The Intolerant Indian: Why We Must Rediscover A Liberal Space

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Harper Collins, Feb 17, 2011 - Social Science - 242 pages

It's dangerous to play around with the idea of India, but a new breed of intolerant Indians is doing just that Far too many Indians today do not seem to appreciate the idea of pluralist tolerance, which forms the structural framework of Indian democracy. They see pluralism as phony and tolerant secularism as hypocritical or irrelevant to an existence centered on narrow religious, regional or ethnic identities. Extremist religious ideologies as well as violent politics of mindless forces on the right and the left have often overshadowed the idea of a tolerant society that our founding fathers dreamed of, where many views would compete for public attention and where the motto 'live and let live' would be the nation's guiding philosophy. This essay is a plea for the restoration of reason in public life. It is written from the point of view of a liberal-secular democrat, who also happens to be an agnostic.
 

Contents

Preface
The Politics of Hate
Islam and Intolerance
Choking Expression
Religion and Illiberalism
In Conclusion
About the Author
Copyright

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About the author (2011)

Gautam Adhikari is an internationally known journalist, writer and television commentator. He has been executive editor of The Times of India, and dean of the Times School of Journalism. He served in the World Bank in Washington DC as a senior consultant. In 2005, Adhikari was the founding editor of DNA (Daily News & Analysis), Mumbai.

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