Secularism in India has always been a fragile concept. Ever since ancient days when we were ruled by emperors and rulers, even though it existed, its existence was one of careful balance. One small act could tip the people into a civil war of beliefs. This fragile existence was completely ripped apart with the Partition of India. It was not merely a division of territories but that of the people themselves. They were no longer conscious of morality or even humanity. The past where they had lived together peacefully for centuries was wiped away from their memory and left behind only hatred and narrow mindedness.
Now, decades later, we are still haunted by it. India has moved on from the pain and suffering. She has learnt from the past. But the memories linger. The narrow mindedness is still there and it is difficult to eradicate. With one action, the people can easily slip back into that mindset and are always ready to revert to communalism as an excuse for their actions, even if they say they do not support it.
As always, the bad is easy to hold on to. But what about the good? It requires much effort and patience; something that people seem to lack.
If a country is her people, then our country is hanging on by a thread to the idea of secularism. Just as there are those of us who wish for peace and unity in our country, there are those who cannot or will not accept that we are all humans, that we are all citizens of the same country even if we are from different regions or religions.
Of course we are different. But why must that difference be a reason for us to go for each other’s throats every chance we get? How different can we be that we cannot respect one another? Secularism means we respect one another even if we believe in different faiths. So India, if taken from this perspective, is almost not secular at all. It is only our constitution that protects this idea and us. Without it, each and every one of us who supports secularism would fall prey to those who do not. Democracy would be dead. Freedom would be killed and we the people? We would have to follow communalistic corrupt leaders, or we would be imprisoned if we did not, and we never know; we might even be killed for expressing our opinions honestly. Without Secularism, we would not have many of our rights.
Our country is at a turning point, a very crucial point right on the precipice. It will continue to prosper as a free secular democracy, or it will be lead into the void of communalism, trapped with no freedom whatsoever. For now, we still have our rights, India is still secular and we still have the freedom to express ourselves. How secular our country is, depends on perspective. If we are optimistic, we can say India can be more secular with time. If we are pessimistic, and realistic, secularism is bound to die in India soon if her people, all of us, especially those who are chosen by us to lead us, do not change their stubborn mindsets. How secular is our country? Secularism or communalism? Freedom or slavery? It all depends on us. It is our choice. It all is.
(Contributed by Charlene N Syiemiong)
(The essay has been adjudged the best among the write-ups on the topic, ‘How secular is our country?’)