what was nehru's take on secularism?
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When the country celebrates the 125th birth anniversary of Pandit Nehru, an occasion arrives to explore his most important contribution to all of us. That is to be found in his unflinching efforts to establish and practice secularism within the country’s democratic framework in the best possible manner. The credit goes to him that he succeeded in defeating the communal forces in an effective way though his successors many a time failed on this count. In South Asia, where the cultural landscape is uniform, no other country in the region has practised secularism in its finest form as India. This fact owes much to him.
His ideas about secularism were born in his childhood when he experienced being nurtured in a secular ambience. His resident teacher was Ferdinand T. Brooks, a theosophist; interactions with Annie Besant and Munshi Mubarak Ali, a Munshi of his father, and living with Jews in Harrow left a deep impact on him and at the initial level removed many religious dogmas from his mind. The exposure to rich English philosophical thoughts played an important role in his life but greater was the influence of Buddhism which dissolved the feeling of discrimination. The birth of Buddhism is traced to a reaction against the restricted nature of Hinduism. Nehru learnt a lot from it.
Nehru was aware about the historical past of India. He was basically a historian and convinced that India was a plural society, not a country with only one religious affiliation. Hinduism was responded to by Buddhism and Jainism in ancient times when new social forces had emerged. For him, the advent of Christianity and Islam was as significant as the arrival of Zoroastrianism in the country. He discovered that people from different religions had shared memories which were not at odds with each other. The war of independence in 1857 was its reflection when Hindus and Muslims had fought together. Nehru had discerned this main element of the shared memory of Indian culture, and he attempted to build an edifice of secularism on it.
His ideas about secularism were born in his childhood when he experienced being nurtured in a secular ambience. His resident teacher was Ferdinand T. Brooks, a theosophist; interactions with Annie Besant and Munshi Mubarak Ali, a Munshi of his father, and living with Jews in Harrow left a deep impact on him and at the initial level removed many religious dogmas from his mind. The exposure to rich English philosophical thoughts played an important role in his life but greater was the influence of Buddhism which dissolved the feeling of discrimination. The birth of Buddhism is traced to a reaction against the restricted nature of Hinduism. Nehru learnt a lot from it.
Nehru was aware about the historical past of India. He was basically a historian and convinced that India was a plural society, not a country with only one religious affiliation. Hinduism was responded to by Buddhism and Jainism in ancient times when new social forces had emerged. For him, the advent of Christianity and Islam was as significant as the arrival of Zoroastrianism in the country. He discovered that people from different religions had shared memories which were not at odds with each other. The war of independence in 1857 was its reflection when Hindus and Muslims had fought together. Nehru had discerned this main element of the shared memory of Indian culture, and he attempted to build an edifice of secularism on it.
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