INDIAN POLITICS AND SECULARISM

(Political Theory Project)

Submitted By:
Sarthak Mishra
Student, B.A. LL.B. (Hons),
Roll No:- 143, Semester- I, Section B.

Submitted On:

15th January 2021.

Hidayatullah National Law University

Post-Uparwara, Atal Nagar, Chhattisgarh – 492002

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 Table of Contents

DECLARATION.......................................................................................................................2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.......................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................5

Objectives...............................................................................................................................6

Research question...................................................................................................................6

Research Methodology...........................................................................................................6

Limitations of the study.........................................................................................................6

What Is The Current State Of Politics In India?........................................................................7

Role Of Different Factors In Indian Politics..............................................................................9

What Is Secularism?.................................................................................................................11

Secularism In Indian Context...................................................................................................12

The Birth Of Political Secularism............................................................................................13

CONCLUSION........................................................................................................................14

REFERENCES.........................................................................................................................15

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 INTRODUCTION

“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet

it was planned that way”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

“If I were a dictator, religion and state would be separate. I swear by my religion. I will die for it.
But it is my personal affair. The state has nothing to do with it. The state would look after your
secular welfare, health, communications, foreign relations, currency, and so on, but not your or
my religion. That is everybody's personal concern!”
- Mahatma Gandhi

Indian politics works within the framework of the Indian constitution. India recognizes a
parliamentary form of government in which the president is the nominal head of the country
while the real power rests with the Prime Minister of India, who is currently Shri Narendra
Modi. India follows a federal structure form of government while the term federal is not used
in the constitution, it might be called quasi-federal. In 1951, India had its first general
election which was won by Indian National Congress under the leadership of Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru, our first Prime Minister. In 1977 a non-Congress government was
established for the first time. The 1990s saw the end of the dominance of political parties and
the rise of coalition governments. The 16th Lok Sabha elections held from April 2014 to May
2014, once again brought back the country's single-party rule, with the Bharatiya Janata Party
at the center.

Secularism is not a new concept to India it is a concept that has been imbibed in our soul
from ancient times, Indian constitutional framers tried to relate their new state to ideas of
progressive world and liberalism along with the ethos of Indian culture. Balancing these two
goals with regard to diversity in the country has been especially difficult, as demonstrated by
the advent of a distinctly Indian understanding of secularism that involves the non-
establishment of a particular religion of a state and equal respect for all religions

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Objectives

 To understand Indian politics with respect to the concept of secularism.

 To understand the factors that play a crucial role in the art of politics in India
 To understand the concept of secularism in the Indian context

Research question

 What is the current state of politics in India?

 What is the concept of “Secularism” in the Indian context and Indian ethos?
 What is the current state of secularism in respect of the current communalisation of
politics

Research Methodology

The project is non-empirical in nature and the data is based on secondary sources. The mode
of presentation is descriptive and collected from various sources and facts present in books,
journals, newspapers, and other internet sources. A uniform mode of citation is being adopted
and followed throughout this project.

Limitations of the study

The study aims at only understanding the current state of politics in India in respect of how
the secularism of this country has been maintained till now. The researcher has used
secondary sources and has not conducted any field study due to the ongoing lockdown
restrictions in the country because of covid-19.

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 What Is The Current State Of Politics In India?

‘Bhakti’ in religion may be a road to salvation of the soul. But in politics, ‘Bhakti’ or hero-
worship is a sure road to degradation and to eventual dictatorship.”
-Dr. BR Ambedkar

Indian politics took curious, undeterminable, and turbulent turns in the last decade. The BJP
in the form of NDA 2 came to power at the central level in the general elections of 2014 with
a full majority government along with old NDA partners.

In another big mandate after five years of 2014, Narendra Modi's other major mandate led the
NDA government in general elections in 2019 and therefore an unprecedented proposal for a
scenario to experience a significant shift, particularly that of politics, but exceptional times
dictate unpredictable challenges for the current government.

The year began with nationwide agitations with young people, students, and civil society
joining hands to condemn the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed
National Register of Citizens (NRC), allowing the opposition to form a general consensus
against the government. It was also expressed in the Aam Aadmi party's electoral success in
the 2020 Delhi elections in February 2020 giving the people a hope that divisive agendas not
always work and new "Politics" of development has started but sooner the coronavirus started
to spread in India and who knows the entire political landscape of the country will change
and during this pandemic we have also seen victimization of a particular community, just
because a section of people from that community were found in a cluster during the
nationwide lockdown which resulted in the formation of a new kind of divisive politics in
India.

Now that Indian politics has undergone a radical reform, it is now a popular wisdom. This has
been motivated by demographic shifts, such as multiple rises in the size of the middle class,
the penetration of social media, the withering away of old hierarchies, and structural changes,
among others in the nature of political competition.

Since 2014, the social and regional growth of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has altered the
political landscape, resulting in Congress being further marginalized, the Left Front being
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decimated, and the power of state-level parties declining. In electoral studies, state-level
specificities that dominated the electoral debate in the previous two decades have now
diminished their status. Likewise, as the BJP made gains across the board, various voting
pattern seems to have melted in saffron color.

Politics During the Covid 19 Scenario:

As the Coronavirus spreads across the world, it has already changed the coarse of politics
around the world and especially in India also, the current NDA government has to postpone
may of its top priority programs like CAA-NRC, Census 2021, and many legislative bills like
the Population Control Bill and Unifrom Civil Code Bill. The most important impact and yet
not recognizable impact the covid-19 has brought is that it has brought attention to the many
important issues which were not given due importance in the national debate like our
healthcare system which has always been neglected by the past administrations, the invisible
migrant workers who were seen walking miles to their hometown during the nationwide
lockdown and the much-needed reforms in the Agriculture sector.

Covid -19 makes it important to reconsider the activities of opposition 1 in a democratic

country like India as we have seen that in the last six to eight months the opposition has been
mainly silent on account of various reasons such as prohibition on public gathering or
protests and non-functionality of Parliament, this has given free hand to the ruling
government to use its power and resources without any checks and balances. Thus it is very
important for the opposition in India to be more vigilant and active to offer informed
criticism2 of the government’s conduct in handling the crisis. Apart from that,
“opposition also must effectively pressurize the government to plug the loopholes in
its policies and offer credible and better alternatives to adroitly deal with the crisis” . 

1
Ambar Kumar Ghosh, COVID19: Reinforcing the Role of Political Opposition in India, Observer Research
Foundation, (last visted Nov 25. 2020, 2:15 PM), https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/covid19-reinforcing-
the-role-of-political-opposition-in-india-66930/

2
Id At ¶8.

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 Role Of Different Factors In Indian Politics

Role Of Caste:
When universal adult suffrage gave the right to vote to all social classes, including those
formerly disenfranchised, caste emerged as one of the most relevant political mobilization
issues. People continue to vote on caste lines, whether or not that person is their right option.
Because of this caste politics, the last three decades have been marked by the desire for
power rather than a clear reform for agenda that has resulted in complete backwardness of
these communities

Playing The Religion Card:

Religion in Indian politics is not a new concept and can be traced back to British era and the
British policy of setting up separate electorates in 1909. However, several events worked to
bring religion to the forefront of electoral politics in Independent India happened like:
increasing Sikh fundamentalism (the demand of Khalistan) followed by anti-Sikh riots after
the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984; the decision of Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi to overturn the Shah Bano judgment by bringing legislation and then the
opening of disputed Lord Ram birthplace which paved the way of appeasement politics. In
the aftermath of Babri Masjid Demolition, riots broke out in different parts of the country,
followed by Gujarat 2002 riots, which created a divide in society to a point of no return.

Seeing the voting patterns it cannot be said that Indian politics is solely based on the lines of
religion as voting behavior differs among religions. For example, the Yadavs in Uttar Pradesh
who belong to Hindu religion, mostly vote for the Samajwadi Party where a majority of
Muslims vote. Thus in the Indian political landscape voting pattern along religious lines
varies.

Democratic Politics And Economic Reforms:

“The Indian electorate has turned the standard law of political participation on its head”
In India, the lower castes vote more than the upper castes, and the poor vote as much or
more often than the rich. Similarly, the illiterate cast ballots more often than the
educated, and rural voters more than urban populations. The government performance on
economic issues has been in discussion since the 1991 economic liberalization and the
different economic electoral promises help to influence the voter’s mind and choices. For

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example; pre-poll promises like waivers on farm loans have in past helped to win
different elections for different parties. Some pre-poll promises like free distribution of
laptop have helped the Samajwadi party to win UP Vidhan Sabha Elections

Charisma:

Another important factor that influences voting behavior in India is Charisma, “It means
exceptional quality of a factor and that override group elements leader that becomes a source
of attraction and reverence for the people in large numbers” 3.At the time of the election, the
positive impact of charisma has its place. For example in the 2019 general elections of India,
the exceptional charisma of Mr. Narendra Modi overshadowed all other factors and leaders
and gave BJP a huge mandate. That is Why, it is said: “Where the group factors are weak or
cancel out, this charisma may be the major.”4

Performance Of The Party In Power:

Each political party which is in power contest election based on their current performance
and promises to fulfill those promises which have been left.For Example The Narendra Modi
led BJP government contested election in 2019 on the basis of their first term
achievments(2014-2019) and had a thumping victory.

3
,
Biraj Hazarika, Voting Behaviour in India and Its Determinants Volume 20, Issue 10, IOSR-JHSS, 22,23,
2015.
4
Id. At ¶3.

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 What Is Secularism?

Discrimination has persisted in human society for centuries in the form of class, creed, color,
sex, or Religion. “Though Jews faced discrimination for centuries throughout Europe, in the
present state of Israel, Arab minorities, both Christian and Muslims, are excluded from social,
political, and economic benefits available to Jewish citizens. Subtle forms of discrimination
also continue to persist against non-Christians in several parts of Europe. The condition of
religious minorities in the neighboring states of Pakistan and Bangladesh has also generated
considerable concern.”5 In our very own India, many forms of discrimination or gender bias
still exist throughout the society, which in another terminology may be called, Religious
Domination, which results in the victimization of a particular community.

To oppose any kind of discrimination or religious domination the concept of Secularism was
evolved.

Secular State:

We need to build states that promote communal harmony and avoid any religious conflict. A
state that must not be governed by theocratic rulers or dynasty like Papal states of Europe in
medieval times or in recent times the Taliban-controlled state in Afghanistan. “If we value
peace, freedom, and equality, religious institutions and state institutions must be separated.”
Though separation between religion and state is insufficient as we have seen in the case of
England where the state, in general, is called a “Secular” state but in practice they have close
affiliations with Christianity. Such states may have little tolerance for religious equality. In
order to be a truly secular state, a state must not only cut its ties with any religion but also
derive its source of power and authority from basic human rights principles of
peace,tolerance, equality and religious freedom. “To promote these ends the state must be
separated from organized religion and its institutions for the sake of some of these values”6.

5
Secularism, Textbook for Political Theory- Class XI (NCERT), 112, 111,
https://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/keps108.pdf
6
Id At 115.

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 Secularism In Indian Context

The word “Secular” was not added in the initial constitution as the framers of the
constitution believe that the concept of secularism is very much imbibed in our culture and
ethos. Though during the emergency in the year 1976, the ‘secular’ word was added in our
preamble by the 42nd constitutional amendment 1976.

Indian Secularism is somewhat a different concept as compared to many other western

countries, which was rightly defined by our first Prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru when a
student asked him what secularism mean in an Indian context,

“Equal protection by the State to all religions”.

“protects all
religions, but does not favor one at the
expense of others and does not itself adopt
any religion as the state religion”.7

Indian Secularism does not believe in the complete separation of state from religious affairs
rather it believes in inter-religious unity and harmony. It is unlike western secularism
progressive, like in America, Blacks continued to be oppressed and Tortured even after
several years of American Independence whereas in India oppressive practices like sati and
untouchability towards Dalits and lower castes were abolished after independence.

In India, the concept of equality is practiced with a different perspective like treating equals
among equals. For example; a Hindu Dalit is not at par in social-economic status with a
Brahmin Hindu and therefore he is entitled to certain reservations which is a positive concept
of equality. Thus Indian Secularism protects the religious freedom of all the communities.

7
Supra note 5, at 117.

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 The Birth Of Political Secularism

In the last four decades, we have been witnessing what is called “Political Secularism” 8 also
called opportunistic secularism which is in stark contrast to the vision of our forefathers. Our
forebears dreamt of an independent India where communal prejudice would be alien to the
polity.  It has removed ‘critical’ from critical respect and reduced the idea of respect to
making deals with the loudest, most fanatical, aggressive sections of every religious group.
Thus political parties keep off religion or intervene as and when it best suits their party or
electoral interests. This has led to the opening of temple gates, reversal of Supreme court
decisions, minority appeasement politics, legislation that discriminate purely based on
religion, mob lynching, Relationships out of love are called, “ love jihad” and many other
hatred propagandas. This political secularism has led to some bizarre statements coming out
from some of the highest public authority in India like in 2006 Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh said, “ that minorities have the first claim on India’s resources"9

“Political Secularism” has also created a deep rift in the society which cannot be easily filled
up. The mutual tolerance between different religions in India has been followed for thousands
of years which Swami Vivekanand rightly said as,

“I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of
all religions and all nations of the earth.” 

Thus electoral politics has deteriorated or corrupted our constitutional secularism. To be fair,
electoral politics breeds opportunism. If one’s only aim is to win, he can do by any dubious
means without caring for any ethics or morals. To prevent all this and make a better society
we need an independent judiciary a vibrant press, an alert citizenry, and civil society activists
who can work without any fear.

8
Rajeev Bhargava, The future of Indian Secularism, The Hindu, (Jan. 12, 2021, 7:15 PM),
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-future-of-indian-secularism/article32329223.ece
9
Minorities have first claim on resources: PM, The Economic Times, (last visited Jan 12. 2021, 7:27 PM),
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/minorities-must-have-first-claim-on-resources-
pm/articleshow/754218.cms

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 CONCLUSION

The reality in today's India is that political parties are unwilling to fight for the social-cultural
divide that has been spread by the hate propaganda which endangers the survival of
secularism in India, “they continue to be driven by electoral compulsions” which is
counterproductive for the progression and development of the society

Still, many secular and progressive forces are trying to fight for the plural character of this
country, which still instills the hope that the vision which was seen by our forefathers, had
not got blurred amid all this hatred and some are still fighting for that causes which are
equality, fraternity, diversity, pluralism, secularism, freedom of speech, expression, thought
and worship and most importantly to save the constitution.

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 REFERENCES

 Ambar Kumar Ghosh, COVID19: Reinforcing the Role of Political

Opposition in India, Observer Research Foundation, (last visted Nov 25.
2020, 2:15 PM), https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/covid19-
reinforcing-the-role-of-political-opposition-in-india-66930/
 Biraj Hazarika, Voting Behaviour in India and Its Determinants, Volume 20, Issue 10,
IOSR-JHSS, 22,23, 2015.

 Secularism, Textbook for Political Theory- Class XI (NCERT), 112, 111,

https://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/keps108.pdf
 Rajeev Bhargava, The future of Indian Secularism, The Hindu, (Jan. 12, 2021, 7:15
PM),https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/the-future-of-Indian-secularism/
article32329223.ece
 Minorities have first claim on resources: PM, The Economic Times, (last visited Jan
12. 2021, 7:27 PM), https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-
nation/minorities-must-have-first-claim-on-resources-pm/articleshow/754218.cms

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