Criticisms of Indian secularism
Topic: Secularism: Western and Indian Models · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 8 "Secularism"
Meaning
NCERT (Class 11, Secularism) examines six criticisms of Indian secularism and answers each one. Critics say it is:
- anti-religious;
- a Western import;
- minoritist (favouring minorities);
- too interventionist (stepping into religion too much);
- a cover for vote-bank politics;
- an impossible project.
Key answers: secularism opposes domination, not religion. India's secularism has Indian roots as well as Western ones. Minority rights protect core interests and are not privileges. Principled distance also allows the state to stay out.
Example
On the "impossible project" charge, NCERT points out that Indian history and the Ottoman millet system show people of different faiths can live together. It adds that migration is making the West as diverse as India, so the world is watching India's experiment. In the scholarly debate, T.N. Madan (1987) and Ashis Nandy (1988) are critics, while Rajeev Bhargava and Amartya Sen (2005) defend Indian secularism.
Don't confuse with
- Communalism: a threat to secularism that treats religion as the basis of the nation. The criticisms are debates about whether India's secular model works well.