Secularism — Class 11 Political Science

This chapter explains secularism and its distinctive Indian form. Secularism is first and foremost a doctrine opposing all forms of institutionalised religious domination — both inter-religious domination (one community persecuting another, as in the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre, the exodus of Kashmiri pandits, or the 2002 post-Godhra riots) and intra-religious domination (oppression within a religion, such as the exclusion of dalits and women). Positively, secularism promotes freedom within religions and equality between and within religions. A secular state must be neither theocratic nor have a formal alliance with any religion, and must pursue goals such as peace, religious freedom and inter- and intra-religious equality. The chapter contrasts the western (mainly American) model, which treats separation as mutual exclusion and religion as a private matter, with the distinctive Indian model, which emphasises inter-religious equality, deals with the religious freedom of communities as well as individuals, and permits state-supported religious reform (banning untouchability, abolishing child marriage). The key idea is "principled distance". The chapter answers criticisms that Indian secularism is anti-religious, a western import, guilty of minoritism, interventionist, encourages vote-bank politics, or attempts the impossible, defending it as mirroring the future of a globalising, diverse world.