Bombay High Court has issued a ruling saying that no government body can force an individual to declare his or her religion. It is a departure from the practice of the state and society to label people according to their religion, adding caste or regional identities. The Government of India is a secular republic and religion is a matter of personal belief here. The government has nothing to do with it. The model of citizenship according to the recent ruling is typical of modern republics. Citizens are adults who exercise freedom of conscience. They are directly related to the state. Community labels do not come into it. So community heads should have no right to interfere with individual choice and decision. The US has an equal opportunity law applying to the government and the private sector. The Bombay High Court has taken a cue from that. According to the US law, a person is not required to declare religion, age (40 or older), gender, marital status, colour, ethnicity and national origin. No discrimination is allowed against an individual on any of these grounds. The US is a racial and religious melting pot. What operates successfully in the greatest democracy of the world should be well suited to the largest democracy in the world.
Even if no law is passed in India to this effect as in the US, companies can gain nothing from data on religion, caste, gender, marital status and nationality while recruiting employees. Elimination of these considerations will enable them to hire the best talent. It will also sharpen the competitive edge in the market.
