The Indian model of secularism

Indian secularism is sometimes called an imitation of Western secularism, but a careful reading of the Constitution shows it is fundamentally different.

Nehru on secularism. Asked what secularism meant in independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru replied: 'Equal protection by the State to all religions.' A secular state 'protects all religions, but does not favour one at the expense of others and does not itself adopt any religion as the state religion'.

• Nehru did not practise any religion, yet for him secularism did not mean hostility to religion, unlike Ataturk.
• Nor did he favour complete separation: a secular state could intervene in religion for social reform. He helped enact laws abolishing caste discrimination, dowry and sati, and extending rights to women.
• On one thing he was uncompromising: secularism meant complete opposition to communalism of all kinds, including that of the majority community. For him it was the guarantee of India's unity and integrity.

Why Indian secularism is distinctive. It arose amid deep religious diversity that predated Western ideas, in a society with a culture of inter-religious 'tolerance'. But tolerance is compatible with domination: it may allow everyone some limited space, and lets us put up with people we dislike. Western ideas of equality sharpened attention to equality within communities and between them. The result is a form of secularism shaped by both.

Three differences from the Western model:

• It opposes both intra- and inter-religious domination equally: the oppression of dalits and women within Hinduism, discrimination against women within Indian Islam or Christianity, and possible threats from a majority to minority rights.
• It protects the religious freedom of individuals and of minority communities. Individuals may profess any religion; religious minorities have the right to exist and to maintain their own culture and educational institutions.
• It allows state-supported religious reform. The Constitution bans untouchability; laws have abolished child marriage and lifted the taboo on inter-caste marriage.

Principled distance. The Indian state is secular because it is neither theocratic nor has it established any religion. Beyond that, it follows a sophisticated policy: it may disengage from religion in American style, or engage with it when needed: negatively, to oppose religious tyranny (banning untouchability), or positively (allowing minorities to run educational institutions that may receive state aid). This flexible approach, guided by peace, freedom and equality, is called principled distance.

• So Indian secularism is more than 'equal respect for all religions'. It is not mere peaceful coexistence or toleration, and it does not respect every aspect of every religion: religiously sanctioned caste hierarchies, for instance, are unacceptable. It allows equal disrespect for oppressive aspects of all organised religions.
• Unlike France, where some schools banned religious markers like turbans and veils, India does not prohibit wearing them in public institutions.
• Example (new): a state that gives grants to schools run by every religious minority, while also passing a law that every temple, church, mosque or gurdwara must allow entry regardless of caste, is practising principled distance.