India: Secularism — A Grossly Abused Concept in Politics
The country experienced worst ever communal riots, bloodbath, arson and other crimes against humanity consequent to the creation of two independent dominions for the Muslims and Hindus by dividing the nation after the partition in 1947.
( January 17, 2018, New Delhi, Sri Lanka Guardian) The secularism implies equal treatment to all religions in India without endorsing or giving any preferential treatment to any one by the state. At the time of independence from the British imperialists, the division of the country was made on the basis of the ‘Two Nation Theory’ pursued by Mohammad Ali Jinnah and other Muslim League leaders – the essence of which was that the Hindus and Muslims are so different that they cannot peacefully co-exist together. Though Pakistan opted for and progressed as a Islamic state but India practically opted for secularism without specifically adopting it through the Constitution. The term secular was later included in the Preamble to the Indian Constitution through the 42nd amendment in 1976 but neither the Constitution nor any other law specifically defines the relationship between the state and religion.
