RAY 1

Priyanka Ray

Professor Suman Rani

English-1

30 Sep 2018

Is India really a secular country?

India's survival as a multi-religious, multi-lingual, multi-racial, multi-cultural society will

depend on how successful it is in working its secularism. With extremist and radical external

forces such as Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of

Pakistan, to name just two, bent on disturbing the peace and tranquility in the country, it will not

be wise enough to neglect the welfare of minorities. No society can prosper or be at peace with

itself if one-fourth of its population feels neglected, deprived and unwanted. The concept of

secularism is based on recognition and protection of minorities. The two cannot be separated.

One would have therefore expected that the founding fathers of the Constitution would first

define the term minorities. Unfortunately, this was never done. India is a defender of the Hindu

dharma with the intervention of political parties in religious matters and different laws for

different religions, but we have places of worship and national holidays for all religions. So, for

India to become secular, a secularism commission has to be set up.

7 state legislatures have passed laws which restrict conversion from Hinduism to other religions

but facilitates conversion to Hinduism. Churches have been under attack since decades as

demonstrated in August-September 2008 in Orissa and Karnataka. A series of articles in the

Indian 1 [ CITATION htt \l 16393 ]

 RAY 2

Constitution underline the precepts of secularism. Article 25(1) of the Constitution grants

freedom of religion in our country. Also, the Supreme Court verdict declared in S.R. Bommai v.

Union of India says that secularism is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution and the

Parliament cannot dilute it in any way. The reality is however quite disappointing. Instead of

being the cementing force, secularism has led to alienation of all communities. Demolition of the

Babri Masjid is a shameful chapter in India's recent history raising serious doubts about its

secularism.

School children in Gujarat, Maharashtra and other places are forced to perform Surya Namaskar

against their will. In 2015, Dadri mob lynching2, a Muslim man was killed because he was

suspected of slaughtering a stolen cow calf. The provisions in the Directive Principles of State

Policy like the article 48--organization of agriculture and animal husbandry which has been

invoked for banning cow slaughter in several states. Particular attention may also be invited to

article 51A on fundamental duties which, in clause (e), lays down the duty to promote harmony

and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all people of India transcending religious,

linguistic and regional or sectional diversities. The Hindu culture gets conflated with the Indian

culture. The BJP and its affiliate parties have given to the prevention of cow slaughter sanctity of

Hindu religious precept. But this is hardly justified. Further, the fundamental right of persons to

practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business contained in article 19

(1) (g) of the Constitution has been over-ridden by article 48, of the Directive Principles of State

Policy3. In

2
[ CITATION htt1 \l 16393 ]

3
[ CITATION htt2 \l 16393 ]
 RAY 3

the scheme of the Constitution, directive principles are not supposed to over-ride the

fundamental rights.

A Scheduled Caste changes religion after obtaining employment or admission to school, he or

she must leave the institution but if they revert to Hinduism, they do not have to leave.

According to the Presidential orders of 1950 and 1956, the people benefitting from Scheduled

Castes’ can only be Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists but not Christians and Muslims. India boosts of

a rich variety of cultures and is known for its unity in diversity. Also, article 16 4--equality of

opportunity in matters of public employment lays down that no citizen shall, on grounds of

religion, race, caste etc. shall be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of employment

or office under the state. Also, according to the Equality Act 2010 any person of public service

cannot be harassed based on religion. However, there are employers who appoint candidates

based on their religion and not their merit.

The Supreme Court has done a great service to the country by declaring that secularism is a part

of the basic structure of the Constitution. But this declaration has remained on paper and no steps

have been taken so far to translate it into reality, except for it becoming a part of political

rhetoric in the country. Firstly, the words “secular” and “minority” need to be defined. A

secularism commission could also help solve this problem. This could be appointed by an

amendment to the constitution of India and headed by a former Chief Justice of India. It is futile

to talk about India becoming a secular nation without the separation of religion from politics.

Protection of minority
 RAY 4

4
[ CITATION htt3 \l 16393 ]

in educational institutions and making voting compulsory can strengthen secularism too. A lot is

left to be done if secularism is to become a way of life in India. This will be possible only if there

is a real political, social and intellectual commitment to it and the state and central governments,

the political parties, the civil society and the media strive for it.

Works Cited

http://trak.in/tags/business/2015/05/22/muslim-denied-job-mumbai-religion/

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/lets-debate-secularism-not-rubbish-it/article6086156.ece
RAY 5