Srimati Basu

colonialism, nationalism, and gendered legal subjectivities - observations on the historical destruction of separate legal regimes, Kunal M. Parker

who was Roop Kanwar? Sati, law, religion and post-colonial feminism in contemporary India, Paul Courtright and Namita Goswami

""where will she go? What will she do?"" Paternalism towards women in the administration of Muslim family law in contemporary India, Sylvia Vatuk. Part 4 Cross-cultural perspectives: affirmative action in the United States and the reservation system in India - some comparative perspectives, Kevin Brown

personal law systems and religious conflict - a comparison of India and Israel, Marc Galanter and Jayanth Krishnan

the road to Xanadu - India's quest for secularism, Rajeev Dhavan.

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. This study provides 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 comparative perspective on complex issues of multiculturalism that characterize Indian society and identities.