Secularism emerged as a solution for the Christian European world during a particular period in its history when various Christian denominations were in conflict. The state distanced itself from the church in a predominantly non-plural context where everyone understood what Christ, Christianity, or religion entailed. It was never intended to serve as a universal remedy applicable to all cultures. Our post-independence politicians and intellectuals, who were thoroughly captivated by Western ideologies, simply imposed secularism onto a cultural landscape where it was ill-fitting. Secularism struggles to accommodate multiculturalism, as evidenced by Europe’s substantial influx of Islam. In India, despite the widespread adoption of secularism across all political parties, polarisation among the two primary “religious” groups has paradoxically intensified. Historically, India has managed its multiculturalism and pluralism more effectively than any other nation. The strategies for handling its multiculturalism and diversity were not secularism, nor were the issues that emerged due to a deficiency of it.
What if the diverse phenomena observed within Indian culture—such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Animism—were not religions at all, but rather more accurately described as traditions? Referring to this extensive array of “traditions” as “religion” constitutes a significant category error. The former includes living gurus, lineages, rituals, deities, mythologies, philosophies, and all elements of nature, both animate and inanimate. In contrast, the latter (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) predominantly centre around a singular Book, Prophet, God, or Temple—concepts that are conspicuously absent in traditional cultures.
Traditional cultures have a different way of living, characterised fundamentally by “indifference” to differences. This perspective surpasses the conventional approaches to harmony that rely on “tolerances” and “mutual respects.” The transformation of Indian traditions into formal religions of the Abrahamic type represents a critical error made by our colonial masters which has been taken forward by the the unthinking political-bureaucratic-academic alliance after independence. The Indian solution was to traditionalize the religions which came from alien lands. Instead, we are, in reverse, religionising our traditions, fostering an ever-increasing intolerance. Attempting to apply the principles of secularism to Indian traditions to foster harmony is akin to labelling a vegetable as a fruit and then expressing surprise when the fertiliser intended for fruits fails to benefit the vegetable. As Jakob De Roover puts in one sentence in his classic book (Europe, India, and The Limits of Secularism), secularism in India paradoxically breeds fundamentalism.
There is a lack of clarity in India about the true meaning of “Hinduism” and its classification as a religion. Essentially, religions assert, “I am true, and you are false,” whereas traditions proclaim, “I am true, but you are not false.” Also, in Sanatani culture where every aspect of life, whether be it education, literature, arts, poetry, architecture, or science is intensely spiritualised, the separation of the sacred from the secular can never make sense. In fact, such an attempted separation would constitute violence. When traditions are converted to religions based on doctrines and truth values, the society fundamentally moves from tolerance to intolerance of the “other.” This is what is exactly happening with the secularism of India.
India stands as the most tolerant nation globally, and secularism is an alien solution that represents a profound affront to the country’s traditions. Our uncertainty about the meaning of secularism exacerbates this issue. In a notable Supreme Court judgement from 1994, each of the seven judges presented differing interpretations of secularism. The sooner we discard secularism as a proposed solution, the better it will be for our nation, which currently interprets the term as only appeasement. We must begin to comprehend India more thoroughly within decolonised frameworks to move beyond these concepts in pursuit of genuine harmony.
RANDOM MUSINGS 