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@article{197806,
        author = {Jeevika sukhdev},
        title = {THE BROKEN COVENANT: Social Contract Theory, State Neutrality, and Communal Conflict in Contemporary India},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {11},
        pages = {7034-7038},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=197806},
        abstract = {This paper attempts to explore and examine the applicability and limitations of classical social contract theory as propounded by social contract theorists like Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau in the context of contemporary India, particularly in reference to communal violence. The paper attempts to establish that the underlying assumption of social contract theory that human beings sacrifice a certain 3 degree of freedom in order to enjoy security, rights-protection, and impartial governance is yet to be fulfilled in contemporary India. The paper attempts to demonstrate that through an examination and critical appraisal of the underlying assumptions and applicability of social contract theory in contemporary India and through an examination and critical appraisal of the state's response to communal violence in contemporary India, that the state has failed in its contractual obligations towards citizens and that the prevalence of communal violence is not simply an aberration in terms of law and order, but is in fact reflective of a structural crisis in terms of political legitimacy that questions and challenges the very foundations and basis of contemporary democracy.},
        keywords = {},
        month = {April},
        }