Pluralism and personal laws in India

Abstract

Personal law systems regulate family matters by applying different “personal laws” - ostensibly based on religious doctrine - to people depending on the religious group with which they are identified. One-third of the world’s population lives under personal law systems; they are therefore a very significant constitutional response to religious pluralism. This chapter interrogates a particularly important personal law system - that of India - against the values that are often invoked by defenders of personal laws.