Secularism secMyth or Reality

7/27/2019 Secularism secMyth or Reality

1/6

http://targetiasips.blogspot.com/

http://civilserviceinterviews.blogspot.com/

Secularism Myth or Reality

Secularism is viewing a matter without a predetermined religious mindset or bias

one should arrive at a decision based on the merit and demerit of issue and not based on

religious affinity or repulsion. Thus secularism reinforces the concept of Live and Let

Live

Secularism is a universal Reality and in no way can it be discounted as a mere

Myth. Secularism is thread which bounds the world together and keeps humanity alive. If

it were to be a myth then the earth would have long ago been destroyed due to religious

clashes and ethnic wars.

Secular attitude makes a person humane, compassionate towards others

irrespective of their religion or belief.

Atheism should not be equated to secularism in any way. Atheism is total negation

of good and religion but secularism is serving your religion by the way of serving

humanity irrespective of which god they believe in.

Secularism in Indian Context

The concept of secularism becomes all the more important in case of a

multilingual, multicultural, multi religious and multiethnic county like India.

Therefore the founding fathers of our constitution wanted to constitute India into a

Sovereign, Secular, Socialist, Democratic & Republic.

The legacy of secularism in India can be traced back to several countries rather

several millenniums. Several thousands of years ago Buddha and Mahavira preached

tolerance and love towards all, not only human but also animas.


2/6



Asoka, the great through his inscriptions preached amity and respect to all religions to the

common masses.

Even the foreign invaders who invaded India, could not maintain their orthodox

idea and gradually became part and parcel of secular Indian culture.The base of our freedom struggle was liberal secularism in which people of all

religions, castes, colours, creeds joined hands to throw the tyrannical imperial rule out of

India.

Need of the Hour

Secularism is externally necessary for full fledged growth human being and his

society.

Only when a person is secular he will look at others with respect accept others ideas and

work in a coordinated manner for the completion of work. Only when the citizens work

in an unified and integerated way can a nation achieve its good of development.

If we look at the present scenario, we can definitely conclude that secularism is

only solution to the fast spreading religious intolerance and hatred.

With the bombing of Twin Towers, the world has stepped into a new era of

global terrorism based on name of religion. The terrorists who call themselves true

Jihads and sincere Mussalmans are in reality mere pawns in the hands of individuals

who project religion and wear the garb of orthodoxy to achieve their own selfish ends.

The so called War on Terror campaign launched in retaliation to the so called

Jihad movement is equally fanatic. The Abu Gharib incident and Guatanamo bay

episode are enough to prove this.

What we actually need is a True Secularisation Movement without any veil or

hidden interest for the welfare of the society, nation and entire human mankind.


3/6



Causes of Insecularism

Whole issue to find out the spread insecular attitude and internet behavior, we can

arrive at some major causes

1. Vested InterestNo person basically hates other person. But almost all people believe in

their god and this is that belief that some unscrupulous men utilize to achieve their

own goals. Such elements use the name of god and turn long time friends and

neighbours into rival enemies.

There can be other better and bitter than the saga of our Indian Partition.

2. Lack of EducationA persons ignorance can also make him land in a fanatic group who exploit his

religious feelings and make him insecular. He then starts looking at other religious as

rival groups and acts violently and inhumanly.

3. Selfish NatureSome human beings due to their greed and selfish nature turn hostile to others and

treat them as enemies.

4. Revengeful feelingAny victim of a tragedy may also lose his rationality and turn into a insecular

Element inflicting similar injuries which he had suffered on innocent people. Such people

they to justify their act based on religion and gain support.

5. Media and PressMany a times the media and press knowingly or unknowingly sows the seeds of

religious intolerance with its biased coverage of news items, without showing the whole


4/6



aspect of the issue.

6. PoliticsPolitics is the arena in which all Vested Interest Stalwarts combine to form

a gigantic insecular, religiously intolerant society. Politicians give religious shade

to many issues which is not all related to faith or god.

They play the game of Vote-bank politics with all sections of the society.

Measures to be taken

All the above discussions when in present context may make one think that

secularism has become a thing of past and today it is just a myth. But this is not so.

Today also we can see Muslims condemning Jehadi terror, Christians supporting

victims of War on Terror, Hindu giving shelter to victims of Gujarat violence or Anti-

Sikh riots. This shows that human secularism is not dead.

To ward off the evil intentions of spreading insecularism and religious intolerance,

certain concrete measures need to be taken.

1. Promote EducationSpread of education is a major prerequisite to eradicate ignorance as Aristotle

correctly said

Education is the process to develop mans faculties, especially his mind, so that

he may enjoy the contemplation of supreme truth, knowledge and beauty

Education will create awareness and take man towards higher values and

secularism.


5/6



2. Economic UpliftmentThe rise in living standards of the poor will gives them access to knowledge

and keep them away from vested interest groups. He may be able to differentiate

his needs from beliefs and see things as they are and not as they are shown to him.

3. Political WillFinally any policy cannot succeed without proper will at higher levels.

Unless the Politicians throw off their religiously coloured glasses and work

towards proper implementation of welfare schemes no change can be effectively

brought.

4. Media SupportMedia can also can play an effective role in creating awareness, exposing

scrupulous ideas educate people and inculcate secular beliefs.

Conclusion

Secularism can never be a myth, it is a reality. If we arrive that secularism

is a myth by first looking at some recent gruesome incidents then it is a grave

mistake.

As they say

Beauty of a person lies in the eyes of the beholder

So is the opinion we form. If we look at just one aspect and become

demotivated, then that will lead to further degeneration. We should remain

optimistic and rigorously work to make it possible only right attitude is necessary.

Attitude Determines Attitude

If we see an act of fanatism then we also see an act of secularism

corroborating it. No religion supports fantism and terrorism and similarly neither ..

a true follower of the religion.


6/6



Today we live in a closely knit society and secularism is the thread which

binds it. For mutual development we have to stand together, work together and

achieve the ultimate goal. As the saying goes

United We Stand, Divided We Fall.For universal peace, progress and protection we have to adopt the concept

Vasudev Kutumbakam for which Universal Secularism is the Founding Stone.

Secularism secMyth or Reality

Documents

Transcript of Secularism secMyth or Reality