Mission Mains 2021: GS 1

upsc2020said

TheNotorioussaid

upsc2020said

Q.Constitutional secularism is the cornerstone of India's pluralistic society. Comment. 150/200

Secularism refers to distinction from religious matters. Constitutional secularism refers to the constitutional backing of the idea of secularism, example, SECULAR word in preamble of Indian constitution via 42nd AA 1976.

 A pluralistic society, is a society where people having different kind of faiths, religious beliefs and practices co-exist and live peacefully. It is a society which is more tolerant, peaceful, and humane.

Constitutional secularism in India has led to existence of a pluralistic society in the following ways:-

1. Backing of idea of secularism by a written Indian constitution, eg Preamble of Indian Constitution referring India as a SECULAR country along with the Fundamental duty of abiding by the constitution under part 4A has led to its acceptance and practice among the citizens.
2. Provisions of Fundamental rights under part 3 of IC under article 25 to 28 have enabled Indian citizens to profess, practice and propagate any religion that they wish to.
3. The difference between Indian Secularism from that of the western secularism, in the sense that apart from being clearly separated from the religious affairs in case of Western secularism, Indian state do take part in religious affairs of the country but with a positive attitude and this has resulted in equal treatment to all religions present in India. For eg, Indian state provides concessions to Islam followers for Haj pilgrimage, Indian state recently constructed the Kartarpur corridor on Indian side to facilitate Sikh pilgrimage, Indian state is developing the Char Dham route and likewise. All these mentioned examples reflect that all religions are equal in the eyes of Indian state which is an essential feature of Indian Secularism.
4. The concept of Fraternity in Indian Constitution along with the concept of secularism has further strengthened the bonhomie among citizens of India having  different beliefs and faiths. Such brotherhood is clearly reflected when a Muslim family decorates their house on the occasion of Diwali, when a Hindu friend visits a Muslim friend’s house on the occasion of Eid to have biryani and sewai, when people of all faiths are served langar at community kitchens at Gurduwaras.
5. Adoption and practice of ancient philosophies such as Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam and Athithi Devo Bhawa have attracted  foreigners too to India to seek mental peace and spirituality eg places such as Haridwar, Varanasi, golden temple, Fatehpur sikri, Jama Masjid etc.

India has come a long way post  the 200 years of Divide and rule policy under the imperialist regime but still certain issues like oppression of lower castes, communalisation of politics, hate speeches and mob lynching are still plaguing the very peacefulness of this pluralistic Indian society. Steps such as effective implementation of Manual scavenging act 2013, criminalisation of mob lynching and curbing of circulation of fake news and hate speeches are all warranted.

That is a very crisp answer. Some points for value addition from my notes:

1. Ideal of secularism for India denotes equality among various religious communities as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the Ismail Faruqui v. Union of India judgment.

2. Constitutional secularism cannot be sustained by governments alone but requires collective commitment from an impartial judiciary, a scrupulous media, civil society activists, and an alert citizenry - which are all the foundations of a healthy democracy. 

I feel, a one liner needs to be added that constitution is the guiding force. Secularism as a value should be followed by citizens, wherein they respect plurality of cultures and ideas. 

@AlexanderSupertramp This question can be in GS1/2. You can quote these articles and judgements for GS2. 

As far as GS1 is concerned, we can rely on examples apart from the ones quoted by@TheNotorious . In The Discovery of India, Jawaharlal Nehru traced back the evolution of India’s composite culture through millennia of cultural osmosis. The State Emblem of India, the Lion Capital of Ashoka, from 250 BCE at Sarnath, has Buddhist roots.