Indian secularism

What is Indian secularism: The Indian constitution mandates that the Indian state be secular.

1. That one religious community does not dominate another

2. That some members do not dominate other members of the same religious community

3. That the state does not enforce any particular religion nor take away the religious freedom of individuals.

First, it uses a strategy of distancing itself from religion. The Indian state is not ruled by a religious group and nor does it support any one religion. The second way in which Indian secularism works to prevent the above domination is through a strategy of non-interference. This means that in order to respect the sentiments of all religious and not interfere with religious practices, the state makes certain exceptions for particular religious communities.

The third way in which Indian secularism works to prevent the domination listed earlier is through a strategy of intervention. In order to prevent religious- based exclusion and discrimination of ‘lower castes’, the Indian constitution bans untouchability. In this instance, the state is intervening in religious in order to end a social practice that it believes discriminates and excludes, and that violates the fundamental rights of ‘lower castes’ who are citizens of this country.

The intervention of the state can also be in the form of support. The Indian constitution grants the right to religious communities to set up their own schools and colleges. It also gives them financial aid on a non- preferential basis.

Laws by themselves cannot make the fundamental rights more effective. Many laws have been enacted to protect the right and interest of women, the schedule casts and tribes and other exploited groups. But they continue to be exploited and their fundamental rights are taken away. Atrocities and human rights violation take place at regular intervals. That is because most of the poor are not even aware of these laws. To make these laws more effective, the people have to be educated and made aware of their rights and the many laws present in the constitution for their protections.

In what way is Indian secularism different from that of other democratic countries: There is one significant way in which Indian secularism differs from the dominant understanding of secularism practiced in the United States of America. This is because unlike the strict separation between religion and the state in America secularism. In Indian secularism the state can intervene in religious affairs. In Indian secularism, thought the state is not strictly separate from religion it does maintain a principled distance vis-à-vis religion.

This means that any interference in religion by the state has to be based on the ideals laid out in the constitution. The Indian state is secular and works in various ways to prevent religious domination. The Indian constitution guarantees the fundamentals rights that are based on these secular principles.