Political Responses to Religious Diversity in Ancient and Modern India

One of the distinctive features of the Indian sub-continent is its rich religious diversity. This article examines two political responses to religious diversity, one, in third century BCE and the other in the middle of the last century as India became independent from British colonial rule. In Ancient India, Emperor Asoka issued edicts that advised people of all religious faiths to live together and claimed that the condition of sociability are fulfilled by all religious perspectives as each values self-restraint and self-purification. In the public arena, this translates into restraint of speech and civility towards one another. Modern India presented an entirely different scenario. Here the state had to respond to well demarcated, often conflicting religious communities, each of whom, was at least partially committed to freedom and equality-oriented reforms. This necessitated that the state take a somewhat combative stance towards both inter and intra-religious domination. The article argues that the only way in which to undermine these forms of domination is that the state adopts a policy of principled distance towards all religions.