Indian Secularism Today: Revisiting Nehru’s Secular Vision in Contemporary India
Keywords:
Indian Secularism, Nehruvian Secularism, Religious Pluralism, Religious Nationalism, Constitutional SecularismAbstract
This research article revisits the enduring legacy of Jawaharlal Nehru’s secularism and its relevance in contemporary Indian society. Secularism is a principle that advocates for the parting of belief from government and public affairs. Secularism in India refers to the notion of keeping religion separate from the matters of the state and guaranteeing equal treatment for people of every religion. Nehru nourished secularism with the objective of ensuring respect for religious diversity, focusing on nation-building tasks. He strongly denounced the communalism of both Hindus and Muslims. The Contradiction of the concept and exercise of Indian secularism poses several problems in the current Indian society. Despite the Indian Constitution establishing a secular state, caste, religion, and sectarian politics continue to play a significant role in the country’s socio-political landscape, threatening the core secular principles envisioned by the framers of the Constitution. The Indian concept of secularism is clearly reflected in numerous provisions of the Constitution. Hence, the paper examines the conceptual framework, the contribution of Nehru to religion and Secularism, and contemporary practices and concerns in Indian secularism. This paper relies on secondary sources for its data. The paper concludes by arguing that revisiting Nehruvian secularism remains crucial in addressing contemporary debates and issues surrounding current practices of Indian secularism.
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