Question

‘India is a secular country’. What does this mean?

Answer 1

Hint: Individuals are allowed the freedom to live by their religious beliefs and practices as they interpret these by the Indian Constitution. India also adopted a strategy of separating the power of religion and the power of the State in keeping with this idea of religious freedom for all. This separation of religion from the State refers to Secularism.

Complete answer:
The Indian Constitution has mandated that the Indian State should be secular. Only a secular State can realise its objectives to ensure the following according to the Constitution: that one religious community is not dominated by the other; that some members of the same religious community do not dominate other members of that community; that the State does not take away the religious freedom of individuals nor enforce any particular religion upon its citizens.
The Indian State works in various ways to prevent this kind of domination. The first strategy it uses is of distancing itself from religion. The Indian State does not support any one religion nor is it ruled by any religious group. Government spaces like law courts, police stations, government schools are not allowed to promote or display any religion in India.
The second strategy to prevent the above domination is through non-interference. This means that the State makes certain exceptions for particular religious communities in order to respect the sentiments of all religions and not interfere with religious practices. For example, for Sikhs a helmet is not necessary since wearing a pagri is a very important part of their religion.
The third strategy to prevent domination is through intervention. For example, the Indian State bans untouchability since it discriminates and excludes ‘lower-caste’ people. Support can also be a form of intervention of the State. For example, the Indian Constitution grants religious communities the right to set up their own schools and colleges. On a non-preferential basis, it also gives them financial aid.

Note: Indian Secularism is different from the secularism practiced in the USA. In American secularism, there is a strict separation between religion and the state but on the other hand, the state can intervene in religious affairs in Indian secularism.