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A Hindu Perspective Interfaith Study in Secular Context: A Hindu Perspective Prabhakar Bhattacharyya* “Sarve bhavantu sukhinah sarve santu niramayah Sarve bhadrani pasyantu ma kascid duhkhabhag bhavet” “Let everyone be happy, everybody recover from illness, let everybody see good things alone and let no one suffer” This prayer is the expression of spiritual and cultural heritage of India and general inclusivistic attitude of the Hindu people towards all around including animals, plants even inanimate nature. Naturally, in these days of communal conflicts such inclusivistic sayings may seem mere lip service to the victims of such conflicts. However, history of communal violence is not very old in India and are the result of English education, western life style and alienation of the common people from educated elites. In this connection I like to quote from the proceedings of the British Parliament. Lord Macaulay acknowledged in the parliament on 2nd February, 1985 : “I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such moral values, people of such caliber that I do not think we would ever conquer this country unless we break the very backbone of this nation which is her spiritual and cultural heritage, and therefore, I propose we replace her old and ancient education system, her culture, for if the Indians think that all that is foreign and English is good and greater than their own, they will lose self-esteem, their native culture and they will become what we want them, a truly dominated nation.” The present paper is an humble attempt to show that Indian Secularism is not the legacy of western tradition, rather the direct inheritance of ancient and medieval social and political practice. The paper further attempts to show that exclusive Hindutva, ideology derives its origin from the Fascism of the West. The paper is also used as an instrument to convey author’s convictions regarding interfaith study in secular context. But its is a fact that a militant group is propagating exclusivistic Hindutva ideology and fanning the flames of conflicts in many parts of India. English education created a new class of elites among the followers of all the faiths practiced in India. After a generation or two the descendants of these elites almost completely alienated themselves from the masses and started demanding some political rights including appointments in high government posts under the British. These people were brought under the banner of Indian National Congress in 1885 to propagate Secular Nationalism after British liberal model. In fact, Secularism itself is not very old even in the West. Perhaps George J. Holyoke (1817-1906), a British Social Reformer first coined the term Secularism for the socio political movement that he initiated in mid-nineteenth century, to improve the welfare of working class across the religious boundaries. The movement was intentionally ethical and negatively religious. Webstar’s Dictionary defines secularism as “a system of social ethic based upon a doctrine that ethical standards and conduct, should be determined exclusively with reference to the present life and social wellbeing without reference to religion. Generally secularism is treated as political ideology for governance of this state which advocates separation --------------- Dr. Prabhakar Bhattacharyya is a Reader in Philosophy at Serampore College 1 of states from Nature of Secularism differs from State to State. Clearly there are at least two kinds of approaches regarding separation of state and religion in public sphere. First kind advocates total exclusion of religion from public domain which implies that secular state should uphold no religion and pursue no religious goal, which imply actually irrelevance of religion in public life and restrict religion to private sphere only. The second kind of approach maintains that co-existence of religion and the State is possible in public sphere as they have clear respective areas of jurisdiction – religion cares for religious and spiritual, while State is to ensure secular needs of the people. Communalism and Secularism are two prominent Indian responses to modernity. The Secularist followers of Western liberal tradition maintain that the challenge before the State of India is to protect so called politically united Secular post independent Modern India in culturally, linguistically and ethnically plural context. Extreme secularists advocate that the goal of Indian Secular State should be to secularize its citizentry. Hence secularism as a world view, in their opinion, need to be propagated. Secular worldview can create a sense that something centrally missing some great purpose, some fulfillment, without which life has lost its meaning. Further it has no good account of its commitment to universal benevolence. The claim that universal benevolence is just part of human nature is possible. It also in consistent with our sense that there something higher nobler more fully human about universal sympathy. A secular world view has notorious problem deal with facts of suffering and evil. Secular language finds it difficult to articulate the force of ethical demands or for that matter the power of artistic experience. The Secularist commitment to human right is ungrounded. How do we know that there are human rights ? Secularist may fumble or confuse by ready wit. Further, how a secularist can reply the question in a materialist universe and how can there be any compelling warrant for moral statement. It is obvious that moral obligation cannot be justified in a Godless universe or where law of karma is not maintained. So, something mysterious need to be brought in moral evaluation. It is true that no previous civilization has accepted the obligation to help fellow human beings as our contemporaries have. The morality of compassion may justify the obligation. What we are missing is a love for human being as he or she is which religious experience and fellowship under a faith may give. Naturally the question comes, can human beings sustains their allegiance to human rights in the long run if they do not believe in God. However, both secular and religious people can share a similar sustaining hope, a vision of a world in which our benevolent aspirations can be realized. Secularism as a world view need not be propagated in India as Indian Secularism does not derive its origin from the western ideology. However, some founding fathers of Indian Secular Nationalism maintained that legacy comes from thoughts of western thinkers. In my opinion ‘Indian Secularism’ is new but Indian society, since time immemorial, is tolerant towards different religions. Rulers of ancient and medieval period encouraged religions and rulers generally did not discriminate among subjects on the ground of faith. There should be no controversy about the fact that India is a secular state, though communalists may opine otherwise. In the historic case of Kesavananda Bharati –vs- State of Kerala, the full bench of the Supreme Court inscribed ‘Secularism’ as an essential feature of the basic structure of the Constitution of India. In reality post partition India elected Muslim Presidents. Present Prime Minister is a Sikh and three Chairperson of the Ruling party is a Christian by birth and Persi by marriage. 2 The secular provisions of the Indian Constitution do not intend to create a rigid wall of separation between the State in India and religion. However, Article Nos.15,16,25, 27, 28(1), 29(2), 60 and 325 support individualist rigid separation thesis of secularism, while Article Nos.17, 25(2), 25(2)B, 30(1), 30(2), depart from the principle of strict separation of state and religion. To elaborate the nature of Indian Secularism, let me quote a few Articles from the Constitution of India. There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to employment or appointment to any office under the State. [Article 16(1)] No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them, be ineligible for, or discriminated against in respect of, any employment of office under the State. [Art. 16(2)] Subject to public order, morality and health and to the other provisions of this part, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess, practice and propagate religion. [Art. 25] No persons shall be compelled to pay any taxes, the proceeds of which are specially appropriated in payment of expenses for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious denomination. [Art. 27] No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds. [Art. 28(1)] Nothing in this clause (1) shall apply to an educational institution which is administered by the State but has been established under any endowment or trust which requires that religious instruction shall be imparted in such institution. [Art. 28(2)] No persons attending any educational institution recognized by the State or receiving aid out of State funds shall be required to take part in any religious instructions that may be imparted in such institution or to attend any religious worship that may be conducted in such institution or in any premises attached thereto unless such person or, if such person is a minor, his guardian has given his consent thereto. [Art. 28(3)] The value of human dignity is constitutive of the constitutional vision of India, as it has been explicitly referred to in the Preamble of the Constitution. Preamble clearly mentions that liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship is to be ensured. Dignity of the individual is emphasized side by side with unity and integrity of the nation. Thus Constitution of India seeks to establish a rational synthesis between the legitimate functions of religion and the legitimate functions of the State.
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