secularism

Secularism, like many other concepts, political and social has come to India from the west. Secularism is it is understood and practiced in the western societies indeed. It is the aloofness of state from any particular religion or a state which does not patronise any one or particular religion. One of the principal features of secular state was totally unknown to India.

The 42nd Constitution Amendments of 1976 has added words, socialist, secular and integrity of the nation. The idea of secularism goes beyond the ambit of religious rights guaranteed in article 25 28. It implies full freedom and equal respect for all religion. In Indian Politics, there is a hold of religion on Indian masses. This implies that in such cases the use of politics for religious purpose and control over religious institution and organisation and even funds collected for religious purposes in the furtherance of their political needs will have to be conceded.

But even if an institutionalized combination of religion and politics does not form a major part of our political behavior pattern. The use of the religious factor by practically all political parties and groups with only a few exceptions has become a normal and regular feature of Indian politics since Independence.

Political parties rely on and exploit religious sentiments of the electorate in mobilizing political support for their candidate. The choice of candidate is also made in view of the religious and communal character of the electorate. In a few cases, religious issues have received an unprecedented priority over secular and socioeconomic ones.

The secular political system has completed over three decades. The overall experience has neither been full satisfactory nor worth repetition in future without blaming the legal system. It is the social forces and manner in which they have been exploited in the working of our political processes that has placed secularism in our society in an unhealthy state.

In the words of Nehru:

“In a country like India, which has many faiths and religious, no real nationalism can be built up except on the basis of secularity”.