Religion, Politics and Secularism
(Essays in Honour of Asghar Ali Engineer)

Last Date of Submission: Abstract: 15th June, 2013; Full Length Paper: 31st July, 2013
Editor: P. Prayer Elmo Raj
Concept note
India is a constitutionally declared secular state. However, the recent political, social and religious events and turns have challenged secularism with its casteist, communalist, religious fundamentalist and separatist attitudes. Asghar Ali Engineer, a reformist and prophetic voice of modern India, has dealt in deepness the roots of Indian secularism, the interplay between state and religion, and the manner in which contemporary secularism is threatened/practiced by the political/religious events unravelled in present context with a voice that emphatically called for harmony. Secularism and the interplay between religion and state is a relevant question today than ever. The proposed edited volume is an attempt to bring in secular voices and critical perspectives on historical and contemporary secularist theoretical perspectives and modes, secularist view points on the interface between religion and politics today, communalism, fundamentalism and creative and existential facets of tolerance in memory of a person who, throughout his extraordinary career, has promoted the values of religious and communal co-existence, tolerance and mutual understanding. Themes of focus may include but are not restricted to:
a) India and secularism: Issues, challenges and theoretical stances
b) Postsecular perspectives
c) Secularism in art and literature
d) Critique on the interplay of religion and politics in post-independent India
e) Overview/ assessment/critical study of the works of Asghar Ali Engineer
Authentic, scholarly and unpublished research papers are invited from scholars/faculty/researchers/writers/professors for this volume. The research paper shall focus on any aspect of religion, politics and secularism in India.
The volume will be published with an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) by a renowned publisher.
Editing requirements:
● Paper size: A4, Font & size: Times New Roman 12, Spacing: Single line, Margin of 1 inch on all four sides.
● Title of the paper: bold, title case (Capitalize each word), centered. Times New Roman 14
● Text of the paper: justified. Font & size: Times New Roman 12.
● References: Please follow MLA style strictly. Do not use Foot Notes. Instead use End Notes.
● Articles should be submitted as MS Word 2003-2007 attachments only.
● The paper should not usually exceed 14 pages maximum, 8 pages minimum in single spacing.
● Each paper must be accompanied by i) A declaration that it is an original work and has not been published anywhere else or send for publication ii) Abstract of paper about 100-200 words and iii) A short bio-note of the contributor(s) indicating name, institutional affiliation, brief career history, postal address, mobile number and e-mail, in a single attachment. Please don’t send more attachments. Give these things below your paper and send all these things in a separate single MS-Word attachment.
● The papers submitted should evince serious academic work contributing new knowledge or innovative critical perspectives on the subject explored.
Mode of Submission:
Each contributor is advised to the send full paper with brief bio-note, declaration and abstract as single MS-Word email attachments to prayerani@gmail.com.
Last date of submission
An abstract of 150-200 words is to be sent by June 15, 2013.
Full Length Paper: 31st July, 2013.
Selection Procedure:
All submissions will be sent for blind peer reviewing. Final selection will be made only if the papers are recommended for publication by the reviewers. The details of the selection of your paper will be informed to you telephonically or on your email. The editor has the right to make necessary editing of selected papers for the sake of conceptual clarity and formatting. Non-selected papers will not be sent back to the contributor in any form. All contributors are advised to keep a copy of their submission with them. Each contributor will get a free complimentary copy from publisher but in case of joint paper, the first author will get the free copy.
Plagiarism Alert:
Contributors are advised to adhere to strict academic ethics with respect to acknowledgment of original ideas from others. The editors will not be responsible for any such lapse of the contributor. All submissions should be original and must be accompanied by a declaration that it is an original work and has not been published anywhere else. It will be your sole responsibility for such lapses, if any. Neither the editor, nor the publisher will be responsible for it.
Authors are requested to contact the editor for queries, if any
P. Prayer Elmo Raj, Assistant Professor of English, Karunya University, Coimbatore-641114 Tamilnadu, India. Mobile No. 09487188432 email: prayerani@gmail.com