KT Shah had put in demand in 1948 during the constituent assembly debate to include the word ‘Secular’ in the Preamble to Indian Constitution. Though the members agreed to the secular nature of the constitution, yet chose not to incorporate the word in the Preamble.
Dictionary definition of secularism is the belief that religion should not influence or be involved in the organization of society, education, government, etc. The term was coined in the mid-nineteenth century in England by George Holyoake (1817–1906), founder of secularist society which attempted to end religious discrimination in parliament and elsewhere. So, in a generic sense, developing an understanding and respect for different religions is secularism.
It was only in 1976 that the Indira Gandhi government enacted the 42nd Amendment Act and the word ‘Secular’ was added to the Preamble. This was supposed to strengthen the already existing Constitutional Provisions relating to Right of Religion, which are given in Article 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion), Article 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs), Article 27 (Freedom as to payment of taxes for promotion of any particular religion), and Article 28 (Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions).
The interesting thing is that the constitution has not as such defined the terms ‘religion’ and ‘matters of religion’. In a way, it was left to the Supreme Court to determine the judicial meaning of these terms, and one can refer to Supreme Court’s Justice Hansaria’s observation of 1996 in A.S. Narayan vs. State of Andhra Pradesh case that, “our constitution makers had used the word “religion” in these two articles (Articles 25 and 26) in the sense conveyed by the word ‘dharma’.” Justice Hansaria explained the difference between religion and dharma as “religion is enriched by visionary methodology and theology, whereas dharma blooms in the realm of direct experience. Religion contributes to the changing phases of a culture; dharma enhances the beauty of spirituality. Religion may inspire one to build a fragile, mortal home for God; dharma helps one to recognize the immortal shrine in the heart.”
Haryana has joined Odisha, Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh to table the anti-conversion bill. The critics are claiming that these bills, by seeking to target conversions, interfere with both the right to dignity and freedom to practise the faith of their choice. They claim that under the light of Article 25 these bills are unconstitutional and some have even gone on to tear the bill in front of the entire assembly. One of the major concerns is the vagueness in defining “allurement” as one of the bases of needs of such bills.
In this light, the ongoing efforts of state governments towards anti-conversion bills and their resistances, bring the matter of personal practice vs impact on social fabric as a matter of debate at the national level. Religion is a matter of personal choice and secularism is the nature of society. India is a country where ardent religious individuals make a strongly secular society. Respecting others’ choices is the basis of this strong social fibre.
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