On the 6th of December the nation gratefully remembered Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, the principal architect of our Constitution. He was known for his erudition and foresight that he gave India a Constitution that would respect and promote its plurality of cultures and religions. Secularism was the unique concept that was introduced in the Constitution in order to maintain the diversity of the religious traditions of India.

Secularism as it is understood in the West is synonymous with anti-religion; it is a modern ideology that claims that the world is a self-sufficient entity and therefore it requires no extraneous powers such as the divine power to regulate and direct it. And so belief in God and religion is dispensable in human life that is guided by its own logic of existence. Any attempt to enforce religion on a community therefore is fraught with extreme resistance; it is at best left to individuals to make their own choices.

Religion as perceived and practiced in the western world is quite much limited to the individual domain. Along with the privatization of religion and religious practices, came the strong currents of materialism and consumerism sweeping across the economically developed countries of the world creating a new culture. Materialism and consumerism have come to define our modern way of living, giving religion a pass, and that is reflected in the anti-religious movements, art and literature. A case in point is the series of fiction published on Jesus Christ in recent years and movies based on them. All such endeavors seem to suggest that there is a deliberate attempt to denigrate the Christian religion that has shaped much of the western social ideology.

Secularism in India, however, is not equivalent to what it means in the western world; if it means anti-religion in the west, in India it is giving equal respect to all religions. India has been and still continues to be a cradle of all major religions in the world, and religiosity comes natural to any Indian, and therefore to develop a national ethos based on anti-religiosity is next to impossible. The Indian brand of secularism is not a negation of religions and their rich heritage but protecting and preserving them in so far as they contribute positively to the integral growth of society.

The Indian Constitution has unequivocally defined India as a secular state. It means that the state has no official religion, but is bound to respect and protect the rights of all religions communities to preach and propagate their religious beliefs and practices. This fundamental freedom of religion that is contained in the Indian Constitution is also reflected the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights which among other things strongly appeals to all member states to ensure it. India being a signatory to this universal declaration is bound to implement it in letter and spirit.

The ground reality in India, however, does not always correspond to the constitutional mandate. For there is an increasing trend in violating the human rights of ordinary citizens in general and that of the minority communities in particular with near total immunity. This is borne out by the manner in which lawless elements go berserk under the guise of protesting against religious conversion - an allegation more often than not baseless to the core.

A gruesome event that took place in the state of Madhya Pradesh recently cannot go unnoticed by the civilized people of the country. A small group of Christian religious women were leading a prayer service in the house of a fellow Christian but some goons owing allegiance to an organization rudely disrupted it by physically assaulting them. Some of the religious women suffered serious injuries; others were traumatized and yet case was registered against the hapless victims rather than against the perpetrators of terror and bigotry.

It is true that India produced some of the finest minds that gave values of non-violence, tolerance and celebration of plurality, but it is also a fact that India has a past that is dotted with violence and bloodshed in the name of religion, caste, race, language, culture and a host of other reasons. One earnestly hoped that after gaining independence India would drop the baggage of the colonial past ridden with divisive tactics and communal polarization. Such divided and polarized India suited the colonial masters' objective of retaining political power, but it hardly helps us to move forward as a rogressive nation. The sad fact, however, is that our current polity is guided mostly by myopic men and women who are quick to grab the seat of power and the goodies that come along with it rather than taking hard decisions for the integral growth of the nation.

It is most distressing to note that politicians of all hues resort to exploitation of religious, caste and racial sentiments of people at the time of elections. And there is hardly any mention of development that is so close to the heart of people. The country has enough and more religious men and women to attend to the religious matters of people, the political class need not meddle with them; they should rather focus their attention on economic and social development. India must strictly follow the path of secularism that is inclusive of all religions. Alienation of anyone community is certainly not in the interests of the nation; all have their legitimate right for growth and development. And anyone indulging in communal polarization does a disservice to the nation and such tendencies, forces and organization should be curbed at the earliest in the interests of the nation.

Author: Rev. Dr. Babu Joseph
Source: Yunus News - 18/01/08

Rev. Dr. Babu Joseph is the he Spokesperson of the Media/Information Office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and editor of http://www.indiancatholic.in/ a site that aims to serve as a link between the Indian Catholic Church and the society at large.