Multiculturalism in India and Europe: Policy and Practice

Abstract

Contemporary societies are characterised by increasing cultural diversity. However, diversity has become a source of conflict and intolerance among people belonging to different cultural affiliations. Sheetal Sharma argues that there is a need for reducing differences between culturally diverse groups, through institutional frameworks that guarantee freedom and respect for all. Multiculturalism as a policy option attempts to manage cultural diversity. Multiculturalism has been criticised because it views cultural differences in essentialised and static terms, reinforcing ethnic differences and breeding separatism. Sharma asserts that multiculturalism has failed to provide a viable and sustainable sense of unity in multicultural societies. Drawing on the experiences of India and Europe, the author attempts to capture the contours of multiculturalism and to identify possible combination of philosophical, theoretical and practical measures for promoting sustainable and effective social integration in multicultural societies.