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Indian Model of Secularism
Topic Started: May 15 2018, 04:18 AM (171 Views)
Aditya Republic
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India's Ambassador to Europeia

Indian Model of Secularism
-By Aditya

Hello there,

Welcome back to the comeback edition of The Europeian Chatterbox! We are back after 7 long months and we missed you all a lot! Starting with this article, we have decided to experiment with different genres. And then based on the critical response, we will decide the next course of action. With that being said, feel free to scroll below and enoy our latest article about the Indian model of secularism.

Before we start, let us ask this question. What is secularism? According to this website, secularism means "the belief that religion should not be involved with the ordinary social and political activities of a country". This is the generally accepted definition of secularism. However, secularism from the Indian perspective means something different. In the words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, secularism in India means "equal protection by the State to all religions".

Sometimes, people say that Indian secularism is a mere imitation of Western secularism. However, this is not the case. Indian secularism is fundamentally different from Western secularism.Indian secularism doesn't focus only on church-state separation. In fact, the idea of inter-religious equality is crucial to Indian secularism.

Then you may ask, what makes Indian secularism so different? Since times immemorial, there has always been respect for other religions in India. But this was compatible with the dominance of one religion. This arrangement gave some space to each person but it was limited.

After Western modernity entered India, many neglected ideas of equality entered Indian thought. Thus, it brought inter and intra-religious domination into focus. Indian secularism equally opposed all forms of domination that might threaten the rights of minorities within religious communities. This is the first difference between Western and Indian secularism.

The second difference is connected to the first one. Indian secularism deals with the religious rights of individuals as well as of religious communities. Like the individual can profess the religion of their choice, religions have a right to exist and preserve their culture by establishing their own institutions.

The third and main difference is the fact that Indian secularism allows for state sponsored religious reform. The state can intervene into religion to ensure equality within religions. Indian secularism is unique. It allows the state to either stay away from religion as happening in Western secularism, or intervene if needed.

By now, it must be evident that Indian secularism can't be captured in the phrase "equal respect for all religions". The state is not required to treat every single aspect of all religions with equal respect. It provides for equal disrespect for some areas of religions.

Like many other things, Indian secularism too has flaws. They are as follows:
1) Anti-religious: Many feel that Indian secularism is anti-religious.
2) Copy of Western secularism: People say that since secularism is linked to Christianity, and the fact that it is a Western concept, the very idea of secularism is alien to India.
3) It gives too much concession to minorities: Critics state that Indian secularism ends up giving too many concessions to the minorities and gives them special preference.
4) More interference in Hinduism compared to others: After independence, many laws like the Hindu Marriage Act were enacted to codify the Hindu way of life. However, the same has not been done for many other religions.
5) Minority appeasement: Indian secularism's big weakness is the fact that it can be easily used to appease the minorities and gain political mileage.
6) It suppresses women rights: Indian secularism allows many discriminatory practices against women, especially in the religion of Islam.

With this, we end our article. We hope you enjoyed it. What do you think of Indian secularism? Is it better than Western secularism or vice versa? What changes would you suggest in it?

Source(s): My political theory textbook, Wikipedia
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P.S: Did you like this article? Want more of this? Let us know in the comments!
Edited by Aditya Republic, May 15 2018, 04:27 AM.
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Rach
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Many Sikh's and Muslims certainly do not feel that India affords too much protection to them and there certainly is not equal protection to each religion. When you have states that have legal restrictions based on Hinduism that apply to non-hindus like banning the consumption and sale for consumption of beef... then clearly that's not secular by the definitions you put here.

It is clear that Hinduism does not play an equal or inter-dominant role in India; especially today it plays a dominant role. When academics are being censured or fired by Hindu political groups, then clearly one religion is being favoured over others.
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Kari
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""the belief that religion should not be involved with the ordinary social and political activities of a country"" , "allows for state sponsored religious reform. The state can intervene into religion" .... the hell?
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Almost shockingly aggressive.
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