Evolution of Secularism in India: Ethics vs Politics Debate

Abstract

The philosophy of Indian secularism has to be debated within two categories the Ethics of Secularism and the Politics of Secularism. Ethical Secularism is not merely about how religious groups are treated by the state. What it meant, in essence, was how to forge positive and proactive solidarity between religious groups in their everyday social and cultural life. The incidents of communal riots, spatial segregation and ghettoization, lynching of the Muslims in the name of cow protection, states how secularism as an ethical moral philosophy for the creation of thick friendship and cross-cultural bonds has failed in India. Politics of secularism highlights the contradictions that exist within the Indian secular state. The subsequent development of Indian politics in the last seventy years has further jeopardised the idea of secularism. The Indian state has used secularism as a tool for minority appeasement “Shah Bano Case” and at other occasions it has relied on the idea of soft Hindutva opening of Babri Masjid gate to appeal the majority community. Religion has been used by the Indian state to remain in power. The paper analyses how Indian secularism has been robbed of ethics and principle of politics? The essay captures the journey of Indian secularism by focusing on secularism’s historical background; secularism vs religion debate; secularism and Indian democracy. The objective is to critically look into the accounts for the crisis of Indian secularism.