Religion and Secularism: Constitutional Precept and Practice
Channel: Anekdhara
Date: 2023-02-26

India is a crucible of a number of religions and religious practices involving practically all major religions of the world. Secularism is an hallmark of the modern Indian polity and is the bedrock of constitution. These topics have been discussed a number of times both by the well read and by lay persons. It is in this context Anekdhara organised the webinar and it addressed by Sri Sanjay R Hegde, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Prof. Rajeev Bhargava, Honorary Fellow and Founder Director, Parekh Institute of Indian Thought, CSDS (Centre for the Study of Developing Societies) Delhi and former director CSDS (2007-2014). 

The panellists, instead of following standard pattern of a talk and then discussion made it into a discussion ab initio. The framed the questions to be posed to each other and each other answered and debated on these questions. After around an hour audience questions were taken up. 

Timeline for various points discussed
0:00 Introduction of Anekdhara, the topic and the speakers
7:39 Idea and the place of religion in the Indian constitution
10:48  Religion too is a foreign idea 
18:06 India didn't really have religion right until the 19th century
19:39 Adjustment of Muslims who came to settle here unlike those who looted and left
22:43 Rise of communalism and nationalism and which led to the partition of the country 
23:09 India's Constitution is trying to resist what is called religionization
24:10 Religions should maintain the distinctive practices but within constitutional morality 
25:31 States will some aspects of all religions but it will also intervene in some oppressive practices
28:33 Attitude of the state towards religion is also very ambivalent 
29:30 Some parts of religion should be protected and other which needs to be regulated 
30:00 Upholding of dharma
32:50: Whole of the constitution is secular - As per Dr Ambedkar hence why word secular
35:43 Constitution recognizes a religious communities 
37:36 Gandhi's idea to bring in Ambedkar to the Constituent Assembly 
40:54 Conclusion that something has gone wrong with secularism 
42:48 Economic improvement led to onslaught on secularism
44:38 Decline of non-violence of the freedom movement 
45:37 Global factors brought in by neo-liberalism - focus on self both individual and community
52:00 Mistakes of Secularists 
54:34 Disconnect between intra-religious struggles and secularists 
1:00:00 Lessons from Israel, Turkey and other countries for secularism
1:03:05 Unique aspect of Indian secularism 
1:07:11 Extremist Muslims and extremist Hindus feed off each other it started in 20s
1:08:47 No nation which has been obsessed with the exclusivist idea of religion has prospered 
1:12:26 Constitution is an excellent document and can be strengthened 
1:16:00 Question and Answer 




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