Secularism after Freedom
02/08/2008 14:20:42 News Today Editorial
Secularism, meaning a philosophy that rejects all forms of religious faith or worship, is fine as long as it remains a political philosophy, but gives a confused picture when it includes the social order, for the society is mostly made up of people following religious faiths. If secularism means rejecting all forms of religious faith and worship, then it becomes synonymous with 'atheism'. So, in this context, it would be better for any sensible government to either keep itself away from religions or treat all religions equally with a neutral perspective from an equidistant place.
Whereas in India, the so-called Socialism, which has taken the form of 'Nehruvian Secularism' since independence, has paved the way for its transformation into 'Cheap Minorityism'. The Congress and the Communist parties have played a vital role in this process, supported ably by the regional pseudo-secular satraps (some of them are avowedly atheists), leading to the deterioration of the unique Indian ethos.
Indian Secularism also means anti-majorityism. Hinduism, which forms the core of the Indian society, is 'secular' in itself, as evidenced by the establishment of the 'revealed' religions, which have come from outside, on Indian soil. But, unfortunately, the Indian polity has followed a tradition of dividing the majority and appeasing the minority, which has evolved into this ugly concept called Indian Secularism.
As per Indian Secularism, the governments (both central and state) give a free hand to minorities to pray, preach, propagate and proselytise, allow them to run their own educational and religious institutions without state's interference, facilitate them to amass wealth by receiving huge financial assistances from foreign powers, which follow their respective faiths. On the contrary, the majority community is treated as secondary citizens, without any religious freedom to run their own institutions and they are made to depend on the state for everything. Even their religious contributions are utilised by the states for different administrative and minority oriented purposes. This has its roots in the Constitution itself, which was rather naively framed by an assembly of stalwarts, who unfortunately did not foresee the aftereffects of their deed.
The predominantly Hindu nation, which also allowed the foreign religions to stabilize here and treated them with respect and friendship, was under foreign subjugation for more than thousand years. The independence movement and the freedom there after, must have been properly utilised by the constituent assembly to reestablish the Hindu nation with its magnificent religious traditions and marvelous cultural heritage, which even now has great respect for all other religious denominations. While those who demanded the partition and vivisected this great nation, had the foresight to declare their portion of Bharat as 'Islamic Pakistan', the forefathers of this part of Bharat lost sight and declared it as 'Secular India'.
Though the intention was good, the action failed and in due course of time, the Nehruvian secularism took deep roots leading to the present growth of religious conflicts at the cost of peace and harmony. The Indian Secular States continue their chaotic policies of allowing proselytization, subsidising minority pilgrimages, full freedom to run their institutions, liberty to have separate civil laws and even separate reservation policies in education and employment, on the one hand, and full control of Hindu institutions, taxing their pilgrimages, utilising the Temple revenues and declining special facilities, on the other.
A stage has come where in, the freedom of religion is taken for granted and is being totally misused. The various 'Articles' (14, 15, 25, 26, 27, and 30 etc) enshrined in the constitutions have been literally mocked at by vested interests through their acts of subversion. All these 'Articles' in connection with the Freedom of Religion have to be re-looked and necessary amendments have to be brought in, for a peaceful and harmonious future of India that is Bharat.
Secularism, meaning a philosophy that rejects all forms of religious faith or worship, is fine as long as it remains a political philosophy, but gives a confused picture when it includes the social order, for the society is mostly made up of people following religious faiths. If secularism means rejecting all forms of religious faith and worship, then it becomes synonymous with 'atheism'. So, in this context, it would be better for any sensible government to either keep itself away from religions or treat all religions equally with a neutral perspective from an equidistant place.
Whereas in India, the so-called Socialism, which has taken the form of 'Nehruvian Secularism' since independence, has paved the way for its transformation into 'Cheap Minorityism'. The Congress and the Communist parties have played a vital role in this process, supported ably by the regional pseudo-secular satraps (some of them are avowedly atheists), leading to the deterioration of the unique Indian ethos.
Indian Secularism also means anti-majorityism. Hinduism, which forms the core of the Indian society, is 'secular' in itself, as evidenced by the establishment of the 'revealed' religions, which have come from outside, on Indian soil. But, unfortunately, the Indian polity has followed a tradition of dividing the majority and appeasing the minority, which has evolved into this ugly concept called Indian Secularism.
As per Indian Secularism, the governments (both central and state) give a free hand to minorities to pray, preach, propagate and proselytise, allow them to run their own educational and religious institutions without state's interference, facilitate them to amass wealth by receiving huge financial assistances from foreign powers, which follow their respective faiths. On the contrary, the majority community is treated as secondary citizens, without any religious freedom to run their own institutions and they are made to depend on the state for everything. Even their religious contributions are utilised by the states for different administrative and minority oriented purposes. This has its roots in the Constitution itself, which was rather naively framed by an assembly of stalwarts, who unfortunately did not foresee the aftereffects of their deed.
The predominantly Hindu nation, which also allowed the foreign religions to stabilize here and treated them with respect and friendship, was under foreign subjugation for more than thousand years. The independence movement and the freedom there after, must have been properly utilised by the constituent assembly to reestablish the Hindu nation with its magnificent religious traditions and marvelous cultural heritage, which even now has great respect for all other religious denominations. While those who demanded the partition and vivisected this great nation, had the foresight to declare their portion of Bharat as 'Islamic Pakistan', the forefathers of this part of Bharat lost sight and declared it as 'Secular India'.
Though the intention was good, the action failed and in due course of time, the Nehruvian secularism took deep roots leading to the present growth of religious conflicts at the cost of peace and harmony. The Indian Secular States continue their chaotic policies of allowing proselytization, subsidising minority pilgrimages, full freedom to run their institutions, liberty to have separate civil laws and even separate reservation policies in education and employment, on the one hand, and full control of Hindu institutions, taxing their pilgrimages, utilising the Temple revenues and declining special facilities, on the other.
A stage has come where in, the freedom of religion is taken for granted and is being totally misused. The various 'Articles' (14, 15, 25, 26, 27, and 30 etc) enshrined in the constitutions have been literally mocked at by vested interests through their acts of subversion. All these 'Articles' in connection with the Freedom of Religion have to be re-looked and necessary amendments have to be brought in, for a peaceful and harmonious future of India that is Bharat.
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