Is Secularism Under Threat In India?

Secularism as defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary is the belief that religion should not be involved with the ordinary social and political activities of a country. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is the "indifference to, or rejection or exclusion of, religion and religious considerations."

In the political context, secularism is the principle of separation of government institutions and states from religious institutions and religious dignitaries. That means the government should remain neutral on the matters of religion and should not enforce nor prohibit the free exercise of religion, leaving religious choice to the liberty of the people. In short, the state would not discriminate against people based on religion.

Indian secularism was not only a result of historical circumstances as a British colony but also a necessity. India is a diverse country with people of almost all major religions of the world (needless to mention that four major religions have their origin on this land). This enormous diversity cannot be straight-jacketed into a homogeneous culture. Perhaps the best way to celebrate them is within a given space.

When Indira Gandhi added the term secular in the Constitution through its 42nd amendment in 1976, there was a furore among the Jan Sangh members, now the BJP. While they opposed the inclusion of the term in the Constitution, they did it subtly. The line of rationale put forward by Jan Sangh then was that the Indian Constitution had always been secular since its inception. Therefore, the term ‘secular’ is redundant here.

The Indian Constitution harboured secularism as a principle since its inception. Article 25 guarantees the freedom to worship, profess, and propagate one’s religion. But the irony is that the party that has always taken pride in Indian secularism is up for burying it to attract the Hindutva vote. The Citizen Amendment Bill proposed by the Central government is in gross violation of the secular principle of the Constitution. No secular country should ever give citizenship simply based on religion. This is beyond the comprehension of any political theorist barring a few Hindutva brigades.

If a nation wants to give citizenship to certain persecuted minorities from the neighbouring countries then it should abolish the explicitly named religions. Persecuted minorities should not be conditioned with Hindus Christians, etc. On humanitarian grounds, they deserve shelter irrespective of their religion.

However, this has been intentionally violated by the ruling dispensation. While the Government wants to deport the persecuted minorities of the Rohingya community who would face nothing but persecution if sent back to Myanmar, the same dispensation was other sections to be welcomed as full-fledged citizens. Is it not discrimination? Should one put it more blatantly: Is this because the Rohingyas are Muslims and the persecuted minorities in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are mostly Hindus? Is the secular fabric still alive?

These questions are legitimate and nobody can pretend to ignore the gravity of these questions. The Supreme Court of India had in its judgments established that secularism is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution and as such cannot be violated even by amendment because the Constituent Assembly had assiduously enshrined these principles. For any change in the basic structure, once again a Constituent Assembly has to be formed with representatives of all the stakeholders discussions and debates should take place and resolution should be adopted after deliberations. That means for a change in the basic structure, a similar process has to be followed.

It is a moment that the apex court should take cognizance of the threat to the very fundamental principle of Indian democracy- secularism. The court should take cognizance, come forward, and exercise its power to shield the Constitution from any possible violation. The apex court as the custodian of our constitution is the last resort that we as common citizens can look forward to.