Religion can be easily manipulated by political leaders and religious extremist organisations to gain political power.
In a society where religious animosity between the majority and minorities is deeply rooted, religion can certainly play a crucial role, be it for good or for bad. India is a perfect case in point! India gained independence from British rule on August 15, 1947, and chose to be a secular democracy.
In India secularism has only become a political term to woo the voters.
Call for voting secular parties…
There have been calls by religious leaders in the forthcoming elections.
While it could be a good idea but not a good message for the followers as no politician is secular ass use it for the sake of personal benefits.
Now what happened to the 20 MLAs in the last four years who have switched from Congress to the BJP?
Most of these politicians or the MLAs were from the minority community yet they got the votes on Congress and switched to the BJP.
So voting for secular parties or leaders makes no sense because as and when they find a convenient situation they switch sides.
So do the 20 MLAs who took votes on the secular platform become “communal”. Definitely not, I mean the politicians will always use the word “Secular” to gain votes, and gain sympathy.
Instead of calls to vote for secular voters, the religious leaders must ask for votes for honest and clean candidates.
In Goa luckily, we have four candidates who have not yet been involved in any corruption – Shripad Naik (BJP), Ramakant Khalap (Congress) and Capt Viriato Fernandes (Congress) vs Pallavi Dempo (BJP).
Shripad Naik has been in politics for 25 years and has been able to stay clean of corruption and so has Ramakant Khalap, who has also served as Union Law Minister. Others have been first-time contenders at the national level.
All political parties and leaders swear by secularism and compete with each other to prove that they are more secular than the others.
Political parties and successive governments in power have been using secularism as a tool to garner votes and create their own vote-banks. It is also used as an instrument, not for social transformation, but for social engineering for electoral purposes. Even the Communist parties, who have had strong genuine secular credentials, have fallen prey to caste and vote-bank politics.
So what is Secularism…
The term “Secular” means being “separate” from religion, or having no religious basis.
A secular person is one who does not owe his moral values to any religion. His values are the product of his rational and scientific thinking.
Secularism means separation of religion from political, economic, social and cultural aspects of life, religion being treated as a purely personal matter.
It emphasized dissociation of the state from religion and full freedom to all religions and tolerance of all religions.
It also stands for equal opportunities for followers of all religions, and no discrimination and partiality on grounds of religion.
Secularism in an Indian context allows for the equality and respect of all religions.
Secularism promotes freedom of belief and qualified freedom to express one’s beliefs while respecting the rights of others.
Secularism also supports democracy, the rule of law, and individual freedom and liberty.
Secularism strives for a society based on reason and rationality
Indian philosophy of secularism is related to “Sarva Dharma Sambhava” (literally it means that destination of the paths followed by all religions is the same, though the paths themselves may be different) which means equal respect to all religions.
This concept, embraced and promoted by personalities like Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi is called ‘Positive secularism’ that reflects the dominant ethos of Indian culture.
The term ‘Secular’ was added to the preamble by the forty-second constitution Amendment Act of 1976, (India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic).
It emphasise the fact that constitutionally, India is a secular country which has no State religion. And that the state shall recognise and accept all religions, not favour or patronize any particular religion.
Indian vs. Western Model of Secularism
Over the years, India has developed its own unique concept of secularism that is fundamentally different from the parallel western concept of secularism in the following ways:
As per the western model of secularism, the “State” and the “religion” have their own separate spheres and neither the state nor the religion shall intervene in each other’s affairs.
Thus, the western concept of secularism requires complete separation of religion and state.
However, in India, neither in law nor in practice any ‘wall of separation’ between religion and the State exists.
In India, both state and religion can, and often do, interact and intervene in each other’s affairs within the legally prescribed and judicially settled parameters.
In other words, Indian secularism does not require a total banishment of religion from the State affairs.
As per the western model, the state cannot give any financial support to educational institutions run by religious communities.
On the other hand, Indian model has chosen a positive mode of engagement.
In India, the state provides all religious minorities the right to establish and maintain their own educational institutions which may receive assistance from state.
In the western model, State does not intervene in the affairs of religion till the time religion is working within the limits of the law.
On the other hand, in Indian secularism, state shall interfere in religion so as to remove evils in it.
India has intervened by enforcing legislation against the practices of sati or widow-burning, dowry, animal and bird sacrifice, child marriage, and preventing Dalits from entering temples.
In western concept of secularism, religion is relegated entirely to the private sphere and has no place in public life whatsoever.
The western model prohibits any public policy to be drafted on the basis of religion therefore; state is absolutely distanced from the religious activities and practices of its citizens.
In India, state has the policy of setting up Departments of Religious Endowments, Wakf Boards, etc. It is also involved in appointing Trustees of these boards.
Secular politics in India
The strength of Hindutva politics practiced by parties like the BJP in recent years has relied on two interlinked rhetorical devices – that Hindus are victims in secular India; and Muslims have been appeased in the name of secularism since Independence.
