Secularism vs communalism

Secularism and Communalism are the two different social ideologies. In simple words, the former one stands with the belief that religion should not influence or be involved in the organization of society, education, government, etc. On the other hand, the attempts to construct religious or ethnic identity, incite strife among people from different communities, and to stimulate communal violence between those groups, comes under the definition of communalism.

The world has over 200 countries as a secular state, among which China, India, United States, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Bangladesh, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, South Africa, South and North Korea, Iraq, Poland, Sri Lanka, are the most popular ones.

Even though Hindu nationalists did not participate in the Constituent Assembly to draft the country’s constitution, Hindu traditionalists were all present in the making of the constitution. There was a lot of pressure on Nehru and B. R. Ambedkar, but they still successfully enforced “secularism.” in the county.

 

Presently, the word “communalism” is not used in India’s modern politics. But if you go back in time when Nehru was leading the country, the term was vastly used to designate ideological pressure that divided the nation on religious grounds.

After experiencing Muslim communalism and the partition in 1947, Nehru was very sure of how important secularism was for a country like India.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, secularism in the country was well organized. Minorities including Muslims were also a part of the Indian political system. Not only this, even the communal riots were very minimal during that time.

 Nehru was very clear in the idea of secularism he wanted to implement in the country. He kept Indian politicians away from using religion as the means for political gain.

The 42^nd amendment of the Constitution of India, enacted in 1976, categorizes India as a secular nation. In India, the Constitution does not recognize, it does not permit, mixing religion and state power. “Politics and religion cannot be mixed,” that is what actually Indian Constitution implies.

 

However, India's secularism does not distinguish religion and state completely. It allows the state to interfere in religious affairs, when and where needed. Not just that, the Constitution even allows partial financial support for religious schools, as well as the financing of religious buildings and infrastructure by the state.

But looking at the present situation of the country, secularism is a controversial topic in India. The people who believe in the Indian concept of secularism say that it respects "minorities and pluralism", whereas, the critics claim it as “pseudo-secularism”.

 

Also, many debates have been doing rounds on media and social media regarding the concept of secularism in India.

 

Recently, Shashi Tharoor, Senior Congress leader stated that secularism as a principle and practice in India was in danger and the ruling dispensation might even try to remove the word from the Constitution.

 

India seems to be losing the battle of keeping politics and religion separate from each other. As with the present government, many people in the country see secularism fading from the constitution and practice of law.

 

Even, it has been noted that a plea has been filed before the Supreme Court, asking to remove the words “socialist” and “secular” from the Preamble of the Constitution.

 

It has not just come to people’s minds overnight. There are multiple reasons for them to think that ‘secularism’ in India is in threat.  With the BJP coming into power since the 2014 election, people have started questioning the idea of secularism in the country and its commitment to diversity.

In 2017, the head of a religious institution was made the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. Then, he was both - head priest of the Gorakhnath Math and head of the state of Uttar Pradesh.

How was it fair in the eyes of the Constitution to elect someone with orthodox religious values and give them the authority to run a state?

 

Coming to the other theory, Communalism. This political theory comes from the ethnic and cultural diversity of Africa. The term in South Asia is used to denote the differences between the various religious groups and differences among the people of different communities. Communalism is also found in America, Europe, Australia, and Asia.

 

But, lately, it has become a significant socio-economic and political issue in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Nepal, etc.

 

Communalism, not only is it a threat to national integrity, but it also aggravates political and social tension in the country. It divided people and communities with different thoughts and customs. It creates hostility and a feeling of rivalry for others’ religions and beliefs.

The 1986 Babri Masjid incident, the 1989 Bhagalpur riots, the demolishing of the Babri Masjid in 1992 or even the Gujarat riots of 2002 are the biggest examples of communalism in the history of India – which to date is seen as the ‘largest democracy of the world’.

Lastly, even after all such political and social experiences India witnessed because of communalism, it is widely observed that the citizens of the country are majorly secular. There might be some ups and downs, high tensions among different communities, there isn’t a permanent divide between them.

Follow on Twitter