Secularity and Hinduism’s imaginaries in India.

Abstract

Drawing on Charles Taylor’s concept of ‘social imaginary’ - the kind of collective understanding a group has to have in order to make sense of their practices - the article argues that the contradictions in the Indian Supreme Court’s interpretations of Hindutva and Hinduism and in the Indian state’s management of religious diversity stem from the inability of the Constitution to reconcile three different imaginaries of Hinduism – as a religion, culture and an ancient order. But these contradictions, while stoking discord, have also provided a buffer zone for the state from such conflicts.

Keywords:

Social imaginary Secularity Hinduism Religion Court