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Politics of Personal Law in India

The Hindu–Muslim Dichotomy

School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. e-mail: parsarg{at}hotmail.com and parsarg{at}gmail.com

Focusing explicitly on a political science perspective, this article argues that the inter-communal politics of personal law debates in India can be seen as a politically navigated form of identity construction. Specifically the Hindu–Muslim debates demonstrate that today, such contested matters of identity are not merely debated within national boundaries but have also taken on global dimensions which need to be accounted for. Inter-communal politics evidently have important implications for electoral politics, but manipulations of personal laws run the risk of making bad politics.

Key Words: colonial rule • electoral politics • Hindu law • Muslim law • personal laws • politics • uniform civil code

South Asia Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, 1-17 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/026272800802900101


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