Rajeev Bhargava is director of the Institute of Indian Thought at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi and a noted Indian political theorist. His research and writings in political theory focus on comparative political secularism, multiculturalism, and religious and secular identities. He is a spirited defender of the principled distance model of Indian secularism, responding deftly to internal and external critics.

In this conversation, Bhargava will join Berkley Center Senior Fellow José Casanova to discuss Indian secularism, as well as comparative secularism globally. They will examine the particular challenges that majoritarian Hindu nationalism presents to Indian secularism, the relationship between dual global crises of secularism and of democracy, and how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting both. They will also discuss U.S.-Indian relations in the context of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. This conversation is the seventh in the Global Religious and Secular Dynamics Discussion Series.

The Zoom Webinar link and instructions will be sent out on the morning of the event to anyone who has filled out the RSVP form. This event will be recorded and a captioned video will be posted to this page after the event date. Please RSVP to receive an email notification once it is posted.