Democracy and the limits of minority rights / Nalini Rajan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rajan, Nalini, 1954-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Human rights.

Minorities.

Democracy.

India--Politics and government.

India.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

236 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New Delhi ; Thousand Oaks, CA : Sage Publications, 2002.

Summary:

At the start of the 21st century, we are still debating various fundamental issues pertaining to core human values, popularly known as 'human rights'. Constituting an important contribution to the debate, the central purpose of this book is to demonstrate the essential link between human rights and democracy. Nalini Rajan maintains that human rights can flourish only in a state which promotes the democratic value of equal consideration of individual autonomy - i.e., each person's capacity to act independently.

Taking up various important issues and concepts like multiculturalism, citizenship, economic rights, and the right to a certain quality of life, Nalini Rajan argues that minority rights are not the only way to counter majoritarianism. She also advocates structural and constitutional changes to render the Indian polity more federal, particularly through devolution and local self-governance.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Defining human rights 23

Chapter 2 Why democracy matters 46

Chapter 3 Freedom of conscience or of choice? 77

Chapter 4 Multiculturalism and identity politics 117

Chapter 5 Is there a right not to work? 147

Chapter 6 Gandhi and ecological imperatives 183

Chapter 7 Towards greater federalism 206.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [223]-230) and index.

ISBN:

0761996753

0761996761

OCLC:

49750228