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Secularism in Indian Culture: a Critical Study

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Secularism in Indian Culture: a Critical Study Secularism in Indian Culture: A Critical Study A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE NORTH BENGAL UNIVERSITY FOR THE AWARD OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY BY PAMPA ROYCHOWDHURY GUIDE PROFESSOR DEBIKA SAHA DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY NORTH BENGAL UNIVERSITY APRIL, 2017 Dedicated To Late Urmila Chowdhury (My Grandmother-in-Law) God ever remains present at the door of the devotee and He does not make any distinction of caste or creed, between a Hindu and a Muslim. As the world is lighted by the rays of the moon, so every living being is born out of the same Divine Sprit Lalon Faqir The unique endeavour of India had always been the establishment of unity amidst diversity, directing various road-ways towards a self-same objective and to realise and feel doubtlessly the unity amongst multiplicity as its innermost appreciation- whatever difference seems apparent from outside and to discover the deeper link inherent in it without destroying them...India never discards anything but makes everything her very own by accepting everything Rabindranath Tagore Acknowledgment The principle objective of the present dissertation is to explore the concept of secularism from Indian context. First of all, I thank Sri Rabindra Nath Roy, my maternal uncle who gave me the chance to educate myself when times were adverse and education was not a prominent aspect. I thank Prof. Debika Saha, who is not only my guide but my philosopher truly, to encourage me to complete this work and who at times was more enthusiastic about my work than me. I thank Dr.Nirmal Kumar Roy ( Head of the department), Prof Raghunath Ghosh, Prof Jyotish Chandra Basak, Prof, Kantilal Das, Dr. Kaushik Joarder, Dr. Anirban Mukherjee,Dr,L.K Padhi, Dr. N. Ramthing, Smt Swagata Ghosh, members of the faculty for their support and cooperation. I thank my parents, Late Chandi Charan Roychowdhury and Smt. Basanti Roychowdhury, for bringing me into this world, who gave me the most precious gift one can give, my life and my existence. I owe my special gratitude to Prof. Suboth Kr. Jash and Smt.Mandira Jash for making my stay comfortable during my research. I thank Dr. Shanti Chhetri, Principal of P.D. Women‟s College, for permitting me to complete my work despite all odds and supporting me during this period. I thank Mr. Phalguni Chowdhury, my husband, who is very supportive of my work. I thank Harit Chowdhury, my son, who understood the significance of this work for me and in spite of his demanding studies, managed time to take care of me. I would like to acknowledge with thanks the help given to me in North Bengal by the staffs of North Bengal University Library. i Last but not the least I thank Alakshya Indra Ghosh (Tun), who helped me to overcome the technical hurdles that I faced during compilation of my thesis. I owe my special thanks to Priyanka, Balaramda and Gautam for their cooperation. Thanks to Sujit for binding the type-scripts within a very short period. Despite the support of various people, many short comings may remain and for this I am alone responsible. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH BENGAL ii Abstract Secularism in Indian Culture: A Critical Study Secular traditions are very deep rooted in the history of India. Secularism is the key to Democracy. The term 'democracy' derived from the ancient Greek ''Demokratia,'' which literally means power that belongs to the people. In the sixth century B.C. a large number of states in Northern India were not ruled by kings but formed petty republics or oligarchies . But all these republican states were destroyed by the Imperial Guptas Indian culture is a mixed one which is based on the blending of various spiritual traditions and social movements. Hinduism is known as Sanatan Dharma. The development of four Vedas and the various interpretations of the Upanishads and the Puranas clearly highlight the religious plurality of Hinduism. Religious traditions arose from different ancient theist schools of philosophy. They defined the guiding principles of the personal and social conduct for their followers and utmost emphasis is placed on the higher moral and spiritual values which is the characteristic feature of Indian cultural heritage. Two heterodox systems have established themselves as well-defined philosophical schools surviving in this country till now. They are Jainism and Buddhism. The two sects have some basic doctrinal similarities. Complete liberation from the cycle of rebirths is the highest aim of life. Jain canon recommends a well-defined code of conduct (achara)for its followers. The code consists of five elements called vratas. Here it may be mentioned with emphasis that Jain canonical texts have recommended only a moral code that is necessary to ensure social stability and this shows their secular tendency. In fact modern followers of the faith strive to show that they are not atheist. Jains uphold that the legislation formulated by the ruling king or democratically elected government have to be obeyed by everyone without question. This shows the secular tendency of the Jains. The fundamental principles of Buddha's teaching are the four Aryasatyas or Noble Truths. Buddha‟s philosophy is known as the doctrine of the Middle Path. In India, Buddhism became the state religion in the third century BC at the time of Aśhokȧ. After the battle of Kalinga, he took refuge to the non-violent and humanitarian iii religion of Buddhism. In his 12th Rock-edict Asoka made an appeal not only for the toleration of all religion sects but also to develop a spirit of great respect toward them. The religious tolerance expressed by Asoka more than 2300 years ago has been one of the cherished Indian social values. Asoka's secular outlook is one of the landmarks not only of Indian civilization but also of the human civilization itself. In medieval India the Sufi and Bhakti movements bind the people of various communities together with love and peace. The leading lights of these movements were Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, Guru Nanak Dev, Saint Tukaram and Mira Bai. They contributed to the development of a humanitarian culture. The great Akbar to a great extent promoted the policy of toleration of different religions. His propagation of Din-e -Illahi was highly inspired by the spirit of secularism. The coming of Islam to India led to a series of remarkable responses. It is not possible for two cultures to exist side by side without influencing one another and in India the Hindu and Muslim patterns of culture have had a good deal of sharing. Evidence for this can be found not only in the development of new schools of painting sculpture and architecture and music it can also be observed in religious movements. The devotional movement of the Bhakti cult and the tradition of the Islamic-Sufis bear the proofs of this blending culture. In the last two-hundred years Hinduism has been greatly influenced by the impact of the West.. These new developments are partly the result of the influence of Christianity which is also connected with the rise of a new middle class. The first period of Western impact which covers the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is characterized by the influence Christianity. And the second period is known as the period of 'Hindu Revivalism' or 'Hindu Reformism' . The pioneer in this movement was Raja Rammohan Roy. In 1828 he founded the Brahma Samaj based on the Unitarian doctrines of the Upanishad. Rammohan's work was continued by Debendrenath Tagore. His son, the poet Rabindranath although born as Brahmo saw that the Samaj had one great weakness ;it embraced only the elite. In his poetry and other writings we find Rabindranath voicing the Wisdom of the outcastes. In his Hibbert Lectures at Oxford he expressed his love for the poetry of the medieval mystics and the Bauls. His philosophy is a religious synthesis of iv Abstract Monism and a particular type of theism. Reality according to him is one. He identifies this reality with personal God i.e ‘Jiban-Devata’. So Tagore's philosophy oscillates between Sankara's Vedanta and Vaisnavism. Another new school of Hinduism developed in Bengal under the influence of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. His approach was not intellect and he put much emphasis on simple devotion to God. This is of course in direct line with the Vedanta. His disciple Swami Vivekananda, declared himself a socialist-spread this Vedantic doctrine of Advaita in India and abroad and many Western countries now have branches of the Ramakrishna Mission. In the time when materialistic science was gaining ascendance, Vivekananda introduced to the Western world the ideas of Vedanta which he called the science of the soul. He claimed Vedanta to be the only religion fit for the rational mind. His philosophy is known as spiritual humanism. Mahatma Gandhi is often referred to as the spiritual father of Indian Secularism. Gandhian politics was inseparable from religion. There was hardly any Hindu religious practice to which he did not give a worldly secular content. But it is a much debated question that did he secularize religion, or sacralise politics? He declared politics as yugadharma. But he also secularised Hinduism as much as possible within the spiritual framework. His secular vision becomes clear when instead of ''God is Truth” he ascribes to “Truth is God''. The rulers of India after Independence imported the idea of secularism from the West known here as dharmanirapekshata. The word ''secularism'' in the Preamble to the Constitution means ''equal respect for all religions'' (Sarva Dharma Sambhava ) instead of Dharma Nirapeksha, i.e., state neutrality in matters of religion. This approach implies holding in balance multiple religious varieties by secular state and the consequent development of national reconciliation.
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