Secularism:

 

Secularism is a “process whereby religious thinking practice and institutions loose their social significance”. To speak of secularism is to speak of the triumph of science over religion and reason over faith

Etymologically, the word secular originates from the Latin seculum which implied “great span of time” or the “spirit of the age”. Subsequently, it acquired different meaning - that of belonging to ‘This World’.

The process of secularisation of life and thought consists in the withdrawal and separation of ‘religion’ from other spheres of ‘life and thought

The main thrust of secularism is towards the secular, social issues and reforms, which demanded the concerted efforts of all persons, regardless of their theological affiliations

Secularism means the inevitable “desacrilisation” of the World. The World loses its sacred character as man and nature become the object of rational-casual explanation in which the supernatural plays no part.

 

Secularism and Secularisation:

Secularisation is a social process and ‘secularism’ is a sociopolitical ideal or ideology

Secularism is, above all, a product of the weltanshauung of the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Secularism also affirmed the reality and worth of life in this world and the authority of reason and science in all secular matters.

Secularism affirms the worth of this worldly existence, the independence of scientific knowledge, and human happiness as the only legitimate aims of social institutions.

Historically the process of secularisation for the social scientist is intimately linked with the rise of modernity in the West.

The term ‘secularisation’ is defined by Bryan Wilson as the process in which different social institutions ‘become recognised as distinctive concerns operating with considerable autonomy.

 

Wilson mentions three features of a secular or secularised society, i.e. a)The prevalence of instrumental values,

b)Rational procedures,

c) Technological methods.

He also defines a secular society as one in which “the sense of the sacred, the sense of the sanctity of life and deep religiosity are most conspicuously absent

 

Secularism in India:

Right from the beginning, Indian secularism drew its strength from pluralism. Secularism in the Indian tradition, was not the opposition of religion but was related to communalism, while Europe, being mono-religious, secularism was not the opposite of communalism as there was no struggle for domination between various religious communities. This is the crucial difference between the Western and Indian concepts of secularism. In Europe there was a struggle between the Christians and the church, while in India the struggle was between one religious community and the other.

 

Indians came across the concept of secularism in nineteenth century under the influence of the British rulers. It was only in late nineteenth century when the mutiny failed and the British consolidated their rule that the Indians opened their minds to the Western influences. But the Western ideas became popular only among a small section of Indians in urban areas. The British rule was essentially secular, as they began to impose secular laws replacing many of the religious laws. They also imposed common criminal code, though they did not touch personal laws.

 

The word ‘secular’ in political sense was used after formation of Indian National Congress in 1885. The word secular in Indian political terminology came to be used in a pluralist setting and not in a Western sense that it indicated indifference to religion.

In the West the concept of secularism emerged as a result of a struggle between the Church and the political rulers. The Church was dominating the political scene and denied independence to the ruling monarchies in various parts of Europe. Thus, as a result of this struggle, the concept of secular polity emerged in Europe. It should also be noted that the European society was, for all practical purposes, a monoreligious society. Thus secularism had a very different connotation in the Western context. It is essentially signified a political authority totally independent of Church.

 

The concept of secularism in India emerged in the context of religious pluralism, as against religious authoritarianism in the West. Secularism was emphasised by the Indian National Congress to allay the apprehension of religious minorities, particularly the Muslims, that it was not a Hindu political formation. It was a religious community, rather than religious authority, which mattered in Indian context.

 

Secularism, in the Indian context, had very different connotation right from the very beginning. It related more to community and its secular interests rather than religion and its authority. Throughout our independence struggle, we were faced with secular/communal dichotomy

 

The political leadership used existing religious institutions to draw Hindu and Muslim masses in to political processes. Thus, Tilak used Shivaji and Ganesh festivals to create political consciousness among the Hindu masses. Gandhiji, too, used the concept of “Ram Rajya” on the one hand, to draw Hindu masses, and the Khilafat movement on the other, to attract the Muslim masses.

Religion and religious institutions had to be used repeatedly to inspire people towards political action. Thus, Indian secularism never collided either with religion or religious authority. On the contrary, it drew upon it and its institutions to reinforce political processes.

 

As the base of the freedom movement widened in the 1920s with the advent of Mahatma Gandhi and as he proceeded to fine tune the techniques of mass resistance that he had developed in South Africa, previously marginal groups were brought in to the freedom struggle and Indian society became united under the influence of the overarching call for freedom. But, paradoxically, the same period was to see the advent of fundamentalist and rabid groups, both Hindu and Muslim, who began to politicise religion and thereby divide Indian society. And, as we have seen all over the world today, religious identification is often the product of a political movement and not necessarily the precondition for such a movement.

 In sum, we were to see parallel movements in India, one, that united people on the lines of the anti-colonial struggle and the other that divided people in the name of religion.

Secularism and the Indian National Movement

The leadership of the freedom struggle, therefore, had to devise a principle that would be capable of holding together people who subscribed to different faiths. This holding mechanism was provided by secularism.

 

It sought to enlist the support of all religious groups in its nationalist struggle. This was, note, not a secularism that commands the separation of religion and politics but a secularism that ensures the equality of all faiths.

Communalism had a devastating effect on India’s national life, finally resulting in the partition of the country and wide scale communal riots. They saw in secularism an ideology that could serve both their purposes, that is fight or controvert communalism and provide a basis for a united Indian nation, which, in turn, would strengthen the nationalist movement for India’s independence.

 

The entire concept of Indian secularism was developed in the process of attempting to weld together a rather heterogeneous populace, divided on communal lines, in to a modern nation.

 

The need for secularism arose in India and secularism was conceived accordingly in two related contexts – first, to counter the challenge of communalism to national integrity and second, to provide a basis for nationalism or nationalist movement which should be shared by all Indians.

 

The concept of secularism”, arose in this context. It sought to mediate between the interests of various communities, and postulated a united Indian state where the followers of any religion would neither be favoured nor discriminated against.

Thus, unlike Europe, secularism in India arose not as a process of conflict with organised religion, but an attempt to unify the followers of different religious faiths in India in their struggle against the foreign rulers by making secularism the premise of a united free India.

 

The idea of religious toleration in terms of sarva dharma sambhava, or equal regard for all religions, became pivotal to Indian conception of secularism, as it made possible the harmonious existence of several religious communities in one nation-state.

The Indian leadership continued to hold fast to this normative principle despite the fact that the country was partitioned ostensibly in the name of religion. Given the deep polarisation of Indian society and given the massive massacres and the brutality that marked the partition of the country, the leadership could easily have swung in the direction of majoritarianism. But it refused to be swayed and remained true to its commitment that all religions in post independent India would be treated equally by the state.

 

And it was this meaning of secularism that was given a concrete shape in the Constitution.

 

The Constitution and Secularism:

Indian Constitution is a creative blend between state secularism and religiosity of the civil society.

 

The Indian Constitution treats all citizens equal, irrespective  of caste, creed, race, sex or religion. . Article 25-to 30-guarantee freedom of religion, of culture and language. Article 30 also guarantees to minorities the right to establish their own educational institutions. These Articles from 25 to 30 are extremely significant as far as minority rights are concerned, the minorities could be religious or linguistic.

 

Though our constitution is secular, originally the word secularism did not occur in it. It was during emergency in mid-seventies that the words “secular and socialist” were added and India was described as “secular and socialist republic”. But the words secularism or secular were not defined.

In the preamble to the Constitution the expression ‘secular’ means a republic in which there is equal respect for all religions. ‘Secularism’ in the Indian Constitution connotes that:

1) the state, by itself, shall not espouse or establish or practice any religion,

2) public revenues will not be used to promote any religion,

3) the state shall have the power to regulate any “economic, financial or other secular activity” associated with religious practice (Article 25(2) (a) of the constitution);

4) the state shall have the power through the law to provide for “social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of public character too all classes and sections of Hindus” (Article 25 (2) (b) of the constitution);

5) the practice of untouchability (in-so-far as it may be justified by Hindu religion) is constitutionally outlawed by Article 17);

6) every individual person will have, in that order, an equal right to freedom of conscience and religion;

7) these rights are, however, subject to the power of the state through law to impose restrictions on the ground of “public order, morality and health”.

8) these rights are furthermore subject to other fundamental rights in Part III; and

9) the courts, auspiciously the Supreme Court, shall have the ‘say’ on adjudging state action as valid or otherwise under the above principles

10) a fundamental duty of all citizens (under Articles 51-A (f) to “preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture”

 

While there are no doors opening from the side of religion in to the State, there are, however, several doors opening from side of the State in to religion. If the interests of public order, morality and health so demand, the right to profess, practice and propagate religion may be breached; so also the right of a religious denomination to manage its own affairs in matters pertaining to religion. The right to profess, practice and propagate religion may also be breached if the enforcement of other fundamental rights require it or if the demands of the social welfare and reform require it.

 

Thus the constitution contemplates and compels the supremacy of secular authority and secular interest over religious authority and religious interest.