FC-1 Assessment 1

NAME: BIJAL BHAVESH PRAJAPATI

COURSE: MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH – HEALTH

ADMINISTRATION

ENROLLMENT NO: M2021HE024

SECTION 1

2. Many scholars have argued that the Western concept of secularism

is alien to Indian society. Write about the "Indian concept" of
secularism. Do you think this is changing in the recent decades?
Q2. A paradigm shift in secularism in India

The term 'secular' literally means 'worldly' rather than 'spiritual,' implying that it has nothing
to do with religion or is not limited by monastic rules. It indicates that the spheres of secularism
and religion are different, independent, exclusive, and distinct zones with no overlapping.

The Indian concept of secularism differs from the western model of secularism, which arose in
Western Europe as an opposite ideology to the church and a protest against wars and killings
in the name of religion. Thus, secularism began as an anti-religious concept. Secularism in
India, on the other hand, is not a rejection of religious activities. In India, secularism comprises
of equal respect for all faiths and the state's neutrality in not favouring one religion over
another. In India, secularism does not imply the annihilation of religion, as it does in the West,
but rather the separation of state and religion. While accepting the identities among several
religious entities and their freedom to spread their beliefs, the Indian concept of secularism
confines all religious practises to private life and prevents any attempt to mix religion with
public life. The unique feature of Indian secularism is that, unlike its western counterpart, it
allows religious freedom. The consolidation of religious people under one umbrella is a reality
in India because of the religious freedom granted by the secular concept.1

Since independence, India has followed a unique form of secularism in which all religions are
treated equally and supported by the government. However, this concept is currently
experiencing a paradigm shift, with the judiciary considering constitutional morality to be a
significant component of secularism. Another feature of this shift is the rise of misguided
notions about secularism. The rise of various challenges to our diverse cultural practises is the
ultimate outcome of these changes.2

1) Challenges caused by misleading perceptions:

• Secularism is equated with atheism and apostasy

• Food choice restrictions: Some states ban the sale of meat due to majoritarian
religious sentiments.
• Judiciopapism: The judiciary occasionally takes a narrow view of secularism and
interferes with religious celebrations and practises. For example, the Rajasthan

1
Veer, “Religion in South Asia.”
2
Pantham, “Indian Secularism and Its Critics.”
 High Court has banned Santhara, a Jain practise of embracing voluntary death,
while the Supreme Court has banned the sale of crackers on Diwali.

2) Challenges due to rise of Constitutional morality:

• Right to Equality: The Supreme Court declared triple talaq and the ban on women
entering Sabarimala temple to be unlawful. These actions were taken because of the
underlying gender inequity and exploitation in these practises.
• Objection to Harmful Cultural Practices: In 2018, the illegality of female genital
mutilation (FGM) practises in the Dawoodi Bohra Community was brought to light.
The Centre and the Supreme Court are of the opinion that this practise should be banned
in India.

As a result, although some of the issues are related to the misguided notion of secularism,
others are solely due to the exploitative and discriminatory nature of cultural practises. The
solution lies in bringing all stakeholders, including religious leaders, judges, human rights
activists, civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, and government
representatives, together on a common platform to discuss the challenges and achieve
consensus on the importance of preserving our country's cultural practises.3

References

Bhargava, Rajeev. “The Future of Indian Secularism.” The Hindu, August 12, 2020, sec.
Lead. https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-future-of-indian-
secularism/article32329223.ece.
Pantham, Thomas. “Indian Secularism and Its Critics: Some Reflections.” The Review of
Politics 59, no. 3 (1997): 523–40. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0034670500027704.
Veer, Peter van der. “Religion in South Asia.” Annual Review of Anthropology 31, no. 1
(October 2002): 173–87. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.anthro.31.040402.085347.

3
Bhargava, “The Future of Indian Secularism.”