Is India still a secular state?

Is India still a secular state?


India is diversified when it comes to religions, for which the constitution stands for a secular India.

For:

- Multiple religions like Hindu’s, Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists exist in our country making it secular. There is no one particular religion which is being followed
- The roots of the Indian constitution ricochets that all citizens are equal and this asserts that the religion of a native is not applicable especially when it comes to his fundamental rights
- Secular state usually is defined, where people have the right to make independent choices, which is very much prevalent in India
- None of the public funds are allotted especially for any particular religion

Against:

- In spite of India being a secular state, Caste system still rubrics the ancestries, not only at the time of politics, but while choosing a groom/ bride, making companions, hiring workers
- The main purpose of not following any religion in India was to keep the state secular, which is not being followed
- The recent riots in Muzaffarnagar, U.P the main reason was because of the Hindu – Muslim fights, especially where both the religions exist

Conclusion:

- The entire human race is considered to be one large clan, secularism leads to a modern and a reformist approach.
- India has constantly believed in oneness and does not rift humanity into incontrovertible partitions on the basis of religion, race, country or nation.
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    Discussion

  • RE: Is India still a secular state? -deepak (11/05/15)
  • I want to ask that india is a secular state or country? I think it is state because it has its own source of income.or its own defence.....and etc..
  • RE: Is India still a secular state? -jaki jain (07/23/15)
  • I think only according to law, india is secular country but actually it is not because many people compare with other.A officer did not like to eat food with his peon. A rich man not want to marrige his daughter with a low income person.so this comparision are still not overcome , we can't say india is secular country actually.
  • RE: Is India still a secular state? -Rishika Jalan (04/17/14)
  • Secularism means that a citizen is given the freedom, the right to follow any religion of his choice and preference. No outward pressure is forced upon him to follow any particular religion. And India with its many religions, races and languages is world’s one of the most interesting secular countries. Yes, I completely agree that India is a secular state.
    It has millions of people coexisting with different faiths and values and this right is given to them by the constitution of the country. In a democratic country like ours, the citizens are given the freedom to preach and practice any religion they want- Christianity, Muslim, Hindu, Jainism, Buddhism. None are restricted to any one particular religion. No religion dominates any other. All have the same and equal right to everything. Public funds are equally distributed among all religions and not a single religion is provided with any amount of extra fund. Thus, India should proudly give this message out to the world.
  • RE: Is India still a secular state? -Rajani Sharma (01/07/14)
  • Is India still a Secular state


    For:

    -Secular state is one where people have freedom to make independent choices, which is very much present in India.
    -India is a country of religions where exists diverse religious groups but, in spite of this the constitution stands for secular state of India and declares India as a "Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic."
    -Many fundamental rights outlaw discrimination on the ground of religion and guarantees a freedom of worship and religion.
    -In the words of Chief Justice Gajendragadkar—"The essential basis of the Indian constitution is that all citizens are equal and this basic equality (guaranteed by Art. 14) obviously proclaims that the religion of a citizen is entirely irrelevant in the matter of his funda­mental rights”.
    -Secularism leads to a modern and a reformist approach in which the entire human race is considered to be one large clan and does not divide humanity into incontrovertible partitions on the basis of religion, race, country or nation.
    -As per the great Indian leaders like Gandhi and Nehru declared India as a secular state, a common home of the Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, and all other citizens. The secularism has resulted in opening all posts to members of all communities. Muslims, though a 31 percent minority, have been Presidents of Indian Republic. Dr. Zakir Hussain was one such president and Sri Fakhruddin AH Ahmad was another. In India, the Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis, Jains and members of all minority communities have been ministers, governors and ambassadors without any distinction of caste and creed. In India politics is sepa­rated from religion.
    -According to Act. 28 (i) no religious education is to be provided in any educational institution which is wholly maintained out of state funds.

    Against:

    -In spite of India being a secular state, caste system still rubrics the ancestries, not only at the time of politics, but while choosing a groom/ bride, making companions, hiring workers.
    -The recent riots in Muzaffarnagar, U.P the main reason was because of the Hindu – Muslim fights, especially where both the religions exist.
    -In practice, Indian state actually privileges Hinduism over other religions and religious communities.
    -Constitutional discrimination, Legislative discrimination, Employment discrimination, Cultural discrimination and Religious pogroms, the five reasons, which justify that the India is not a secular state and in fact the defender of the Hindu dharma.
    -People still think in terms of their communities and move in communal groups. Religion that was meant to unite divides the people.
    -In the name of secularism, many undesirable tendencies have crept into our national life.