India is not a secular state.
Of late, the issue of religion caste and politics has again resurfaced in the political firmament. Who is secular? Dictionary meaning of secular says of or pertaining to worldly things or to the things that are not regarded as religious spiritual or sacred ; temporal. The Latin term from which the word secular is derived is saeculum meaning of this generation or age and came to mean that which belongs to this life, to the here and now, in this world. Secularism was born out of Christianity in the Western world to separate religious affairs from mundane activities of the state and people. In India, the word secular was inserted into the preamble by the 42nd Amendment Act. It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance and respect. Minorities are people who are less in number to the dominant group, and are ethnically linguistically and religiously different from the dominant group.
In India demographically , Muslims have grown so much in size after the Independence that they hardly qualify to be called minorities anymore. Yet the appeasement politics prevents the political parties to declare them as dominant community . So the tag of minorities shall remain labelled against them even after they outnumber caste Hindus in India. Mind you, caste Hindu many times include Jains Buddhists Sikhs Virashaiva and a few other communities Moreover Hindus are further and definitely divided along caste region and language basis. A Tamil Brahmin has nothing in common to a Brahmin from Maharashtra or Uttaranchal. So by that parameter Hindus are definitely not a majority community.
India declares itself a secular state but it is predominantly a minority read Muslims appeasing State. Most of the riots that have ravaged India are between the Hindus and Muslim minority. If the Muslims were really minor as a group they would have never dared to attack Hindu processions or Hindu neighbourhoods. Since they are very sure of State protection and appeasement that they dare to riot. This is a predominant mentality and not a minority's action. The other biggest and shocking riots was the Sikh Riots of 1984. This was again not a work of ethnic Hindu groups but hoodlums and anti social elements in connivance with the ruling Congress Party.
Article 25(2) of the Constitution calls for providing "social welfare and reform and throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of public character to all classes and sections of Hindus." But India's Constitution does not define who or what is a Hindu, but it does define followers of Buddhism Jainism and Sikhism as Hindus for purposes of Hindu temple entry. Isn't it strange? How come the Constitution and State direct a community while still calling itself secular and irreligious.
The Uniform Civil Code could not be implemented in India because the Muslims are against any interference in their religious matters. Yet Government of India doles out crores as Haj subsidy and this is not considered interference by the same Muslims. So is India not a Muslim appeasing nation than a secular state.
The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, applies to Sikhs Buddhists and Jains as equally to Hindus. How can this constitutional provision call for social reforms among Hindus if India is a secular State. This shows that the nationalist leaders and constitution makers, most of whom were upper caste Hindus were progressive and taking cue from Gandhian philosophy actively advocated and practised reforms in the Hindu religion while leaving all minority groups like Jews Parsis and others untouched.
So we may say that India guarantees religious freedom and protection only to the minorities and not to caste Hindus. And so India is definitely not a secular State.
Of late, the issue of religion caste and politics has again resurfaced in the political firmament. Who is secular? Dictionary meaning of secular says of or pertaining to worldly things or to the things that are not regarded as religious spiritual or sacred ; temporal. The Latin term from which the word secular is derived is saeculum meaning of this generation or age and came to mean that which belongs to this life, to the here and now, in this world. Secularism was born out of Christianity in the Western world to separate religious affairs from mundane activities of the state and people. In India, the word secular was inserted into the preamble by the 42nd Amendment Act. It implies equality of all religions and religious tolerance and respect. Minorities are people who are less in number to the dominant group, and are ethnically linguistically and religiously different from the dominant group.
In India demographically , Muslims have grown so much in size after the Independence that they hardly qualify to be called minorities anymore. Yet the appeasement politics prevents the political parties to declare them as dominant community . So the tag of minorities shall remain labelled against them even after they outnumber caste Hindus in India. Mind you, caste Hindu many times include Jains Buddhists Sikhs Virashaiva and a few other communities Moreover Hindus are further and definitely divided along caste region and language basis. A Tamil Brahmin has nothing in common to a Brahmin from Maharashtra or Uttaranchal. So by that parameter Hindus are definitely not a majority community.
India declares itself a secular state but it is predominantly a minority read Muslims appeasing State. Most of the riots that have ravaged India are between the Hindus and Muslim minority. If the Muslims were really minor as a group they would have never dared to attack Hindu processions or Hindu neighbourhoods. Since they are very sure of State protection and appeasement that they dare to riot. This is a predominant mentality and not a minority's action. The other biggest and shocking riots was the Sikh Riots of 1984. This was again not a work of ethnic Hindu groups but hoodlums and anti social elements in connivance with the ruling Congress Party.
Article 25(2) of the Constitution calls for providing "social welfare and reform and throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of public character to all classes and sections of Hindus." But India's Constitution does not define who or what is a Hindu, but it does define followers of Buddhism Jainism and Sikhism as Hindus for purposes of Hindu temple entry. Isn't it strange? How come the Constitution and State direct a community while still calling itself secular and irreligious.
The Uniform Civil Code could not be implemented in India because the Muslims are against any interference in their religious matters. Yet Government of India doles out crores as Haj subsidy and this is not considered interference by the same Muslims. So is India not a Muslim appeasing nation than a secular state.
The Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, applies to Sikhs Buddhists and Jains as equally to Hindus. How can this constitutional provision call for social reforms among Hindus if India is a secular State. This shows that the nationalist leaders and constitution makers, most of whom were upper caste Hindus were progressive and taking cue from Gandhian philosophy actively advocated and practised reforms in the Hindu religion while leaving all minority groups like Jews Parsis and others untouched.
So we may say that India guarantees religious freedom and protection only to the minorities and not to caste Hindus. And so India is definitely not a secular State.
