Multiculturalism in India and Europe

Contents: Introduction. 1. Multiculturalism and the social structure in India and Europe/Sheetal Sharma. 2. Unity and diversity: India and Europe/Bhaswati Sarkar. 3. Social integration in multicultural societies: a comparative study of India and Europe/Sheetal Sharma. 4. Discourses on multiculturalism in continental Europe/Michael Dusche. 5. The multicultural discourse in India/Imtiaz Ahmad. 6. For a new secularism: citizen rights or community protection/Dipankar Gupta. 7. Indian migration on the European continent/Idesbald Goddeeris and Sara Cosemans. 8. Multiculturalism as a policy of integration in Britain/Divya Balan. 9. Cultural policy of the European Union and India-EU cultural cooperation/Imre Lazar. 10. Can multiculturalism promote gender equality?/Anuradha M. Chenoy.

Growing cultural diversity as a result of globalization, technological changes and migration poses major challenges of management and accommodation in most multicultural and multiethnic societies.

This volume presents a broad overview of the actors and factors that have played an important role in the success and/or failure of multiculturalism in contemporary India and Europe.

The study critically evaluates the mutliculturalist discourse in Britain, France, Germany, and India. It provides a comparative analysis of the historical roots of plurality in both Europe and India and discusses the challenge posed by multiculturalism to existing forms of secularism.

The book examines the implications and challenges of Indian migration to the European continent, the role of culture in the external relations of the European Union with special reference to India and seeks to answer the question whether multiculturalism can promote gender equality. (jacket)