Question

"Secular state is not not an ideology of some political parties or persons but it is one of the foundations of our country "Examine the statement

Answer 1

Answer:

Secular state is that state which has no religion of its own and with regards all religions of the country equally. Our constitution has given our country the status of a secular state due to the presence of diverse religious groups in the country.

The constitution has made many provision which reflect secular status given to India::

• India has no official religion of its own unlike India many countries like Pakistan ,Sri Lanka ,England etc. have their official religion.
• All the citizens of the country are given the right to Profess propagate and practice any religion of the choice.
• The constitution states that the government shall not discriminate against any Citizen on the basis of the religion.

Answer 2

Answer:

With the Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India enacted in 1976, India does not have an official state religion. In matters of law in modern India, however, the applicable code of law is unequal, and India's personal laws - on matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, alimony - varies with an individual's religion. Muslim Indians have Sharia-based Muslim Personal Law, while Hindu, Christian and Sikh Indians live under common law. It is further complicated by the fact that many Hindu temples of great religious significance are administered and managed by the Indian government.

The attempt to respect unequal, religious law has created a number of issues in India such as acceptability of child marriage, polygamy, unequal inheritance rights, extra judicial unilateral divorce rights favorable to some males, and conflicting interpretations of religious books.

Secularism as practiced in India, with its marked differences with Western practice of secularism, is a controversial topic in India. Supporters of the Indian concept of secularism claim it respects. Supporters of this form of secularism claim that any attempt to introduce a uniform civil code, that is equal laws for every citizen irrespective of his or her religion, would impose majoritarian Hindu sensibilities and ideals. [8][9] Opponents argue that India's acceptance of Sharia and religious laws violates the principle of Equality before the law.