A.5. Secularism in India

[Image: Provisions in the constitution to protect secularism in India]

Indian culture is a rich tapestry woven from diverse spiritual traditions and social movements. In ancient India, Sanatan Dharma was a comprehensive belief system that embraced various spiritual paths, incorporating them into a unified mainstream. The evolution of the four Vedas, along with the numerous interpretations of the Upanishads and the Puranas, underscores the religious diversity within Hinduism.

In the third century BCE, Emperor Ashoka declared that the state would not take any action against religious sects. In his Rock Edict, Ashoka called for not only the tolerance of all religious groups but also for the cultivation of profound respect for each.

Even after the advent of Jainism, Buddhism and later Islam and Christianity on the Indian soil, the quest for religious toleration and coexistence of different faiths continued.

In medieval India, the Sufi and Bhakti movements brought together the people of various communities. The leading personalities of these movements were Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, Baba Farid, Sant Kabir Das, Guru Nanak Dev, Saint Tukaram and Mira Bai.

In Mughal India, religious toleration and freedom of worship marked the State under Akbar. He had several Hindus as his ministers, forbade forcible conversions, and abolished Jizya. The most prominent evidence of his tolerance policy was his promulgation of ‘Din-i-Ilahi’ or the Divine Faith, which had elements of both Hindu and Muslim faith.

The British had always tried to break the secularity and the seeds of hatred were watered by the colonial rule. But the spirit of secularism was strengthened and enriched through the Indian freedom movement too, though the British pursued the policy of divide and rule.

British acts like:

• Partitioning of Bengal in 1905.
• Separate electorates were for Muslims through the Indian Councils Act of 1909, a provision which was extended to Sikhs, Indian Christians, Europeans, and Anglo-Indians in certain provinces by the Government of India Act, 1919.
• Ramsay MacDonald Communal Award of 1932, provided for separate electorates as well as reservation of seats for minorities, even for the depressed classes became the basis for representation under the Government of India Act, 1935.

These were acts that escalated the communal and regional sentiments of the people and the negative effects of which are still being felt in the country.

The Indian freedom movement was characterized by secular tradition and ethos right from the start. In the initial part of the Indian freedom movement, the liberals like Sir Feroz Shah Mehta, Govind Ranade, and Gopal Krishna Gokhale by and large pursued a secular approach to politics.

The constitution drafted by Moti Lal Nehru as the chairman of the historic Nehru Committee in 1928, had many provisions on secularism as: ‘There shall be no state religion for the commonwealth of India or for any province in the commonwealth, nor shall the state, either directly or indirectly, endow any religion any preference or impose any disability on account of religious beliefs or religious status’.

Gandhiji’s secularism was based on a commitment to the brotherhood of religious communities based on their respect for and pursuit of truth, whereas, Jawaharlal Nehru’s secularism was based on a commitment to scientific humanism tinged with a progressive view of historical change.

Heterogeneity is the basis of Indian culture and religious tolerance is the core factor of Indian secularism. The Introduction of the Constitution along with Articles 25 to 28 highlights the concept of secularism represented in the constitutional scheme.

Secularism is a part of a democratic state which grants to citizens equal rights. It guards democracy by restricting the power of the majority. Secularism is therefore advantageous for a plural culture in India.

[Image:Difference between Communalism, Regionalism and Secularism]