The Indian Supreme Court and the quest for a ‘rational’ Hinduism

Abstract

This article examines, first, how the courts have attempted to define religion with respect to the Constitution, and second, how the court in adjudicating cases related to Hinduism has drawn a distinction between the sacred and the secular. It shows how the Court's use of the ‘essential practices’ doctrine has served as a vehicle for legitimating a rationalized form of high Hinduism and delegitimating usages of popular Hinduism as superstition. This has resulted in the sanction for an extensive regulatory regime for Hindu religious institutions and substantial limits on the independence of religious denominations.