Essay: Everything you ought to know about the concept of Secularisation

Secularisation is a concept that come to circulation after the Second World War when most of the erstwhile colonies of the British, the Dutch, the Spanish, the Partugese, the French and other European powers shunned colonial hagemony. Some of these colonies had became multiethnic in composition and multi- religious in spirit. Religion is the most sensitive issue for every person no matter whether one is a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Zoroastrian or a member of any other faith. Many of the nations are theocratic, but they are dominated by major ethnic groups.

The newly formed nation-states had become multiethnic for various reasons. For instance, the case of India which has became a veritable multiethnic nation- state although Hindus constitute the majority community. Prior to the commencement of Muslim rule during the medieval period India was preponderant with a Hindu nation state although the population was divided within on the basis of caste.

In course of history, Muslims, Mughals, Christians, Parsis and people of many other faiths, major and minor, came to Indian subcontinent and settled down. Apart from people of major religions Indian population comprised several hundred tribal communities; each of which had its own ‘animistic’ religion. Therefore, India is a multiethnic, multicultural, multilingual and multireligious country. So long as it was a British colony ethnicity, linguism, casteism and religious sentiment never came to the forefront and became a national issue and never these caused any problem for the administration.

After 15th August, 1947 things have changed very much. The withdrawal of the colonial administration made all Indians to think freely, to speak freely, to propitiate freely and breath freely. In other words, people flaunted and cherished freedom. Not only they felt free but also they behaved as totally free. Many sociological changes immediately build up the vacuum caused by the colonial power.

On 26th January, 1950 Indian parliament introduced the constitution of India, a powerful document to guide self rule and the destiny of India. People immediately realised and exercised political power through ballots. Every adult citizen was eligible to exercise his/her franchise at the hustings without any consideration of caste, creed, wealth, education, social position and gender.

Realising fully the problems that would crop up in the body politik, the founding fathers of Indian constitution had introduced a pervasive concept of secularism through the constitution. Secularism means in common paralance that one’s religions ideals and beliefs should not interfere in the general, social, economic, administrative and political fields of political life.

All religions were placed in the same position and the practice of religions and propitation of deities, performance of religious ceremonies and festivals are all made private affairs. This means that the State would neither encourage nor promote religious activities of any particular religion or of all religions. Practice of religion is guarranted by the Articles- 25, 26 and 30 of the constitution of India.

All citizens are equal as per the constitution of India. One’s own religion does not interfere nor influence one’s citizenship. Secularism is the freedom from polities, administration and practice of religion. It is a social value and it is also a critical political value. It is related directly to the rational outlook. Religion is never to influence one’s public behaviour. It also implies readiness to accept change which is beneficial for the country, irrespective of one’s religious doctrines and dogmas.

Secularism has been introduced in Indian public life to ensure socio-political equality and to wipe out inequality on the basis of religion. Secularism aims at promoting greater national integration and to do away with schisms on the basis of religious basis and practices.

Secularism in the context of economic development involves abandonment of the concept of providence, cyclical time and cosmic causation and their replacement by the motions of linear time and physical laws and natural causation. This will help to develop the confidence and ability to master the environmental forces as well as physical and social forces and abandonment of the tendency to appeal to supernatural powers and propitiation of occult beings.

The State has to maintain absolute neutrality with regard to the belief pattern of the society. It has to regard all religions as equal and leave their practices to the people themselves, While maintaining the role of an impartial refree to guide and restrain whenever and wherever a community transgresses the religious limits in the multireligious country, and take appropriate corrective measures to wipe out the wrong. Secularism means religion as personal and private affair and the State’s role is earmarked for taking necessary appropriate administration measures to prevent intra and inter religious conflicts.