Shahabuddin's Letter to Neera Chandhoke, 23 February, 1999


 

In your article "The Limits of Tolerance", you have assumed that the democratic state in a multi-religious society is majoritarian or majority-dominated. To make it supportive and protective of religious minorities, the State has to move beyond declarations of toleration and promulgation of minority rights in the Constitution. It has to keep a constant vigil and continuously strive towards coopting the minorities in the structure and instrumentalities of State power, so that the State is not identified with the majority group. In other words, the State cannot remain a formal democracy but must evolve into one which guarantees life, liberty and pursuit of happiness to every citizen and every social group.





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