Debating Difference

Group Rights and Liberal Democracy in India

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Political Science
Cover of the book Debating Difference by Rochana Bajpai, OUP India
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Author: Rochana Bajpai ISBN: 9780199088232
Publisher: OUP India Publication: March 3, 2011
Imprint: OUP India Language: English
Author: Rochana Bajpai
ISBN: 9780199088232
Publisher: OUP India
Publication: March 3, 2011
Imprint: OUP India
Language: English

How can inequalities between groups be addressed, while at the same time sustaining common citizenship? Debating Difference offers a new approach to this key question for liberal democracies, demonstrating that argument and debate is crucial for reconciling the demands of group equality and civic unity. India offers a unique case of group-differentiated rights. Using landmark constitutional and legislative debates on minority rights and quotas, Rochana Bajpai develops a model for interpreting post-Independence group rights that hinges on the interplay between five principal normative concepts—secularism, democracy, social justice, national unity, and development. Tracing the shifting meanings of these values over time, this book demonstrates that liberal and democratic concepts are more sophisticated and widely shared in the Indian polity than is commonly believed. The author identifies the limits of Western-centric accounts of multiculturalism. She also establishes the significance of political rhetoric for explanations of policy shifts and political change.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How can inequalities between groups be addressed, while at the same time sustaining common citizenship? Debating Difference offers a new approach to this key question for liberal democracies, demonstrating that argument and debate is crucial for reconciling the demands of group equality and civic unity. India offers a unique case of group-differentiated rights. Using landmark constitutional and legislative debates on minority rights and quotas, Rochana Bajpai develops a model for interpreting post-Independence group rights that hinges on the interplay between five principal normative concepts—secularism, democracy, social justice, national unity, and development. Tracing the shifting meanings of these values over time, this book demonstrates that liberal and democratic concepts are more sophisticated and widely shared in the Indian polity than is commonly believed. The author identifies the limits of Western-centric accounts of multiculturalism. She also establishes the significance of political rhetoric for explanations of policy shifts and political change.

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