Includes bibliographical references (p. [373]-395) and index.

I. Secularism's historical background -- Reflections on the category of secularism in India : Gandhi, Ambedkar, and the ethics of communal representation, c. 1931 / Shabnum Tejani -- A view from the south : Ramasami's public critique of religion / Paula Richman and V. Geetha -- Nehru's faith / Sunil Khilnani -- II. Secularism and democracy -- Closing the debate on secularism : a personal statement / Ashis Nandy -- Living with secularism / Nivedita Menon -- The contradictions of secularism / Partha Chatterjee -- The secular state and the limits of dialogue / Gyanendra Pandey -- Secular nationalism, Hindutva, and the minority / Gyan Prakash -- III. Sites of secularism : education, media, and cinema -- Secularism, history, and contemporary politics in India / Romila Thapar -- The Gujarat experiment and hindu national realism : lessons for secularism / Arvind Rajagopal -- Secularism and popular Indian cinema / Shyam Benegal -- Neither state nor faith : the transcendental significance of the cinema / Ravi S. Vasudevan -- IV. Secularism and personal law -- Siting secularism in the uniform civil code : a "riddle wrapped inside an enigma"? / Upendra Baxi -- The Supreme Court, the media, and the uniform civil code debate in India / Flavia Agnes -- Secularism and the very concept of law / Akeel Bilgrami -- V. Conversion -- Literacy and conversion in the discourse of Hindu nationalism / Gauri Viswanathan -- Christian conversions, Hindutva, and secularism / Sumit Sarkar -- App. Chronology of the career of secularism in India -- Dwaipayan Sen.