“WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC”.
Our Constitution’s Preamble emphasises India being a secular country right at the outset. The novelty of India is its diversity of ethnicities, religions, cultures, and heritage. But in recent times, we have seen widespread conspiracy theories, propaganda, and legislation on eradicating the very essence of the diversity in India — in the name of the country being a Hindu nation. The Citizenship Amendment Act, Beef Ban, Love Jihad laws, and more recently, the Hijab Ban in Karnataka have all been indicating the path that India is headed on, and it looks treacherous.
Origin of the Indian Form of Secularism
Former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Dr. B. R. Ambedkar had decided to include an alternate form of secularism, where India does not completely separate ‘Church’ and ‘State’, but respects the practice and professing of all religions equally. “Communalism” was the main issue; Nehru had envisioned a harmonious India and the post-Independence nation had to be protected from the constant rioting and Islamophobia [1].
The country could evidently not practise complete secularism considering that religion is interwoven with the very ethos of its citizens. In a country as diverse as India, legislation had to be brought in to regulate unfair practices like untouchability. Indians were given the choice to follow their religious laws or the uniform laws that pertain to civil cases like marriage and property.
With the advent of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi’s leadership, the Congress began focusing on minority politics, the 42nd Amendment added “secularism” to the preamble, and issued a series of rulings favouring minorities to tip the vote bank to their side. Furthermore, right-wing Hindutva organisations leveraged several developments like the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits, the mass killing of Hindus by the Khalistan Movement, the Bangladeshi immigrants’ situation, and other extremist movements happening at the time to strengthen their case and mobilise forces. This reignited a wave of Hindu nationalism.
The Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits
The 1975 Indira-Sheikh Accord [2] put forth the inclusion of Jammu and Kashmir in India under an autonomous status, as guaranteed by Article 370. Around the same time, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) was founded, pioneering the cause of the Kashmir insurgency. In 1984, the leader of JKLF was hanged, leading to the separatist movement gaining more popularity and garnering the support of Pakistan. Riots over the construction of a mosque on a Hindu temple land and the opening of the Babri Masjid land for Hindu worship by the Rajiv Gandhi government fuelled both factions’ hatred for one another. Following this, prominent Kashmiri Hindu leaders were killed in the militant movement. With a political coup, the resignation of the Chief Minister, and the Governor’s rule, Kashmir saw one of its darkest days in history, with war cries and threats to Pandits on the night of 19th January, 1990. “Ralive-Tsalive-Ya Galive” is a famous rallying call from the time, translating to “convert-leave Kashmir-or perish”. Hindu homes were attacked, and around 75,000 Kashmiri Pandits are said to have fled the Valley. What started as vote-bank politics became one of the most gruesome incidents in modern India.
The Ayodhya Babri Masjid Case
The Ayodhya case is of utmost importance in understanding the evolution of secularism in modern India. Hindu nationalist organisations began a campaign claiming that the area of the Babri Masjid Mosque was actually the birthplace of Lord Rama. BJP won the Uttar Pradesh-state elections following the riots that were mobilised as a call for the construction of a Ram Mandir. The demolition of the Masjid, open and organised communalism as well as the acquitting of the parties involved, and the 2019 Supreme Court judgement are all emblematic of the nature of ‘secularism’ that persists in our country currently.
Love Jihad and the Beef Ban
Another conspiracy theory to create more Islamophobia is love jihad. As ridiculous as the term sounds, there have been extensive measures to curb this blasphemy. Prominent politicians believe that Muslim men lure the naïve, lovestruck Hindu women into falling for them, only to convert them to Islam. Several cases are registered under this offence, which is not only insulting to secularism, but also feminism — viewing women as powerless creatures that are easily baited and incapable of making sound choices.
Several mobs have lynched butchers and people transporting and consuming beef, often ending in murder. Fundamentally, Hindus view cows as sacred, while Muslims are indifferent. Beef is one of the cheapest forms of meat, and depriving meat-eaters of beef on grounds of religion, again, becomes an offence against secularism [3].
The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and Uniform Civil Code
Under the 2019 CAA, there are provisions for citizens of every religion, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhs, and of course, Hindus, to expedite their citizenship even if they fail the test, while Muslims have been barred from all options. The law is fundamentally unconstitutional, discriminating on grounds of religion, and further establishing the BJP agenda of a Hindutva nation and treating Muslim citizens as “foreigners”. The ruling government used illegal Bangladeshi refugees as an excuse to justify the discriminatory nature of the law and painted all protestors as anti-national, just for demanding the right to equality [4].
The introduction of a Uniform Civil Code, eliminating religious laws like the Sharia, has been under the BJP agenda since time immemorial. The establishment of such a Uniform Civil Code is to ensure equality of all before the law. While critics assert that the implementation of this is against the free practice of any religion, imposing Hindu majoritarian sensibilities on all laws, the uniform code is not without its upsides. Cases like the Shah Bano case are a prime example of why religious laws can sometimes be unjust [5]. However, establishing a completely uniform code is impractical. Abolishing regressive laws is essential to equality before the law, while still preserving the sanctity of the secular nature of the Constitution.
The Hijab Ban
Very recently, there have been widespread protests against the ban on wearing hijabs in educational institutions. Saffron-clad individuals were seen harassing a woman wearing a hijab. The Karnataka High Court has ruled that all religious garb is prohibited in educational institutions, with a strict following of uniform rules. The Governor of Kerala, Mr. Khan, has come out in support of the Karnataka High Court judgement. Many supporters of the Hindutva ideology have defended their argument against the wearing of hijabs as support for feminist ideologies, conveying that women have been forced to wear hijabs due to patriarchy. The question is not about equality of gender here, it is about being able to express your religion freely, and depriving a woman of her choice to wear or not wear a hijab is not only unsecular, but also misogynistic.
Comments Made by Nupur Sharma
Most recently, the BJP-led government received heavy backlash due to the statements of their spokesperson, Nupur Sharma over her comments on Prophet Mohammed. Several middle-eastern countries took to boycotting Indian products and widespread protests took place all over India. This led to her being suspended and the party conveying that her views were not shared by the government, and that she and Mr. Naveen Jindal were fringe elements. When protests turned violent in Uttar Pradesh, Muslim homes were demolished on grounds of being “illegally constructed”.
Conclusion
The current nature of religious fanaticism in the country is a direct result of vote bank politics of all ruling governments so far. Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act of 1951, the law that guides the conduct of elections in India, forbids politicians from campaigning on religious themes for this reason.
The Muslims were even blamed for the spread of the pandemic in the country because of religious gatherings, while bigger gatherings have happened for election rallies and Hindu temple festivals. The fight for a Hindutva nation shows disdain and contempt for the very ideologies on which independent India was established. The constant disparage of other religions not only goes against the core of Hinduism, but also drags India down a vicious terrain of communalism, similar to the divide and rule policies of The British Raj.
The youth are often brainwashed with such propaganda and the future of secularism in India seems bleak. Instead of cultivating constant hatred towards other religions and creating a nation that is further divided on grounds of religion, we must work towards a concordant India, free from the crevices of religious cacophony. Governments should focus on the economic growth and education of our citizens, and unanchor their campaigns from religion.
In the words of Rabindranath Tagore:
“Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake”
Article by:
Smrithi Shree,
Chief Advisor,
PES MUN Society, RR Campus
Just another woke leftist column article by pseudo liberals who think its cool to talk about secularism.