Secularism and Absence of Theory

Author(s): Jakob De Roover

Source: Economic and Political Weekly , Dec. 21-27, 2002, Vol. 37, No. 51 (Dec. 21-27,
2002), pp. 5142-5143
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4412990

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 Discussion ________

with theory, which should give us know-

Secularism and Absence ledge of the problems of pluralism in

contemporary India, and not with some or
another definition of 'religion', 'Hindu-

of Theory ism', or 'secularism', however precise it

may be.
Given the absence of theory, it is incre-
dible that the language of secularism has
JAKOB DE ROOVER Deb's main complaint is that I am today become the sole language in which
obsessed with precise definitions, and that to reflect on the clashes between - and the
A text like my article on the secularismI seem to think that "the religious con- peaceful coexistence of - different cul-
ebate (EPW, September 28, 2002), flicts" in India would have been solved tural communities in India. Deb's writing
is something more than a sequence of if only the Indian scholars had provided is illustrative in this regard. He makes
sentences. This is a scientific text, which precise definitions of 'secularism' and some matter-of-fact statements about the
builds an argument. Therefore, the differ- 'religion'. The problem I identify goes
"complex ground realities" of the Indian
ent sentences have different status accord-
much deeper than the definitional one.situation
To ("the butchering, raping, and
ing to their function in the argument. Some put it very succinctly, the claim of looting
the of thousands of Muslims in
Gujarat;" "the communal holocausts dur-
are premises, and others state the conclu-secularists is that the separation of politics
sions that follow from these. Some sen- ing partition;" "the caste inequalities and
and religion is indispensable in a country
violence which were a ubiquitous feature
tences illustrate the point made, yet otherslike India, where religious strife between
of aHinduism") and from these he con-
provide evidence. To understand such aHindus and Muslims prevails. For such
cludes that India needs secularism to
claim to make sense, we should of course
text, one has to grasp the logical relations
between these different sentences. be able to recognise religion, that is,survive.
we When I deny the latter, and point
Throughout his 'critique' Kushal Deb should know the structure of 'the reli- out that the idea of secularism does not
(EPW, October 26, 2002) isolates some gious' (as in 'religious' beliefs, 'religious'
even make sense, he concludes that I must
be either ignorant of, or denying the ex-
sentences from my article, and misinter-institutions or 'religious' conflicts), which
prets them without showing an awarenessdistinguishes it from the non-religious or istence of, the horrible conflicts that have
of their place in the larger argumentativethe secular. The only road that leads to taken place in India. It is interesting to note
pattern. One example should do. While such knowledge is theory formation on the what happens here: Deb is in fact conflating
pointing out a few of my 'ridiculous' phenomenon of religion. If one assumes a particular description of certain phe-
assertions, he says the following: "... at that the Hindu traditions and Islam are nomena (the secularism discourse with its
notions of 'the all-encompassing Hindu
one point he even claims that policies of both religions, one should develop a theory
the state such as charity, protection of the that lays bare the common structure of religion' and 'Hindu-Muslim strife') with
weak and the poor, levy of taxes to secure these cultural traditions, which makes them
these phenomena themselves (the conflicts
among different communities in India).
distribution of wealth are so deeply influ- into religion. In the absence of a consistent
enced by Christianity that no secular state and falsifiable theory of religion, the That is, he ignores the distinction between
can live up to the demands of secularism."meaning of statements using the word a description and the phenomena it de-
scribes. Take the example of a stone
I make a different point altogether. On the 'religion' is dependent on one's personal
one hand, I say, one could argue that any preferences in defining the word. That is,
dropped from a tower. It falls until it hits
welfare state which engages in charity is one can simply draw the line between the the ground. Imagine three descriptions of
inspired by the religious values of Chris- religious and the secular where one wants this phenomenon. The first says that the
stone falls because it is in love with earth.
tianity, and that it fails to live up to theto. Ofcourse, this problem cannot be solved
demands of secularism. On the other, onemerely by giving a precise definition of The second says that the stone falls be-
could just as easily propose that such 'religion'. A definition does not provide cause objects strive to return to their natural
policies are not religious at all but are us with knowledge of the world. It does position in the world. The third says that
based on common human values, and thatnot have any empirical consequences, it the stone falls because of the gravitational
such a state is secular. From these pre-cannot be tested, and thus it is 'arbitrary'.
forces acting upon it. In these cases, it is
mises, I derive the following conclusion: Now, since the Indian secularists do not obvious that there is a distinction between
"Thus, according to one's personal pre- provide any theoretical explanation that the phenomenon of the falling stone, and
dilections in attributing the predicate 're- tells us what makes the Hindu traditions the descriptions of this phenomenon. The
ligious' to certain values, beliefs, and and Islam into religions or what makes progress in scientific theorising is pos-
institutions, one can give various interpre-the Hindu-Muslim problem into a reli- sible precisely because we are aware of
tations to the idea of the secular state." gious conflict, their claims about the this distinction: if a description does not
Deb seem to miss this point, perhaps separation of politics and religion are help us to understand the phenomena in
because he has read the text as a sequence obscure. Clearly, if this argument reveals question, we will try to develop a better
of isolated sentences. an obsession on my part, it is an obsession theoretical description.

5142 Economic and Political Weekly December 21, 2002

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 Take the issue of the conflicts and in- cannot be meaningfully tested with the
be more horrible with every new outburst
justices in India. Kushal Deb describes of conflict, the problem becomes evermore help of the data available at his disposal.
these phenomena in terms of 'the Hindu acute. What worries me is that so many Nevertheless, it does not in anyway belittle
religion' and the 'religious conflicts', and of the Indian scholars are wasting their
the groundwork that has been done in this
claims that secularism is the single solu- intellectual energies in pontificating about least explored area. These observations are
tion to the problems involved. Because no secularism, instead of theorising the In- based on the author's experience with
alternative descriptions are available, Deb dian situation so that new insights can be several of the livelihoods programmes
speaks as though unaware of the distinc- gained and new solutions created. As you being implemented by the government, the
tion between description and phenomena. say, they may well "be convinced about local governments and NGOs. Most un-
It appears to me as though he simply cannotthe genuineness of the issues that they are fortunately, fail to grapple with the soci-
imagine other ways of talking and thinking striving for," but those personal convic- ology of the Kerala model of development,
about the problem of pluralism in India intions cannot make good the theoretical an area which has been totally neglected.
a language other than that of secularism. poverty and the lack of argument in their The following observations on Prakash's
The secularism discourse presupposes thatstories on secularism. The choice is open. paper, therefore, may lead to much more
the Hindu-Muslim problem is a religiousEither you continue to preach in your serious and realistic discussion on the
problem and that secularism is the onlynormative language of secularism - de- Kerala model: If migration from the same
solution without developing any falsifi-flecting all challenges as "vacuous attempts district (Emakulam) and other districts into
able hypothesis on the conflicts in ques-at secularism bashing" - and then you Cochin is significantly low (8 per cent),
tion, which demonstrates that there is a confine yourself to the reproduction why of is does the number of elderly popu-
necessary connection between the struc- empty mantras. Or you start taking my lation remain as low as 10 per cent in
ture of these conflicts and the conceptual challenges to the secularism discourse Cochin? Such a low percentage of elderly
structure of secularism. seriously - accepting the basic lessons population
of is contrary to the overall trend
Contrary to what he suggests, I am not logic and philosophy of science - and then in Kerala, where aging is a major social
problem. Moreover, it is also illogical to
questioning the 'moral right' of the Indian I invite you to participate in the fascinating
secularists to state that religion ought to enterprise of building alternative theoryhave very small level of migration into the
be separated from politics. What I am that will give us knowledge of the current largest commercial city of the state. Pro-
questioning, however, is their belief that predicaments of Indian society. If therebably,
is the peculiar phenomenon of a rural-
such normative statements contribute a real concern about the tragedies that urban continuum, might have reduced the
anything to the pursuit of a solution to are the taking place in contemporary India, extent of migration significantly. Never-
growing animosity between Hindus and as I believe there is, it shouldn't be very
theless, this needs further explanation.
Muslims. As the bloodshed turns out to difficult to choose. BIi Prakash has cited some reasons for the
process of migration. According to him,
a major reason for migration is the search

Urban Unemployment in
for a regularjob. This explanation does not
fully capture the underlying processes in
the Kerala scene. If regular employment

Kerala: Some Questions

is the reason, it is unnatural that out-
migration on shorter contracts to the Gulf
countries take place so frequently. As
rightly pointed out in the paper, the process
P M MATHEW to a small demand for regular employmentof outmigration is more pronounced since
on the other, resulting in high incidencemid-1980s. Prakash also points out a case
The article by B A Prakash (Economicof educated unemployment among youth; of urbanisation and casualisation of labour
and Political Weekly, September 28- The migration of young and educated as a trend. But unfortunately, this has not
October 4, 2002) draws a detailed picturelabour force to other parts of India and been proved in a longitudinal sense. He
of urban unemployment in Cochin city, abroad for employment. tries to relate the problem of unemploy-
Kerala. In his attempt to explain the high To the economist, the term employmentment in relation to the higher level of
implies the utilisation or otherwise ofeducation and skills. Unfortunately,
rate of joblessness in Cochin, he proposes
labour. Hence, in a market situation whereKerala's problems lie not in the availabi-
the following hypotheses, which are proved
labour of the productive age fails to get
with the help data available from a sample lity of skilled labour, but, poor marketabi-
of 300 households: itself absorbed, given the market oppor-lity of available notional skills. Market-
The high incidence of unemployment in tunities, it can be explained as a situation
ability depends upon the adaptability of
of unemployment. Unemployment is labour
Kochi city due to the nature of the labour a to the market trend. Unfortunately,
global phenomenon, and more so in India.
market characterised by informal and casual this is significantly low in the state.
employment and the low participation of However, it is important that this pheno- The paper also points out that unemploy-
the educated and the low participation of menon is analysed in terms of causatives. ment in Cochin is basically a problem of
the educated labour force in informal and Hence the relevance of a discussion on educated youth. Where there is casualis-
casual activities; voluntary and involuntary unemployment. ation of labour, it is meaningless to dis-
The excess supply of educated labour While Prakash's descriptive analysistinguish between the educated and the less
force on the one hand, the small size and gives a detailed picture of the dimensions educated,
of as also the young and the older
low growth of the organised sector leadingunemployment in Cochin, his hypotheses ones. The availability of employment in

Economic and Political Weekly December 21, 2002 5143

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