The Two Faces of Secularism and Women’s Rights in India

Abstract

In this chapter1 I examine several concepts that are important to un- derstanding the impact that the rise of the Religious Right has had on women’s human rights in contemporary India. In particular, I discuss the ways in which equality and secularism, the cornerstones of a liberal de- mocratic state, have been deployed by the Hindu Right, and to some ex- tent, validated by the Indian Supreme Court. I also address how the Hindu Right’s agenda for women is related to its secular project.