Secular Sectarianism: Limits of Subaltern Politics

Description

Secularism is a tenet that is fundamental to Indian democracy and enshrined in the Constitution. However, its practice has been severely hampered in recent times largely due to the secular sectarianism pursued by secular, democratic and progressive political formations. This implies the tendency of specific secular political movements to act as if their agenda are exclusively important. Secular sectarianism has gradually polarized communities and advanced a woefully limited political imagination, leading to the proliferation of conflicts between various marginalized groups — Dalits, tribals, OBCs, Muslims, women and the Left. Secular Sectarianism: Limits of Subaltern Politics includes several accounts of such conflicts, opening up a new area of study for further conceptualization. This book emphasizes that citizenship in practice is expressed through the right to speak for others and not just for oneself. Progress can be made only by opening up dialogues within and across political communities. This is essential for India's survival as a secular and democratic nation. Progressive politics needs to move towards affinity and an idea of shared spaces. Dedication Contents Introduction: Prolegomenon to a Critical Theory of Secular Sectarianism Part I: Casting Sectarianism, Engendering Secularism 1 Incommensurable Sacral–Secular Sectarianism? Rohith Movement and the Emergence of the Inappropriable • P. Thirumal and Dickens Leonard 2 Intra-subaltern Conflict: Dalit–Tribal Conflict in Odisha • Suratha Kumar Malik 3 Interrelations of Gender, Caste, Religion and State: Women’s Centrality as Counter to Secular Sectarianism • Tarushikha Sarvesh Part II: Limits of Minority-ism 4 Ghar Wapsi or Reconversion? • Samir Gandesha 5 Understanding the Analytics of Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and Pasmanda Frame • Afroz Alam 6 Resisting Minoritization: Postcolonial Muslim Politics and Indian Democracy • Mursed Alam and Seema Ahmed 7 Rethinking Minority Politics in India • Shadab Arab 8 The Forgotten of the Conflict inIndian Jammu and Kashmir: On the Exile of the Pandit Minority • Nathalene Reynolds Part III: Left and Its Fragments 9 Governance as Practice and Politics as Intersectionality: Socializing Governance, Localizing Theories • Anindya Sekhar Purakayastha, Manas Dutta and Tirthankar Ghosh 10 What Is Left for the Left in West Bengal? The New Left and the World of the Third • Dhritiman Chakraborty Afterword: Politics of Secular Sectarianism • Ajay Gudavarthy and Nissim Mannathukkaren About the Editor and Contributors Index