Contents: Foreword by M Hamid Ansari Preface Pluralism and Secularism The Political Context: Communalism Secularism: The Debate Colonialism, Nationalism and the Making of Religious Identity The Evolution of Minority Rights and Secularism in India Equality and the Rights of Minorities The Principle of Tolerance Wrapping Up Bibliography Index How can people who speak different languages, worship different gods and subscribe to different conceptions of the good live together with a degree of civility, dignity and mutual respect? It is not easy to find an answer to this troubled question, given recent political developments in many parts of the world. Today, the world is marked by extreme intolerance towards racial, sexual, religious and ethnic minorities and refugees. It is stamped with the disturbing consequences of religious strife. In these troubled times, Rethinking Pluralism, Secularism and Tolerance: Anxieties of Coexistence takes on the difficult task of finding an answer to the question by analyzing and reinterpreting the concepts of secularism, pluralism and tolerance in the context of contemporary India.