V. Kumaresan
Secretary-External Relations, Dravidar Kazhagam
Secular way of living has been the significant feature of the indigenous people of this land. The observance of festival and praise for the local deities has nothing to do with the vigorous religious practices of seminal religion. The method of prayer of the majority people has been nothing but paying respect and reverence to their forefathers who were the heads of the joint families or the rulers of small kingdoms. In course of time, these sections of the people were usurped to project the pseudo majority of one particular religion.
In recent days, the multi religious approach with a difference has been narrowed down to the mono religious thrust with an impetus to inculcate the mono religious culture in the pluralistic society, habituated to different cultures, languages, beliefs, etc.
This will make the present form of the country become less secular. Without knowing their contribution to the pseudo majority of their religion, the so called believers and practitioners feel proud to be a part of the religion. In any civilized society, the freedom to practise any particular religious belief must be available to the subject, despite the prevalence of significant strength of non-believers. But the civil law of the country decides the religious identity of its citizens, not based on the adherence of the belief and practices of that religion by them but on the non preference of belief and practices related to other religions. How could it be equitable? Is it not a denial of recognition for free thought and freedom to profess and practice any belief, dogma or doctrine? The edifice of pseudo majority which is thrust as mono religious culture of the country has been erected on this fragile foundation. Even rationalists who do not have faith in any religion have been used for the brick by brick addition to prove the pseudo religious majority.
When the country attained political independence in 1947, special efforts were taken by the mutt heads of the pseudo majority religion to insert the word, ‘spiritual’ in the governing code of the country – Indian Constitution. Due to the danger in the upsurge of religious fundamentalists in the mid 1970s, the word ‘secular’ was inserted in the preamble ‘to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic…’
The effect of the present Indian Constitution is not endowed with adequate secular power for the State to discharge its governance in ‘non religious’ manner. Still the dominance of one religious influence continues.
Even then the religious fanatics did not rest on their deed of pointing it as spiritual feature in the Constitution in its original form at the time of inception, as the word ‘secular’ was deliberately inserted in the preamble during the period of emergency, when democracy was in peril. The anti secular forces again failed in their attempt by stating that the word ‘secular’ was not found its due place of the Constitution from the beginning. Actually it is not so; the word ‘secular’ is very much available in the Constitution from the beginning.
The Right to Freedom of Religion is adumbrated in the Constitution vide Article 25 while narrating the rights available to the citizens on religious freedom, it has been aptly pointed out in Article 29(2) as follows.
“Nothing in this article shall affect the operation of any existing law or prevent the state from making any law
(a) Regulating or restricting any economic, financial, political or other secular activity which may be associated with religious practice.
(b) Providing for social welfare and reform or the throwing open of Hindu religious institutions of a public character to all classes and sections of Hindus”.
The Constitutional provisions say that the State can interfere into the religious practices to regulate or restrict secular activities which include economic, financial, and political.
More practices have to be reformed, or, in case of social need, to be eliminated. Less is reformed than non-reformed. Till such reformation takes place, the ancient, old and prevailing practices have to be adhered to – this is explicitly expressed in Article 372 of the Constitution as ‘Continuance in force of existing laws and their adaption’ thus.
(i) Notwithstanding the repeal by this Constitution of the enactments referred to in Article 395 but subject to the other provisions of this constitution, all the laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution shall continue in force therein until altered or repealed or amended by the competent legislature or other competent authority.
The effect of the present Indian Constitution is not endowed with adequate secular power for the State to discharge its governance in ‘non religious’ manner. Still the dominance of one religious influence continues.
This is a big challenge to the secular fabric of the country!
The social revolutionary Thanthai Periyar E.V.Ramasamy fought throughout his life for the abolition of caste system, a menace on which Hindu religion is built up. In 1957 Periyar gave a call for a massive agitation to substitute the word ‘caste’ instead of ‘untouchability’ in Article 17. Nearly 10,000 black shirt cadres participated in the statewide agitation and about 3000 cadres were arrested and sentenced for imprisonment ranging upto 3 years.
To facilitate the State carrying out the secular activity in religious affairs, Periyar movement conducted many exclusive conferences and agitations for the appointment of priests in temples, hailing from all castes as manifestation of equality among the subjects of the same religion. Last year the Government of Kerala took pride in implementing the appointment of priests, hailing from all the castes in the HR&CE managed temples. Still the rationalist organization, Dravidar Kazhagam under the leadership of its President Asiriyar Dr. K.Veeramani, is taking steps to co-ordinate all the progressive forces to insist the implementation of already prevailing Act in Tamil Nadu to appoint priests duly qualified for the profession, devoid of discrimination of castes.
One more remarkable deed carried out by the Central Government during the emergency period in 1976 was the insertion of Part IV-A – Fundamental Duties of the Citizens. The fundamental duties still remain in the directive principle of the State Policy.
One of the fundamental duties under Article 51A(h) says,
“It shall be the duty of every citizen of India to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.”
Do the present rulers accord due respect to this provision?
Events and features in mythology are equated with science by the saffron leaders. The Prime Minister of the country, while declaring open the hospital at Mumbai has cited the elephant face of ‘God’ Ganesha to prove that plastic surgery was in vogue in mythical period. This statement of the Prime Minister is connected to the indigenous mythology.
Recently, the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development participated in the 105th Indian Science Congress at Manipur University, Imphal. In his address, the Minister, under the guise of paying tributes to recently demised Stephen Hawking had flourished his own religious belief without adducing any proof. He said, “The theory of relativity formulated by the scientist Albert Einstein was found long ago in the Vedas.”
After the address was over, the Minister was asked for the reference of his statement from the Vedas. The reply was, “Reference? Only you have to find out. If you are unable to do it, afterwards do come to me!”
What an authoritative utterance in support of his unscientific statement!
Recently, addressing a workshop on the commercialization of Public Distribution System Biplab Kumar Deb, the BJP Chief Minister of Tripura said, “Internet and satellite communication had existed in the days of ‘Mahabharata’. How else could Sanjaya (the charioteer of King Dhritarashtra in the epic) give a detailed account and description to the blind king about the battle of Kurukshetra? It means internet was there, satellites and that technology were there in this country at that time.”
Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb stood by his statement about the existence of internet and satellite communication in the age of the ‘Mahabharata’, accusing his critics of “lacking nationalism”. Governor Tathagata Roy came to the Chief Minister’s defence, saying that “prototypes” must have paved the way for present-day.
A new governing trend has set in on the part of the political rulers at the Centre. As the representative of the Central legislature, what they wanted to do directly they carry out through the judicial mechanism. Whenever, they want to do anything contrary to the secular action, the platform of judiciary in being used by them strategically. In respect of any dispute involving the secular feature, the government will present themselves more as respondent in the litigation, raised by individuals. The tactical move from the ruling side is used to be putting arguments in favour of non secular deeds or through abstaining from putting proper arguments to favour secular fervour. The net desired result of verdict on the expected line negating secular feature would be arrived at. The rulers will carry out the verdict as judicial direction, otherwise if carried out by them either as legislative or executive action it would receive stiff opposition.
The rationalists of this country have to face the versatile challenges to upkeep the secular fabric of the country besides strengthening it further. The rationalists cannot and should not adopt violent mode to accomplish the secular agenda which will not solve the problem but divert the direction, planned by them. In this difficult task, we had sacrificed the lives of many rationalist – humanists stalwarts like Dr. Narendra Dhabolkar, Com. Govind Pansare, Prof. K.M.Kalburgi and Journalist Gowri Lankesh and we have to sacrifice more. The journey of rationalists has to continue. The major part of the journey must be allocated to propagate the precarious social and political situations the country faces at present. Enlightening the citizens about it has to be the prime and foremost task of rationalists to cull out the challenges ahead in Secular India.
Any amount of individual functioning both in thought and action will not serve the purpose. Organised mode of functioning in a systematic way with multipronged approach will only facilitate the secular feature of the country which is by and large in infant stage.
Let the rationalists think and act suiting to the changing environment – social, political and economical.
(The excerpts of the speech delivered at Charvagam 2018 – National Seminar on ‘Challenges faced by Rationalists in Secular India’ organized by Yukthivada Padanakendram at Ernakulam, Kerala on 12th May 2018.)
