Can India be a secular democracy?

FOR
Husnah

Good morning to my honourable jury, respected opponents and

my dear audience .Today, I Husnah Sonara ,and I, Ali
Muhammed Lakdawala are here to speak for the proposition
,”Can India be a secular democracy?”
Ali

Wait! Can India be a secular democracy? India IS ofcourse a

secular democracy according to the constitution and it will
continue to be a secular democracy for the years to come. Can
you name the national anthem, language and song of India? Yes,
but india does not follow any “national religion” as such, which,
technically makes it a secular nation.
Husnah

Knowing the diversity of the term ‘secularity’, the constitution of

India introduced this term to the preamble by the forty-second
amendment act in 1976 .As India does not have an official state
religion, it has been declared to be a secular state by it’s written
constitution . .Secularism refers to the independence of state’s
governance from religion .It means that a state functions a
neutral towards all of its citizens without giving unjust
precedence to one religion over the other. In a secular state
people of different cultures and religions live in harmony and
peace, obeying the same rule of law regardless of the religions
they follow .Secularism is very essential for a nation to progress
without having internal problems ,more so in a religiously and
culturally diverse country as India where multiple religions
and cultures are witnessed in every nook and corner of the
nation.
Ali

In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, ”I do not expect India of

my dreams to develop one religion ,i.e.to be wholly Hindu,
wholly Christian or wholly Muslims, but I want it to be
wholly tolerant, with its religions working side by side
with one another” During the freedom struggle ,Secularism
was emerging as the most dominant principle .The great
freedom fighters and leaders of the Indian national
Congress who came from diverse backgrounds were
deeply committed to the ideal of secularism, though each
expressed it in a very different manner. This shows “Unity
in diversity” as secularism became the mantra of the Indian
Nation.
Husnah

The founding fathers represented the different sections of

the society and it is due to the struggles of these different
people that secular principles got enshrined into the indian
constitution. Article 25 in the Indian Constitution states the
right to practice, profess and propagate any religion .The
Goa civil code also known as the Goa Family law, is the
set of civil laws that governs the residents of the Indian
state of Goa. This single code of Goa, governs all Goans
,irrespective of religion, ethnicity or linguistic affiliation.
This implies that Secularism is prevalent in India.Thus
secularism in India doesn’t mean separation of religion
from state, instead ,secularism in India means a state that is
neutral to all religious groups.
Ali

Secular democracy does not come empty handed. It gets

along some merits such as :
● It brings religious freedom.
● Gets in fair decision making.
● Gives freedom of speech to every individual as they
wont be judged on the bases of caste ,sex and
“religion”
These benefits will be provided by the adaptation of the
ideology of secularism in a state .It eradicates the
possibility of religious privilege sometimes given to the
religions by state. Due to all these benefits, more and
more democracies across the world have inculcated the
concept of secularism and have ensured the fair
application of its ideology all across the world have
inculcated the concept of secularism and have ensured
 the fair application of this ideology all across the state by
all individuals. It is evident by the above stated benefits
that every country which comprises of various religious
groups should ensure the application of secularism in the
state to maintain the peaceful functioning of the society.
Husnah

Secularism begins in the heart of every individual. There

should be no feeling of “otherness” as all we have is a
shared history. India being a traditional society that
contains not one, but many traditions owning their origin
in part to different religions that exists here, has so far
managed to retain the secular character of its polity. Ours
is a society where Sufi’s and Bhakti saints have brought
in a cultural acceptance for each other. Are we going to
let it all go waste and listen to people who have concern
for their careers as politicians or leaders rather than our
welfare at heart? Let us instead concentrate our effort at
making India a powerful and progressive nation.
Another recent and rather prominent example of indias
secularism as a democracy was proved in the ayodhya
verdict wherein both, hindus and muslims were satisfied
by the decision of the supreme court and justice was
righty served without any biased judgement.
Ali
In conclusion, I would like to quote the words of the great
Manmohan Singh, “Unity and secularism will be the
motto of the government. We can’t afford divisive policy
in India.”