COVER STORY
Caught between a deeply religious citizenry and a religion-driven polity, secularism is facing threat both as an ideal and as a practice
Outlook Magazine - 21 November 2022
Constitution Of India The Secularism Question
Has secularism ever fulfilled its mandate in India or was it always sent askew by communal politics?
Though inherent to the Constitution, Indian secularism has travelled a long distance from pseudo-secularism to ‘sickularism’ in recent decades
Secularism, in modern terms, means mostly the separation between religion and state, but it has been interpreted differently across the world
Right wing forces are marching centre stage across the world in a worrying development
Indian secularism has had a chequered history where political expediency means trading off secular ideals for power
Secularism in its present form is the result of a collective historical failure, completely at variance with public ethos which is not secular
The areas of the subcontinent where Hinduism has become extinct have witnessed the demise of liberal values, such as democracy, pluralism and secularism.
To make inroads into the Northeast, BJP has customised plans that take into account local culture, ethnicity, religions and languages of the eight states of the region
Nehruvian secularism, which was the basis of Kashmir’s entry into the Indian union, is on test
Has secularism ever fulfilled its mandate in India or was it always sent askew by communal politics?
Though inherent to the Constitution, Indian secularism has travelled a long distance from pseudo-secularism to ‘sickularism’ in recent decades
Secularism, in modern terms, means mostly the separation between religion and state, but it has been interpreted differently across the world
Right wing forces are marching centre stage across the world in a worrying development
Indian secularism has had a chequered history where political expediency means trading off secular ideals for power
Secularism in its present form is the result of a collective historical failure, completely at variance with public ethos which is not secular
The areas of the subcontinent where Hinduism has become extinct have witnessed the demise of liberal values, such as democracy, pluralism and secularism.
To make inroads into the Northeast, BJP has customised plans that take into account local culture, ethnicity, religions and languages of the eight states of the region
Nehruvian secularism, which was the basis of Kashmir’s entry into the Indian union, is on test
OTHER STORIES
Political parties, barring no exceptions, have taken upon themselves to forsake secularism for electoral gains
Faced with rebellion in 21 out of the 68 assembly constituencies, where aspirants have decided to contest against official candidates, the BJP seems to be facing dissent within its own ranks.
The death of Gandhian Ela Bhatt is an irreparable loss for the marginalised and underprivileged
Travels through the marvellous world of Urdu and Persian Ramayans
Sri Lanka has seen a massive transformation. Fuel queues that once dragged on for miles have dried up. Power cuts have come down. But the island nation is still far from out of disturbed waters.
