Secularism in India

“Secular humanists suspect there is something more gloriously human about resisting the religious impulse; about accepting the cold truth, even if that truth is only that the universe is as indifferent to us as we are to it; about facing the existents” said Thomas Flynn , an American author and Editor of the Free Enquiry Magazine.
There are ways that we define India. For example:
India and its diversity
India and its cultural heritage
India and its population
India and its secularism....?
The word SECULAR features in the Preamble of our Indian Constitution. The Indian constitution declares India to be a SECULAR state. But how does it define India and Indians in the process?
India a land of cultural and religious diversity has to maintain equilibrium among the various forces and patterns of the society. Religion is the science of ethics. It cannot be jettisoned and then society expected to be ethical. We need to redefine secularism. It should mean total acceptance, not mere tolerance, of other faiths. Secularity around the globe means without any inherently religious about them where as in India it means the co-existence of all religion under one roof.
There is always a big gap between theory and practice, theology and history. Indian constitution, no doubt, is one of the best in the world. It is truly secular in spirit so much so it was secular even when word secular was not added to it until 1975 i.e. during emergency. If it were truly implemented India would be an ideal country to live in especially for minorities, both religious as well as linguistic.
Religious Secularism is the most prime aspect of secularism in India. Swami Vivekananda one of India’s foremost Hindu secularist said “No nation is great or good because Parliament enacts this or that, but because its men are great and good.I do not believe in reform; I believe in growth. Theirs is a method of destruction, mine is that of construction."
M.K Gandhi, the father of our nation and one of the prime architects of shaping India was firm believer of equality and tolerance and he had realized that it would be impossible to organize any nationwide movement against the common opposition of the British oppressors, if society continues to remain divided on religious grounds. Secularism for Gandhi was an absolute necessity to bring about any form of constructive and all-encompassing political movement.
But one needs to observe that India had been a secular entity (Because India as a nation did not exist pre colonial rule) all along mush before the British arrived.
India has over a thousand year old history of rulers who were followers of different religion where people of various sects and religion live harmoniously. When the British left India in 1947, two new nations were created. The division of the Indian subcontinent into India and Pakistan and again later in 1955, with the division of East Pakistan, which in 1971 became Bangladesh, resulted in mass migrations of people among the new nations. It was probably for the first time religion had scarred the people mindsets. Since then, Pakistan has struggled to define itself as an Islamic republic. In contrast, India currently defines itself constitutionally as a "secular" republic. Nonetheless, with a population that is over 80 percent Hindu, but also includes the world's second largest Muslim population (e.g. more Muslims currently live in India than in all Middle Eastern countries combined), the role of "religion" in political and public life has been central, and conflicts among religious groups continue in many areas. One of the main sites for religious conflict in modern India involves the issue of religious conversion.
The history of secularism in India may be traced since the time of Ashoka (300 B.C.). Ashoka declared that the state would not persecute any religious sect. Ashoka's secular outlook is evident from rock edicts in which the king made a passionate appeal for tolerance of all religious sects and spirit of reverence towards them. He stood for non-violence, particularly after the Kalinga war. His law of Dhamma was marked by liberalism, charity and compassion. He stood for moral order where character and conduct played greater role than rituals and ceremonies. He pleaded for restraint in the criticism of other religious sects. Ashoka's secular outlook and reverence to all religions, has been the vision of the architects of Indian constitution which has been enshrined in the Preamble of Indian Constitution and it is also reflected throughout the Constitution.
But today this spirit of tolerance and sanctity which draws from the best in human commonsense is imperilled by the rising tide of religious fanaticism and terrorism back by religious theology. This is happening not just in India but all across the globe.
One of scars in the face of Indian Secularism is the Babri Masjid incident which wounded the Indian mind set so deeply that India and Indians had to pay the price time and again. The first recorded incident of violence over the issue between Hindus and Muslims took place in 1853 during the reign of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah of Awadh.
During the "communal riots" of 1934, walls around the Masjid and one of the domes of the Masjid were damaged. These were reconstructed by the British Government.
In 1985 the Rajiv Gandhi government ordered the locks on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya to be removed. Until then, only a Hindu priest had been permitted to perform yearly puja for the idols there in 1949. After the ruling, all Hindus were given access to what they consider the birthplace of Rama, and the mosque resumed its function as a Hindu temple.
In 1984, the VHP launched a massive movement for the openings of the locks of the mosque were opened.
In 1989 VHP steps up campaign, laying the foundations of a Rama temple on land adjacent to the disputed mosque.
In 1990 VHP volunteers partially damage the mosque. Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar tries to resolve the dispute through negotiations, which fail the next year.
In 1991 BJP comes to power in Uttar Pradesh state, where Ayodhya is located.
In 1992 the mosque is torn down by the members and supporters of the VHP, the Shiv Sena the BJP and the kar sevaks, prompting nationwide rioting between Hindus and Muslims in Mumbai and other parts of the country where more than 2,000 people die.
In 1993 there are series of bomb blast occur in Mumbai which appear to be communal in nature.
The aftershock of these riots were probably last faced during the Godhra riots in 2002. Where the train Sabarmati Express was forcibly stopped and attacked by a mob which later resulted in the Hindu Muslim riots in Gujrat.
On 16 December, 1992, Liberhan Commission was set up by the Government of India to probe the circumstances that led to the demolition of the Babri Masjid.[9] It has been longest running commission in India's history with several extensions granted by various governments. Politicians like L.K.Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were alleged to be influential in the demolition. On 23 November 2009 the Liberhan commission report was leaked to the media. The leaked report concluded that the demolition was planned by top leaders of the Hindu Nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
One can argue that why a historical structure which was a prime archaeological structure and stood there on the grounds for centuries had to sacrificed along bloodshed and human lives. The Qutub Minar was built by Qutubuddin Aibak - the first Muslim ruler of Delhi. He built the Qutub Minar from the columns pillaged from the numerous Hindu and Jain temples, he destroyed. But after seven hundred years of tyranny, the spirit of religious tolerance and respect for diversity has survived in Hindu majority post-colonial India. This is an example of India secularism.
Now the identity politics soared quite high and national ethos considerably weakened. Today everyone prioritize once caste, communal and religious identity over national one. National rhetoric, as if, has almost disappeared and even Hindutva forces talk more of Hindu religion than of patriotism or nation. For them too Indian nationalism has been replaced by Hindu nationalism.
For Shiv Sena of course Maharashtra was always more important than the Rashtra (nation) and those Hindus too who spoke Hindi the Rashtrabhasha (national language) came under attack. Several Hindus from U.P. and Bihar were mauled by Marathi speaking zealots belonging to Maharashtra Navniram Sena (MNS), a splinter group from Shiv Sena.
Now recently Christians who were never targeted before by the Hindutva zealots have also come under attack. Christians, a mere 2.2 percent minority and which has contributed so richly to the country in the field of education and health services are being killed ruthlessly. What is going on in Kandhmal district of Orissa and some adjoining districts is indeed hair raising.
More than 40 Christians have been killed, a nun mass raped, a woman burnt beyond recognition, more than 400 houses burnt and looted and 35 thousand have fled from their villages to relief camps.
The communal forces are growing stronger and stronger everyday and the political forces is quite indifferent. The government is functioning quite in a lackadaisical manner. It has given complete liberty to communal forces and they are riding roughshod over our secular values and constitutional forces. They never got such license to function freely.
As time is the biggest healer, the nation forgot these dark phases of India’s past and we moved ahead. Leaving behind the religious boundaries, we focussed on how to develop the country in various fields. It’s really a matter of pride for us that we are now neck and neck with other developing nations of the world.
Today, we are one of the biggest economies of the world and serving the world in different fields such as science and technology, medicine, information technology, management and so on. We are now a prosperous nation and from here, we can expect for superpower position.
But, fundamentalist forces have also grown up in the country. Violence in Jammu and Kashmir and Orissa are examples of unfortunate clash in the name of religion.
Right from the beginning of the land row, curfew has been imposed intermittently in Kashmir and Jammu region. But irate protestors frequently defied the curfew in several places. Due to clash between security forces and residents dozens of people have been killed and hundreds others injured so far. The unfortunate stir is still continuing in the state and administration is unable to find out any solution.
Most importantly, it is a tough, almost impossible task for the administration to bring the situation towards normalcy. Only responsible citizens can end the chaos in the states of J&K and Orissa, by leaving behind the menace of communalism.
It is unfortunate, the term ‘secularism’, which has a strong bonhomie with our country is losing its relevance somewhere. In fact, for us the self-interest has become more important than that of the country. We never care what happens next door and forget our sense of humanity. That’s why the communal forces take advantage of our seclusion and get success in their evil motives.
The need of the hour is that, people should remember the principles of secularism, for which we were renowned all over the world. If we do not wake up now and end such violence in the name of religion, the next generation would certainly not pardon us. We are actually shattering the dreams of venerable figures like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru and thousands of freedom fighters who sacrified their lives for this country. Next, with our illogical activities we are making the way easier for our enemies, who always try to disrupt the normal life in the country.