Secul

arPol
i
tical
Inst
it
uti
ons:
Thr
eat
sorChal
l
enges?
?
MrunmayeeMandarParal
i
kar
MAPart1Rol
lNo.–13443
Depart
mentOfPol
iti
calSci
ence

Abst
ract

Thispapertalksaboutsecul
arpri
nci
plesthataredeeplyrootedi nIndi
anPol i
ti
cal
system, i
tsevol
uti
on.Thepracti
ceandimpl ementati
onofsecul ari
sm throughpolit
ical
i
nstitut
ionshasbeenoneoft hemostdiscussedanddebat edi ssuesinrecentti
mes.
Thispapertri
estoanalysethesecul
arnaturepracti
cedthroughcomponent sofpol i
ti
cal
i
nstitut
ionsandalsostatessomechall
engest hatcanbeov ercome.Thepapert r
iesto
answert hequesti
on,‘
Aresecul
arpoli
ti
calinsti
tut
ionsinI
ndiaunderThr eat?’
withsome
examples.

●I
ntr
oduct
ion
● Meani
ngofSecul
ari
sm
● Ev
olut
ion
● Pol
i
tical
Inst
it
uti
ons–Component
s&Rol
e
● Di
sti
nct
iveness
● Chal
l
enges
● Concl
usi
on

I
ntr
oduct
ion

India,thel andofdi versity,ofpeople,cultures,languagesandr eligions.I ndia’sdi versi

ty
i
sr eflect edinthecoexi stenceofsensual it
yandascet ici
sm, car elessnessandef fi
ciency,
gent l
enessandv i
olence.I nshor t
,Indiaisakal ei doscope, yout ouchi tandt her eisa
newcombi nati
onofshapesandcol ours.Indiai sacount r
ywhi chi sahostt oal l
reli
gionsandway sofl ife.Indi
ahasf oll
owedapr inci
pl eof“ unityi ndi v ersit
y ”.Thisuni t
y
i
sbasedondemocr acy,federali
sm, toler
anceandsecul archar act eroft hest ate.The
keyt oI ndia’ssuccessasaf ederaldemocr acyist her ecogni ti
onofi t
sdi versities.
Accept anceofal lreli
gionsanddi f
ferentway sofl if
eist hecor ner st oneoft heI ndian
culture, herit
ageandpol it
y .I
ndiaismul ti
-reli
giouscount ry.Amul ti-religi
oussoci et y
cannotf unctiondemocr atical
lywithoutsecul arism.I tisagr eatneedf ordemocr ati
c
pluralism.Forbui ldingav i
brantcivilsocietyther eistheneedofsecul ar
ism.
Secul arism isnotjustawor d;i
treferstonumberofnor msandv aluesr egar dingt heway
ofpl ural societ
yandi tsst ateshouldbeor ganised.ForI ndia, Secul arism isnotasi mple
pointofv
iew;
iti
saquest
ionofsur
viv
alandsaf
eguar
dofpeace,
orderandsani
tyi
nthe
societ
y.

Meani
ngofSecul
ari
sm

Thewor dsecul ar i
sm i sder ivedf rom t heLat inwor dsaecul um whi chmeansanageor
spiritofanageorwor ldly .Theconceptofsecul ari
sm wasar ticul at elyexpr essedand
coinedbyGor geHol y oakei n1851.I tist heconceptt hatgov er nmentorot herent iti
es
shoul dexi stsepar atel yf rom r eli
gionand/ orr el i
giousbel ief .Inwest erncont exti ti sa
separ at i
onofst ateandr eligion.Var i
oust hinker sgav et hei rthought sont hisconcept .
Accor di ngt oDi et ri
chBonheof fer,“Secul ar ism l aysemphasi sont hiswor ldr athert han
thesuper nat ur al, behav iorr at hert hanbel i
ef, f
r eedom r at hert hanobedi enceandabol d
mat urityr at hert hanconser v atism. ”Whi lesomear guest hat‘ secul ar ’i
tselfhasr eligious
cont ext .Tay l
ori nhi sbook‘ ASecul arAge’ st at est hat ,‘Secul ar ism i snotdecl ineof
reli
gi onbutat y peofsoci al cont ext ,inwhi chr el i
giousf ait hi shel dwi thawar enesst hat
i
soneofmanyunpr obl emat i
cf eat ureofar chi tect ureoft heuni ver se. ’
InIndi ancont ext ,itisgener allyunder stoodt hatsecul arism i mpl iesr eli
gioust oler ance.
Buti ti ssodi f ficultt oexpl aint her eal meani ngofsecul ar ism.Ev ent hough, i
tisdef i
ned
byt hedi fferentschol ar s, whogav et hedi ffer entdef initi
onsoft heconceptoft he
“Secul ar i
sm” .Someoft hem ar eas;
P. K.Tr ipat hi sai dt hatt heconst itutionofI ndi apr ov idesf reedom ofr eligi
on, andi talso
guar ant eesf reedom f r om r eligion.
Gandhi Ji,sai d“ ther eal meani ngofsecul ar i
sm i s“ Sar vaDhar amaSambhav ”i tmeans
“equal treat mentf oral lrel i
gi on. ”
Dr.Henr yAust i
ni nt hecont extofI ndiansoci ety ,hesay s, Secul arism meanst oler ance,
gener osi tyandunder st andi ngoft hemaj or i
tycommuni ty .
K.N.Pani kkarar guest hatt her ear et hreechar act eristicsoft heki ndofsecul arst atet hat
Indiacl aimst obewhi chcanbeeasi lyseeni nI ndi ani nst itut i
onal st r
uct ures,
Firstly ,thesecul arst at epost ul atest hatpol itical i
nst it
ut ionsmustbebasedont he
economi candsoci al int erest soft heent i
recommuni t
y ,wi thoutr ef erencet or eli
gi on,
raceorseat ;thatal lmustenj oyequal right sandnopr i
v i
leges, pr escr iptiv
er i
ght sor
speci al claimsshoul dbeal lowedf oranygr oupont hebasi sofr eligion.
Secondl y ,itel i
mi nat esf r om t hebodypol iti
ci deasofdi visionbet weeni ndi vidual sand
groupsont hebasi soft hei rfai thandr aci al or igin.
Int het hirdpl ace, Itisobv ioust hatacomposi tesecul arst at emustacceptast hebasi s
ofi tspol icywhatAr i
st ot let er medas' distribut iv ejust i
ce' , thei deat hatal lcommuni ti
es
musthav epower ,ast heymustshar et hedut iesandr esponsi biliti
esofbei ngci tizens.
Bhar gav ast at es, ‘themer esepar ationofr el igionf rom pol i
ticsi scompat ibl ewi th
absenceofr eligi ousl iber t yandpr esenceofr el i
giousdi scr imi nat ion. ’

Theconceptofsecularism i
snotnewt oIndia.Thev isionofsecul ari
sm –‘ sar
wa
dharmasambhav a’
,‘
v asudhaiwakutumbakam’ i
.e.
,tolerancef orallr
eligi
ons-has
alwaysbeentherei
nourcount r
yandhasi t
sr ootsint heYaj urVeda,AtharvaVedaand
RigVedaandAkbar ’
sDi n-e-
Il
ahi.Howev er
,thewor d‘secul arism’wasnotusedi nt
he
I
ndianConstit
uti
onunt i
l t
he42ndAmendmenti n1976, whichincorporatedthewordin
thePreamble.Thi
sdoesnotmeant hattheconceptofsecul ari
sm wasnotev i
denti
nthe
Const itut ionorI ndi anl aws.Thewhol ephi losophyofI ndi anConst itutioni sbasedont he
thr eet enet sofEqual ity, Fr ater nityandJust i
ce.Theconceptofsecul ar i
sm i si ncl udedi n
thebr oaderconceptofr ightt oequal ityi .e.noci ti
zenshal lbedi scr imi nat edbyt hest ate
ont hegr oundsofcast e, sex, reli
gi on, raceorcol our .Ther ightt of reedom ofr eligioni sa
nat ur al cor ol laryt ot hi sconcept , whi chl ay sdownt hebasi cpr inci pl esofsecul arism i n
Indi a.I ndi anl aws, whi chi ncl udeuni onandst at el aws, hav ebeenenact edi nt hi sbr oader
def ini tionofsecul ar ism.Si ncesecul arism i nI ndi adoesnotcompl et elysepar at er eligion
andst at e.I deal scopeofr eligionandnat ureofsecul arism i sr ight lydef i
nedi nour
const itut i
on.Fr eedom ofr eligioni ncludesAr ticlesv iz.Ar t.25, 26and30whi chdeal s
wi tht he“ freedom ofconsci enceandf reepr ofessi on, pr act iceandpr opagat i
onof
religi on” ,“freedom t omanager eligiousaf fairs”and“ ther ight sofmi nor i
t i
est oest ablish
andadmi ni stereducat ional institutions” , Ar t.15( 1)and15( 4)whi chpr ohi bi t
s
discr imi nat ionont hegr oundsofr eligion, Ar t.16assur eequal i
tyofoppor tunityf or
peopl ebel ongi ngt oal l religionsi nmat ter sofpubl i
cempl oy ment ,Ar t.17abol ish
unt ouchabi li
t y,Art .29( 2)cat erst o“ prot ect ionoft hei nt erest sofmi nor ities”, andAr t
.
325, 330( 1)and332( 1)or dernocommunal el ect orat es, Ar t.27, 290( A)and28( 1)( 2)( 3)
whi chemphasi zet hat“ nor el i
giousi nst ruct ionsbei mpar tedt hr ought hei nst it
ut ionsr an
orai dedbyt hest at e.Pr ov isionofAr t.44di rectSt at et obr i
ngCommonCi v i
l Codewhi ch
str engt henst hesecul arf oundat ionsofsoci et y, Banoncowsl aught erunderAr t.47
recogni zesent iment sofmaj orityI ndians.Thuswehav eabal ancedbasi cf r
amewor kof
secul ar ism i nourConst itut ion.I twasonl yonDecember18, 1976t hewor d“ SECULAR”
wasaddedi nt hePr eambl eofTheConst i
tut ionofI ndi a.The42ndamendmentAct1976
reads–“ Int hePr eambl et ot heConst itut ion, f
ort hewor ds“ SOVEREI GNDEMOCRATI C
REPUBLI C”t hewor ds“ SOVERI GN, SOCI ALI ST, SECULAR, DEMOCRATI C, andREPUBLI C”
shal lbesubst i
tuted” .Const i
tut i
oncont ai nsmanypr ov isionst oest abl i
sht hesecul ar
char act eroft heI ndi anpol ity.Byt he42ndAmendment ,Par tIV-Aent itl
ed' Fundament al
Dut i
es' wasi ntroducedwhi chcast sadut yonev eryci tizent ocher ishandf ollowt he
nobl ei deal swhi chi nspi r edournat ional struggl ef orf reedom, touphol dandpr ot ectt he
sov er eignt y, unityandi nt egr ityofI ndia, topr omot ehar monyandt hespi r itofcommon
br other hoodamongstal l thepeopl eofI ndi at r
anscendi ngr eli
gi ous, l
ingui sticand
regi onal orsect ional di ver si ti
es, andt ov alueandpr eser v et her i
chher itageofour
composi tecul t
ur e.Wi thr espectt otheobl igat ionoft hest at efort hepr ot ect ionoft he
right sconf er redbyt heConst i
tution, thef ramer ssai dt hatt her ear esomer i
ght swhi ch
requi ret heSt atet opr ov idei nstitutionsandcondi ti
ons, underwhi chal onet heser ights
canbeenj oy ed.Al lther ight saboutt hel iber tyofi ndi vidual woul dneedt heset ti
ngup
andmai nt enanceofpr opert ri
bunal saswel l assui tabl eCodesofCi vi
l andCr imi nal
Pr ocedur es.Thi sobl igat ionwasf ulfi
lledbyt hel egi slat ur ebypr ov idingpr ov i
si onsi nt he
Indi anPenal Codeandt heCodeofCr imi nal Pr ocedur e.Regar di ngt hist heSupr eme
Cour tsai dt hati nor dert ogi v especi al prot ect iont opl acesofwor shi pandt opr ev ent
hur tingt her el i
gioussent iment soff ollower sofdi fferentr eligi
onsi nI ndi a, Chapt erXVof
theI ndi anPenal Code, 1860wasenact ed.Thi sChapt erexcl usiv elydeal swi tht he
of fencesr el at i
ngt or el i
gi oni nSect i
ons295, 295- A, 296, 297and298oft heI ndi anPenal
Code.
TheSupr emeCour texpr essedi tsv i
ewsont hesecul arnat ureoft heConst itutionf ort he
firstt imei nSar darTaher uddi nSy ednaSahebv .St ateofBombaywher einAy yangar ,
J. ,
expl ained:
"Arti
cl es25and26embodyt hepr i
nci pleofr eli
gioust ol erat i
ont hathasbeent he
charact eristicf eatureofI ndi anci vil
isat i
onf rom t hest artofhi stor y.Thei nstancesand
periodswhent hi
sf eaturewasabsentbei ngmer elyt empor aryaber rations.Besi des,
theyser vet oemphasi set hesecul arnat ureoft heI ndi andemocr acywhi cht hef oundi ng
father sconsi deredt obet hev erybasi soft heConst itut i
on. "
InKesav anandaBhar ativ.St at eofKer alat heSupr emeCour tr eiterat edt hatsecul arism
wasapar toft hebasi cst ruct ur eoft heConst it
ut i
on.Enumer atingt hebasi cf eaturesof
theConst itut i
on, "
secul archar act eroft heConst ituti
on"asoneoft hem." secul arand
federal char act eroft heConst itution"wer eamongt hemai ni ngr edient soft hebasi c
structur eenumer atedt herein." Li bertyoft hought ,expr essi on, bel i
ef, faithandwor shi p"
couldnotbeamendedatanycostast heyar epar toft hebasi cf eat uresoft he
Const itut i
on.
"TheConst itutionhasnoter ect edar igidwal lofsepar ationbet weent heChur chandt he
State.I tisonl yi naqual i
fi
edsenset hatI ndi acanbesai dt obeasecul arSt at e.Ther e
arepr ov i
sionsi ntheConst i
tut ionwhi chmakeonehesi tatet ochar act eriseourSt at eas
secul ar.Secul ari
sm i nthecont extofourConst i
tut i
onmeansonl yanat ti
tudeofl i
v eand
l
etl i
vedev elopi ngintot heat titudeofl iveandhel pl ive."
Appar ent l
yt hi sviewi mpl i
edacont r
adi ct i
onbet weent hej udi ciallyconst ruct edconcept
ofsecul ar i
sm andt heconceptev identi nt het extoft heConst itut i
on.Thej udgmental so
wentont ol aydownamoder nI ndianconceptofsecul ar i
sm.
InZiy auddi nBur hanuddi nBukhar iv.Br ij
mohanRam DasMehr at heSupr emeCour twent
ont odef inet heconceptofsecul ari
sm i nt her ealm ofphi losophyandi nut il
itari
ant erms.
Inthel andmar kjudgmentofS. R.Bommai v .Uni onofI ndi at heCour tinnouncer tain
termsdecl aredt hatsecul arism i spar toft hebasi cst ructur e,butt hecompl i
cat i
onar ose
i
nf ormul at ingadef initi
on.
Wi t
hinay eart heCour tinIsmael Faruqui v.Uni onofI ndi ast arteddi lut i
ngt heact i
v e,
positiv econceptofsecul arism basedonsci ent ifi
ct hinki ngi thadadv ocat edi nt he
Bommai case.
Subsequent ly,intheRam Janambhoomi case, theCour tj ustifiedi tsconceptof
secul arism byquot i
ngext ensi velyf rom I ndi anscr ipturesl ikeYaj urVeda, At har v
aVeda
andRi gVeda.
InAr unar oyv .UnionofI ndiat hecour tobser vedt hatt heessenceofsecul arism isnon-
discrimi nat ionoft hepeopl ebyt hest ateont hebasi sofr eligiousdi ffer ences.

Pol
i
tical
Inst
it
uti
ons-Component
s&Rol
e
Poli
ticalI
nstitutionsar ethemedi um t hroughwhi chv al
uesl ikel iberty
,equalit
y,frat
erni
ty,
democr acyandsecul ari
sm ar eimpl ement edi nsoci ety.
Poli
ticalI
nstitutionsar e"stabl e,v
al ued, recurri
ngpat t
ernsofbehav i
our"ormechani sms
ofsocialorder ,theygov ernt hebehav iourofasetofi ndividual swi thi
nagi ven
communi ty.Pol iti
cal I
nsti
tut i
onsar ei denti
fiedwi thasoci alpur pose, t
ranscending
i
ndividual
sandi ntenti
onsbymedi atingt herulest hatgov ernl i
vingbehav i
our.
Thet erm"instituti
on"commonl yappl i
est obot hinformal institutionssuchascust oms,
orbehav i
orpat ternsi mpor tanttoasoci ety,andt opar ti
cularf ormal i
nsti
tuti
onscr eat
ed
byent i
ti
essuchast hegov ernmentandpubl i
cser vi
ces.Pol iti
cal i
nsti
tuti
onsar e
organizat
ionswhi chcr eate, enforceandappl ylaws.Theyof tenmedi ateconfli
ct,make
(government al)pol i
cyont heeconomyandsoci alsystemsandot herwiseprovide
repr esent ationf ort hepopul ousandhav eimpactont hel aw, economy ,cul tur e, and
soci etyasawhol e.
Accor dingt oDonal dSmi th,anyPol it
ical I
nst i
tutioni nv olvest hr eedi stinctbut
i
nt errelat edr elationsconcer ni ngt hest ate,reli
gionandt hei ndi vi
dual .
Int her el ationbet weeni ndi vidual andr eli
gion, polit
ical inst i
tutionhasnocoer ci ve
i
nt erfer enceandi ndi v i
dual sar ef reet ohav erel i
giousf aiths.I nt her elat i
onbet ween
i
ndi v i
dual andpol itical i
nst i
tution, religioni sexcl uded.I ndividual ’sr i
ght sanddut iesare
notaf fect edbyr eligiousf ait
hsandbel i
efs.Integr it
yofi ndi vi
dual ’
sr elationswi thst at
e
andr eligiondependsuponr elat i
onsbet weenpol iti
cal inst i
tut i
onsandv ariousr eli
gions.
Thi srepr esent segal itarianandl iber t
ar ianappr oach.
Var iedoper at i
onsofdi ver sef or msofi nstit
utionst hatchar act erizesecul arI ndi anst ate
cannotbecompr ehendedi nmonot onal ter
ms.Pol i
tical Institut i
onscompr i
sesof
compl exl ay erst hatoper at einv arietyofway si ndiffer entcont ext s.Thesei nst ituti
ons
ar einv olv edi ndi versesoci o-pol i
tical, economi c,cult ural,religiousl i
nkst hati nf orm and
i
nf luencef unct ioni ng.
Legi slat ure, Execut iveandJudi ciaryar et heessent ial secul arpol i
t i
cal inst itutionsi n
Indiawhi chf rames, formul ates, ex ecut esandsaf eguar dsal llawsandpol icies.
AnyPol itical Inst i
tut i
onst andsont woi mpor t
antpi llarsnamel y ,thest ruct ur eor
framewor koft hei nst i
tutionandper sonnel /
indiv i
dual wor kingi nt heinst i
t ution.Pol i
ti
cal
Inst i
tutionsar est at icaswel l asdy nami c,stableaswel lasev olv i
ng, rigidaswel las
flexibleandobj ectiv easwel lassubj ect iv
e.Thest r
uct ur eorf r
amewor kpr ov ides
per manent ,stat i
c, stabl e, ri
gid, obj ectivenat ureandchangi ngper sonnel ,indi vidual and
theirsubj ect ivet hought s&behav i
orgi v esdy nami c, ev olving, fl
exi bleandsubj ect iv
e
nat ure.Pol i
ciesandl awsar ef ormedaccor dingt ochangi ngneedsandt hrough
per cept ionorv iewofper sonnel for mul atingthem ont hebasi sofst ruct ur eev ol ved
throughchangi ngt imes, basedondef init
emor al secul arpr inci plesandv alues.
Thi
sisev
identf
rom someexampl
es;
● I
n1978,
theShahBanocasebr
oughtt
hesecul
ari
sm debat
eal
ongwi
tha
demandf oruni form civi
lcodeinI ndiatothef or
efr
ont.ShahBanowasa62- y
ear-
oldMuslimI ndianwhowasdi vorcedbyherhusbandofi n1978.I ndianMusl i
m
PersonalLawr equi r
edherhusbandt opaynoal imony.ShahBanosuedf or
regul
armai ntenancepay mentsunderSect i
on125oft heCr iminalProcedure
Code,1978.ShahBanowonhercase, aswellappealstothehighestcour t.Al
ong
withali
mony ,theChi efJusticeoft heSupremeCour tofIndiawroteinhisopinion
j
usthowunf air
lyIslami cpersonal l
awst r
eatedwomenandt hushownecessar y
i
twasf orthenat i
ont oadoptaUni for
m Civ i
lCode.TheChi efJusticefur
ther
rul
edthatnoaut horit
ativetextofIslam forbadethepay mentofr egular
maintenancet oex-wi ves.
● TheMi
nist
ryofMi
nor
it
yAf
fai
rswascar
vedoutofMi
nist
ryofSoci
alJust
ice&
Empower mentandcr eat
edon29t hJanuary2006toensur eamor efocused
approachtowardsissuesrel
atingt
ot henoti
fi
edmi nor
it
ycommuni tiesnamely
Muslim,Chri
sti
an,Buddhist,
Sikhs,Parsi
sandJain.Themandat eoft heMini
str
y
i
ncludesformulat
ionofov er
allpol
i
cyandpl anni
ng,coordi
nat
ion,evaluati
onand
rev
iewoft her
egulatoryf
ramewor kanddevelopmentprogrammesf ort he
 benef
itoft
heminori
tycommunit
ies.I
tsaf
eguar
dsi
nter
est
sofmi
nor
it
iesand
egal
it
ari
anpri
nci
pleofsecul
arst
ate.
Somechar act eristi
csmakeI ndi aandsecul arinst
itutionsnotuni quenutdi sti
nctivefrom
thewest ernconcept ion.Indi ansecul arism i sdisti
nct iv
einst it
uti
onallyas,
1.Ther ei snosepar ationbet weenst ateandr eli
gion
2.Equal respectt oallrel i
gionsi npol it
icalandi nstit
uti
onal domai n
3.Expl icitmul t
i-valuechar acter
4.Commi tmentt omodel ofmor al r
easoni ng
5.At tendst hei ssuesofi ntra-r
el i
giousoppr essionsandi nter-r
eli
giousdomi nati
on
simul t
aneousl y
6.Noof fi
cial statusgi v ent oanyr eligion
7.St atedonotbel ongt oanycommuni tyexclusively
8.I deaof‘ Pr i
nci pledDi stance’ –I taccept sdisconnect i
onbet weenst at eand
reli
gionatl ev elsofendsandi nstitutionsbutdoesnotmakeobsessi onofitat
thelev el ofpol icyandl aw.
Thesedi sti
nct ivechar acteristicsofuphol dt hepermanentandbasi cstructureof
secularstatecompr isingpol it
ical i
nst i
tut i
ons.Howev er ,
duet otheev ol
v i
ngnat ureof
i
nstitut
ions, t
hesechar acteristicsal thoughnecessar ymaynotpr ovetobesuf fi
cient.Dr.
B.R.Ambedkar ’sst atementt hat,‘Howev ergoodaConst it
ut i
onmaybe, i
fthosewhoar e
i
mpl ement i
ngi tarenotgood, i
twi l
l prov etobebad.Howev erbadaConst ituti
onmaybe,
i
fthosei mpl ement i
ngi taregood, itwi l
l prov etobegood. ’alsoappliesinthi scontext.
Thus, I
ndianPol iti
cal Insti
tut i
onsmi ghtf acechal l
enges. Thesechal l
engescanbe
divi
dedas: -
1.Ext
ernalChalenges–Ter
l rori
sm
Acommondef i
nit
ionoft er
rori
sm isthesy stemati
cuseort hreateneduseofv iolenceto
i
ntimidat
eapopul at
ionorgov ernmentforpol i
ti
cal,
religi
ous, ori
deologicalgoals.
Terror
ism f
oundi nIndiaincl
udeset hno-nati
onali
stterrori
sm, rel
i
gioust err
orism,
l
eftwingterrori
sm andnar coterror
ism.Internati
onallygrowingterrori
sm ont he
basisofrel
igionisahugechal lengeinfrontofsecularst ate.

2.I
nternal Secur ityChal lenges–Naxal ism, Fundament ali
sm, Communal i
sm
Thegr owi ngcommunal i
sm hasgr eatlyhamper edt hegr owt hofSecul arism.The
i
ncreasi ngi ncidenceofcommunal r
iotsandcast econf l
ictindi catethatt he
vari
oussect i
onoft hepeopl ehav egrownmor ecommunal andsepar atist
l
ocal i
ties.I ncr i
ticalsituat i
onaut horiti
eshav eeitherf ai
ledt ot akepr ompt
decisionordel ayt hem t oav oi
dr esponsi bil
it
ies.Therei sonl ypol iti
calinterest
behindi t.Forpol it
ical i
nt er
est,thecount ryisdi vi
dedi ntomaj or i
ty,minor i
tygr oup.
Communal ism isaser iouspr oblem, Ifthest atecannotpr otectt heli
feand
prosper ityofci ti
z ensf rom communal riots,thenSecul arism becomesamocker y.
Const itut i
onhasest ablishedasecul arst atebuti thasf ailedtosetupasecul ar
society .
Naxal i
sm i sanactofar medt ransiti
ont ocommuni sm.Communi sm asan
i
deol ogyi sani ntermedi arytowar dssoci al
ism.Thenaxal i
stmov ementcr eatesa
l
aw&or deraswel lassoci o-polit
icalpr oblem.I tnotonl ychal lenget hepol i
cies
butthef ramewor kitself.
 Fundamentali
sm usual
l
yhasar eli
giousconnotati
onthatindi
catesunwav eri
ng
att
achmenttoasetofirreduci
blebelief
s.Reject
ionofdiversi
tyofopinionand
bel
iefi
nsuperi
orit
yofone’sreli
gion,sharpsenseofident
iti
escontradictst
he
i
deaofrespecttoall
rel
igions.

3.I
nternal Challenge–I mpor tancet oPr acticer athert hanbel i
ef,PseudoSecul ar ism
Exploitativepol ici
esadopt edbypol it
iciansandmi suseofr eligiousandcast e
sent i
ment cr eatechal lenget osecul arnat ur e.Thecor ruptpol iti
cal struct ure
hasbeeni ncreasingr eligiousnessandl oy alt
yt owar dst heirreligionswhi ch
i
ndi rectlyleadt ocommunal disharmonyi nourpl uralsoci ety.Pol it
ici
ansunder
thecov ersofsecul ari
sm t ryt oappeal tor eli
gi oussent iment sandcr eat esv ote
bank. Theconsequentofgener ali
gnor anceandmi sunder standi ngaboutv ar ious
reli
gionsmaycr eateconf l
ictandt ensionamongt hecitizens.I nternal threathas
i
t’sor i
gini nconcept ual andnor mat ivest ruct ur e.AsBhar gav ament i
ons, wheni t
viewedpur el
yasr i
tualisticandpr ocedur al doct rinether eal meani ngwas
forgot t
en.Madan, Nandy ,Chat terj
eepr opogat esext ernal chal l
enget osecul ar
principlesi sasy mptom ofdeeperi nternal crisis.Secul arism exi stsini nterestof
hegemoni cst at e.
TaslimaNasr eenseesI ndiansecul ari
st saspseudosecul ari
st ,accusi ngt hem of
beingbi asedt owar dsMusl i
mssay i
ng, "Mostsecul arpeopl ear epr o-
Musl i
msand
ant i
-Hindu.Theypr otestagai nstt heact sofHi nduf undament alistsanddef end
thehei nousact sofMusl imf undament alists".Sheal sosai dthatmostI ndi an
politi
ciansappeaseMusl imswhi chl eadst oangeramongHi ndus.

Thesechal lengesalthoughmassi veandhar dtoovercome,nev erpr

ov etothreat
ent he
str
uctureofsecul arnatureofpolit
icalinstituti
ons.Deepchallengesar i
seduet o
changingper sonnel,tr
ansit
ioni
ngsoci ety ,vary
ingconnotati
onsandev olvi
ngcontextbut
canbeov ercomet hr
oughdemocr ati
cpr ocesses.Theseprocessesi ncludeelect
ions,
ri
ghttov ote,str
ongopposi ti
on,account abilit
yofexecutiv
et olegisl
ature,t
ransparency
,
j
udici
al acti
v i
sm,roleofnon- st
ateactor s,recognit
ionofdissent,debateetc.whichhelps
surmountt hechallenges.

Concl
usi
on

Hence, democr acypl aysav italrol

ei nsaf eguardingIndi ansecul ari
sm andsecul ar
nat ur
eofpol iti
cal insti
tuti
ons.Wi t
houtdemocr acyimpl ement ationoft hebasi cv alues
uponwhi chpol i
tical i
nstit
utionsst andwoul dnotbepossi ble.Pr ospect sandqual it
yofa
secularpoliti
cal i
nst it
utionsr equir
er eit
er at
ivepr act
icewi t
hinwi deranddeeperf orm of
democr aticpr ocesses.Secul arpoliti
cal i
nstit
utionsinIndi aandul t
imat elysecul ar
nat ur
eoft henat ionexi stduet oexi stenceofdemocr acy .Indiansecul ar ism reject sthe
assumpt iont hatonesi zefit
sal l.Ast ateinter
feringinoner el
igiont hr oughi nstit
ut i
ons
doesnotaut omat ical
lydepar tfrom secul arpri
nci pl
es.Respect i
ngot herr el
igionsas
equal sdoesnotmeant heirbl i
ndaccept ance.Deeperi deaofr espectf orsomet hing
allowsonet ocr i
ticall
yintervene.Secul ar i
sm seekst oensur eandpr ot ectf reedom of
religi
ousbel i
efandpr act i
cef orallcit
izens.Secul ari
sm i snotaboutcur taili
ngr eligi
ous
freedoms; itisaboutensur ingt hatthef reedomsoft houghtandconsci enceappl y
equallytoallbelieversandnon- beli
eversal i
ke.Itist heuni versalval
ueappli
cableto
personsofal lfaithandnone.
Thecour ts,afreepr ess, analertciti
zens,andact iveci vil
societytomov ei
n,toshowa
mirrortothese‘ secular’polit
icalinsti
tuti
onsandt ell them whatt heycanandcannotdo
areneededt oef fectivepr act
iceofsecul ar i
sm.Theconcepti scont i
nualandev ol
ving.
Thesecul ari
singofsoci etyisnotanov ernightrevolut ion.Iti
sahi st
ori
calprocessand
wil
l needtime.Buthopef ull
yitwillbeassi stedbyt her ecogni
t i
onthatthest
ateand
societyneedt of unctioninanewway .Democr acyi set hi
cofhumanact i
on.Seculari
sing
societyi
sanadv ancingoft hatethic.
Thust hechallengest othesecul arpolit
ical i
nst
itutionsar emi t
igabl
eandnor ealharm
canbedonet ot hem i nthel i
ghtoft r
ulydemocr ati
cr ule.

Ref
erences:
-
- DistinctivenessofI ndi anSecul arism -Raj eevBhar gav a
- I
ndi ansecul arism i npr act ice-Paul Br ass
- I
ssecul arism al ient oI ndianci v i
lization?-Romi l
aThapar
- Secul arism r evisited: doct rineofdest inyorpol it
ical i
deology ?–T. N.Madan
- Part haChat terjee,“ Secul arism andTol erat i
on”,Economi candPol i
ti
calWeekly,
Vol.XXI X,No. 28, Jul y9, 1994
- T. N.Madan, “Secul arism i ni tsPl ace” , TheJour nalofAsi anStudies,Vol.
46,No.4,
Nov ember1987, p.750.
- Sa ty aji
tBhat kal,“Redef ini
ngSecul arism" ,TheLawy ersCol l
ective
- Cha llengesf orSecul arism -Phi lipKi t cher, Columbi aUni v
ersity
- Re thi nkingI ndianPol itical Institut i
onsedi tedbyCr ispinBates&ShubhoBasu
- Compa ti
bilit
yofSecul ar i
sm i nI ndia:Acont endedDi scourse–Vi kram Gautam
(I
nter national Jour nal ofHumani ties&Soci alScience)
- Ar ticle–TheGuar dian-I ndi ani dent ityfor gedi ndi v
ersity
.Ev eryoneofusi sin
Minor i
ty.–Shashi Thar ur
- Cons ti
tutional orPar ty-Pol i
tical Secul ar i
sm?–Raj eevBhar gava
- Wha tsecul ar i
sm i sandwher eitneedst obeheaded?–Romi l
aThapar
- IOSR- JHSS
Origin&ev aluationofsecul arism i nI ndi a–Supr i
taDash
Secul arism inI ndi a: AMy thorReal ity–Sumbul Fat i
ma
-I sIndi aasecul arnat ion?–MadhavGodbol e
- Changi ngPer cept ionsofSecul ar ism (ThePr actical Lawy er
)
- Thei mpor tanceofi nstitutionsf orpr event i
ngconf l
ictrecurrence– Char l
ott
e
Fi
edl
er
- Raj ni ti
que–Thephi losophi cal anal y sisofI ndi anSecul arism –Sai l
eeKulkarni
- Cons ti
tutionOfI ndi a

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