Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Contending stories in the culture of Indian politics : traditions and the future of democracy -- Democratic culture and images of the State : India's unending ambivalence -- The politics of secularism and the recovery of religious tolerance -- Coping with the politics of faiths and cultures : between secular state and ecumenical traditions in India -- A report on the present state of health of the gods and goddesses in South Asia -- Time travel to a possible self : searching for the alternative cosmopolitanism of Cochin -- Violence and creativity in the late twentieth century : Rabindranath Tagore and the problem of testimony.