Legal Pluralism, Cultural Diversity and Rights of Minorities in Multicultural Society; Revisiting the Rights of Indian Muslims as Minorities to Follow their Personal Laws

Abstract: The recent decades has witnessed growing scholarly interest in the fact that various cultures in a society merit equal respect. The trend became a significant force during the 1970’s and 80’s in the American society as various ethnic and cultural groups explored their own history and demanded due respect and recognition. Contemporary liberal democracies face severe challenges from religious pluralism as it poses twin questions as to how the majorities should respond to the religious claims of the minorities and secondly how the minorities should react to the ‘so-called ’ secular states. Challenging the continuing legacy of moral monism in contemporary liberalism, scholars as Bhikhu Parekh, Partha Chatterjee, Will Kymlicka, Charles Taylor, Iris Young and many others have engaged in presenting an ambitious and provocative analysis of the opportunities and challenges that contemporary multiculturalism presents. They offer a nuanced examination of human nature, the essence of cultural diversity and the importance of cross-cultural interaction and present strong defence off why cultural diversity should not only be respected and accommodated but also cherished and fostered as something valuable. These scholars vehemently argue for an open and equal dialogue between mutually respectful cultural communities and suggest that the state reconcile their demands for political unity and cultural diversity. Presenting a radical critique of dominant culture these scholars uphold the need for a debate o