The Wheel of Law : India's Secularism in Comparative Constitutional Context.
Title:
The Wheel of Law : India's Secularism in Comparative Constitutional Context.
Author:
Jacobsohn, Gary J.
ISBN:
9781400825578
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (275 pages)
Contents:
Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- CHAPTER ONE: Introduction: Ashoka's Wheel -- PART ONE: Three Models of Secular Constitutional Design -- CHAPTER TWO: Nations and Constitutions: Dimensions of Secular Configuration -- Three Constitutional Models: A Preliminary Account -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER THREE: Secularism in Context -- The United States: Assimilative Secularism -- Israel: Visionary Secularism -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER FOUR: India: The Ameliorative Aspiration -- "The Good of the People" -- "The State Shall Endeavor" -- A Conversion of Convenience -- Conclusion -- PART TWO: Constitutional Perspectives on the Challenge to Secularism in India -- CHAPTER FIVE: Religion, Politics, and the Failure of Constitutional Machinery -- Demolition, Dismissal, and Democracy -- Federalism and Republicanism -- The Brooding Omnipresence of Basic Structure -- A Secular State: The Basics -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER SIX: Corrupt Practices: Religious Speech and Democratic Deliberation -- What Is Political Corruption? -- Religion, Equality, and Constitutional Essentials -- Corruption: Process and Substance -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER SEVEN: Adjudicating Secularism: Political Liberalism or Religious Revivalism? -- Story I: Liberalism Ascendant -- Story II: Liberalism Subservient -- Postscript for Story II -- Story III: Jurisprudence -- Conclusion: Liberalism, Communalism, and Jurisprudence -- CHAPTER EIGHT: So You Want a (Constitutional) Revolution? Lessons from Abroad -- Revolutions and Their Constitutions -- Constitutional Harmony -- Reverse Images -- Conclusion -- CHAPTER NINE Conclusion: Toward Secular Convergence -- Reconsidering Smith -- Reinventing the Wheel -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z.
Abstract:
How can religious liberty be guaranteed in societies where religion pervades everyday life? In The Wheel of Law, Gary Jacobsohn addresses this dilemma by examining the constitutional development of secularism in India within an unprecedented cross-national framework that includes Israel and the United States. He argues that a country's particular constitutional theory and practice must be understood within its social and political context. The experience of India, where religious life is in profound tension with secular democratic commitment, offers a valuable perspective not only on questions of jurisprudence and political theory arising in countries where religion permeates the fabric of society, but also on the broader task of ensuring religious liberty in constitutional polities. India's social structure is so entwined with religion, Jacobsohn emphasizes, that meaningful social reform presupposes state intervention in the spiritual domain. Hence India's "ameliorative" model of secular constitutionalism, designed to ameliorate the disabling effects of the caste system and other religiously based practices. Jacobsohn contrasts this with the "visionary" secularism of Israel, where the state identifies itself with a particular religion, and with America's "assimilative" secularism. Constitutional globalization is as much a reality as economic globalization, Jacobsohn concludes, and within this phenomenon the place of religion in liberal democracy is among the most vexing challenges confronting us today. A richly textured account of the Indian experience with secularism, developed in a broad comparative framework, this book is for all those seeking ways to respond to this challenge.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
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Electronic Access:
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