The compendium examines and addresses the governance of cultural diversity in multicultural societies of Canada and India in a post-colonial setting of functioning democracies. In contrast to India, a civilization society, Canada is a settler society with immigrants constituting a key resource for its nation-building. While the 1988 Canadian Multicultural Act celebrates cultural diversity, the 1950 Constitution of India promises to create and sustain a multicultural India. The Constitutional stipulations have reduced-though not eliminated-cultural majoritarianism and assimilationist tendencies in Indian society. However, Canada's model of Multi-culturalism provides for integration of immigrants and refugees to participate in the public domain and extends equal citizenship rights to all. After more than thirty years of the official Multicuralism policy in Canada and sixty years of recognition of Constitutional rights to various minorities and marginalized groups in India, many common questions with regard to unity, diversity, equity, access to political power and economic resources, minority and citizenship have been raised. Multicultural states like Canada and India face greater challenges in the post-9/11 era with its clash of civilization ideology promoting cultural intolerance and ethnic tensions. An attempt has been made to address these questions by fourteen leading Canadian and Indian scholars of Jawaharlal Nehru University and Montreal University in the compendium. Faculty, students, decision-markers or people working in multicultural institutions interested in ethnic relations will find this compendium insightful and interesting.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Christopher Sam Raj
Dr. Christopher Sam Raj is professor and Chairman of the Centre for Canadian, US and latin American Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has been Senior Fulbright fellow attached to Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.; Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Fellow as visiting professor at Constance University, Germany; Three times Shastri Indo-canadian Instates fellow as visiting Professor at the Waterloo University, Canada. Areas of research interest include American and Canadian foreign policy and issues of multiculturalisnm in xcanada. Among various publications, he is author of two books: American Military in Europe: Controversy over NATO Burden-Sharin; and Stalking Terror: landmines in Peace and in war. Currently he is also Ordained Priest of the Church of North India Pastoring at the cathedral Church of the redemption, Diocese of Delhi.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marie Mc Andrew
Dr. Marie Mc Andrew, is Professor in the Department of Education and Administration of Education Studies at the University of Montreal, Canada. From 1993 to 2004, she co-ordinated the Research Group on Ethnicity and Adaptation to Pluralism in Education. From 1996 to 2002, she was Director of Immigration and Metropolis, the Inter-University Research Centre of Montreal on Immigration, Integration and Urban Dynamics. Since June 2003, she holds the Chair for Ethnic Relations and in June 2006 she was awarded a SSHR Canada Senior Research Chair. She has extensively published in National and International Journals and among many books she published, her book on Immigration and Diversity in School: the Quebecois Case in a Comparative Perspective won the Donner Prize in 2001. in June 2005, she also received a prize for her involvement in research and dissemination for the development of public policies, better adapted to pluralism.
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