Secularism and Secularisation of the State: Decoding Gandhian Philosophy in Contemporary India (original) (raw)
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India is the only country in the world where the issue of secularism has occupied a centre stage in intellectual discussions. The bulk of writing on the question of secularism in contemporary India has focused on an issue that has its origin in Western civilization, history and religion, namely, the relationship between the state and religion, and specifically concerning the establishment or not of a state religion or the official recognition of a multiplicity of religions.[1] A multi-religious society cannot function democratically without secularism. Secularism is quite important for democratic functioning and particularly India which has a multi-religious. Though we have concepts like sarbdharm samman, Basudaiva Kutumbakam, religious tolerance etc. but the concept of secularism did not exist in India even its equivalent was also not found in Indian languages. It had to be translated. In Hindi it was translated as dharm nirpekshta. Both these translations were not correct as they implied neutrality towards religion and being non-religious respectively. The western concept of neutrality implies a state being non-religious or neutrality of state towards religion. In Indian context the concept of secularism has many implications and manifestations. Secularism is, as for its genesis, an alien concept for India envisaging separation of the church and the state – an apparently impossible proposition in the Indian situation. In practice, however, that entire ‘secular’ means is that the Parliament shall not be competent to impose any particular religion upon any section of population.
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Nehru was perceptive enough to recognize that India can be integrated into a nation only by making it secular state. Despite its partition in 1947 for the creation of Pakistan and the consequent exodus of a large number of Muslims to that country, this strength had remained substantial in India. Besides them, the Sikhs and the Christians too were significant religion based communities in the demographic structure of India. The integration of these religions minorities was not possible through assimilation. It was possible only through the adoption of accommodation. And, this could be done only if India became a secular state. That is why, without using the term ’Secular State’ or ‘Secularism’ in the constitution, he makes India a secular states. This brief write-up is an attempt to deal with Nehru’s model of secularism and its contemporary relevance. It has been divided into four parts. The first deals with the meaning and evolution of the concept of secularism. The second discusses Nehru’s model of this concept. The third describes its institutionalization by him. And, the last examines its relevance in the present context and the threats to it from the forces of fascism that have emerged after the 2014 parliamentary elections.
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Does the principle of secularism, and particularly, the idea of a secular state, presuppose certain doctrines, whether in the form of theological beliefs or as worldviews that define cultural reasoning? Is something more than a mere adoption of a secular Constitution necessary for the ideals of the Constitution to become a reality? If secularism itself presupposes certain doctrines, then conflicts within a pluralistic context could be anticipated not only despite secularism but also because of it. The compatibility between secularism and the comprehensive doctrine in the society demands that we locate the ontology of the secular. I have explored the secular as the prodigal child of Christianity (prodigalized through the calculus of disenchantment, individual autonomy, and authenticity) which wanders into various cultures and finds itself a home (not necessarily a happy one) to become a foster child in the Indian sub-continent. This creates a cross-pressure, a consequence of two opposing moods being felt simultaneously: a sense of belonging and a sense of alienation. For the very first time, one belongs to this independent nation-state and not subject to either a monarchy or a princely state nor is one governed by a foreign power, whether Moghul or British. By virtue of now being larger than any of its former socio-political avatars, India begins to command an incontestable allegiance from its citizenry. However, the cost of assuming this larger identity means having to subscribe to a doctrine that is alien to its culture. Hence the cross-pressure! In this article, I have tried to explore what such cross-pressure means for Hindu orthodoxy.
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY ON THE RELEVANCE OF SECULARISM IN MODERNISING INDIA
AN ANALYTICAL STUDY ON THE RELEVANCE OF SECULARISM IN MODERNISING INDIA Chandra Shekhar Singh Abstract: Since time immemorial, our India is known for its multi diversity as this land and its society is like a mighty river containing many tributaries of religions, languages, customs, creed and colour. Many religions and its followers are flourishing in this Dev Bhumi with their own traditions and beliefs. Thus, India is a multi-religious and multi- cultural nation from its known history. It is only the assimilating power of this pious land by which various religions, cultures, languages of Aryans, invasion of Mughals and colonial rule of Britishers played a very vital role in enhancing its cultural and religious multiplicity, thus making it a pluralistic society. So, whichever society with its culture came to this land, may be in the form of invasion or incursion, our Indian society became more and more complex and rich. Perhaps no other society of the world is as multi-cultural and multi-religious as our Indian society. As it is multi religious and multi caste society with several diversifications, many divisive factors also persists which can cause a threat to its long cherished unity and integrity. So, to curb this type of situation and to promote religious harmony with tolerance and socio economic upliftment of all, our constitution aims to constitute our nation a Sovereign, Socialist and Democratic nation. In this direction, by the 42nd amendment in our constitution, the term Socialist and Secular was added and it was proved a very significant step. The idea behind the creation of Secular India was to implement our ancient cherished history of ‘Sarva Dharma Samabhava’ by prohibiting any kind of discrimination on the ground of religion, caste, race, sex or place of birth. The present paper is an attempt to analyse the concept of Secularism, its history and challenges in the context of modernizing India. Keywords: Diversity, Dev Bhumi, Mighty, Pluralism, Challenges, Sarva Dharma Sambhava.
M. K. Gandhi is sometimes thought of as the “spiritual father” of Indian secularism, despite the fact that he is clearly not a secularist in the common Western sense of the term. This contradiction arises from what appears to be an ambivalence in Gandhi’s thought toward the notion of secularism. In this essay, I argue that this requires distinguishing between the different senses in which Gandhi used the term “religion.” His multi-faceted understanding of religion challenges the conceptual distinction between public and private as understood within Western discourses on secularism. In so doing, it also confounds traditional Western understandings of the relationship between individuals and communities in the secularist project, while providing a distinct understanding of religious “freedom.”
Secularism in India: A Constitutional Imperative or A Necessary Evil
Instead of Indian secularism, the complexity of secularism in India gives a thrilling account to acknowledge the process of Indianization of a European entity. As history shows the expansion of a civilizational state, India has been continuing with its credibility to accommodate all the religious divisions, racial coherence and cultural pluralism. With the advancement of a democratic constitution, various attempts have been made to protect the values of India but the religious mentality of millions never get satisfied. The problems of secularism in India has been manifold, however the political landscape, within a safety barrack, is working for electoral maintenance. Indian model of secularism, from its beginning, has dramatically been witnessing a balance between constitutional provisions and political identification. The political engagements and rising humanitarian violence impose a serious threat for accepting a European idea that has been treated as an abused child. This paper tries to demonstrate the complex nature of secularism with diverse interpretations, in contrast the applicability of secularism in India seems necessary but largely an evil.
Debates on Secularism in the era of Hindu Nationalism
One of the most ancient religions in the world is a force to reckon with when it comes to Indian politics. Hinduism forms the philosophical bedrock of the Bhartiya Janata Party and is also the religion of 80 % of 1.3 billion Indians making it the third largest religion worldwide after Christianity and Islam. In spite of Hinduism being the religion followed and professed by the majority population of India, it never became the state religion. India as enshrined in its constitution and as wished by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru became a secular democratic republic. However, beginning in the early 1980's and more so in recent months, a surging wave of Hindu nationalism has challenged this philosophy which is undoubtedly the bedrock of India's political identity. According to its more hard line supporters, Hinduism should replace secularism as the guiding principle of Indian society. While examining and analysing debates on secularism in this era of Hindu nationalism, it is first incumbent for us to understand the Hindutva ideology and trace its origins.
Analysis of the Concept of Secularism in India
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Secularism in India is among most debated topic in the recent years. Secularism in general sense mean separation of religion from the state. The Concept of secularism in India is very much different from west or its general usage in English language, one of the distinctive features of secularism in India is that it does not draw a clear wall of separation between church and religion but it also does not promote any religion. Interestingly the world secularism is introduced to the constitution by 42 Constitutional Amendment but the Framers of the constitution were crystal clear about the secular nature of the state. The constitutional assembly debates give a clear account of general agreement between the member about non establishment of any particular religion but also respecting religious sentiment of people. Thus, paper tries to investigate the different aspects of secularism in India and what makes India secular. This paper tries to understand the various meanings of secularism. ...