The initial face of secularism is portrayed in India’s Preamble, where the term “Secular” is read. Indian secularism is also reflected in the country’s basic rights (Articles 25–28), which allow each person the freedom to follow any faith.
According to former Chief Justice of India P B Gajendragadkar, secularism is described as “the state does not owe devotion to any specific religion as such: it is neither irreligious nor anti-religious; it grants equal freedom to all religions.”
With the 42nd Amendment to the Indian Constitution (1976), the Preamble to the Constitution declared India to be a “secular” nation.
The Indian ideology of secularism is connected to “Sarva Dharma Sambhava” (meaning, the endpoint of all faiths’ roads is the same, even though the paths themselves may differ), which emphasizes equal respect for all religions.
Liberal hate of everything Hindu was a subtle phenomenon for many years. To keep Hindus continually guilt-tripped, they employed different techniques like as gaslighting, manipulation, lying, and victimization narrative. From inventing the fictitious concept of “saffron terror” to fabricating the fictitious concept of “growing intolerance,” liberals have no qualms about portraying Hindus as aggressors to achieve their goal of destabilizing the Modi government.
They don’t mind Muslim MLAs and MPs wearing skull caps while working in official capacities since, sadly, Hindus bear the duty of preserving secularism in India, while others are “secular” while wearing their religions on their sleeves.
For example, when Hindus protested to FabIndia’s use of the name “Jashn-e-Riwaz” to describe the Diwali celebration, liberals chastised them for being intolerant and insecure about their event and taking offence at tiny and unimportant things like an Urdu appellation of a Hindu festival. Then, on Sunday, another brand, Elle, defended FabIndia by publishing a Hinduphobic cartoon depicting saffron-clad gangs closing down Tanishq and Fabindia stores.
A guy with an orange gamcha (stole) was also shown hitting a meat vendor wearing a skull hat in the animation (presumably for selling beef). Interestingly, this was not Elle’s first encounter with Hinduphobia. In yet another attempt to offend Hindu sensibilities, Elle said in a sarcastic piece, “It’s the repeating season where Indian fashion designers are taught on how to creatively use religion while planning their advertisements.”
Last year, @tanishqjewellery was given a nonviolent education in how to display jewelry without interfering with the old Hindu-Muslim story. @fabindiaofficial recently published and removed a Diwali campaign titled “Jashn-e-Riwaz.”
What if this had occurred during a Muslim festival? What if a Muslim festival was given a Sanskrit name? It is not difficult to imagine the results if any company had considered Indianizing a Muslim event. It is well known that Islamists are vehemently opposed to any attempt to integrate their faith into greater Indian culture.
Recent planned killings and violence in the country with an excuse of Nupur Sharma’s statement was an ardent example of extremism by the community. As against the notion of a Hindu Rashtra, which includes the peaceful coexistence of people belonging to various religions, Muslims support a global Ummah, an Arabic term used to refer to the Muslim world. This was the underlying ideology that powered the rise of ISIS and other Islamic terrorist organizations that dream of bringing the entire world under the banner of Islam.
In Pakistan, you cannot criticize Islam since it is the majority religion. Because Islam is a minority in India, you cannot criticize it. However, you can criticize Hinduism in India because it is the main religion, and in Pakistan, it is the minority religion. Nonetheless, Hindus are believed to be intolerant. We do not live in a positivist society and secularism goes hand in hand. You cannot expect secularism in a society where inclusiveness is not welcomed.
