RELIGION AND POLITICS

Religious fundamentalism and religious nationalism are more appropriately applicable to religiously singular societies as in European Christian or West Asian Islamic societies. In Christian Europe, religious nationalism is weaker in the periphery where national identity was more secure and less aggressive. Where the origin myths of the nation which connect it to religion (e.g. Anglican Protestantism in the UK), are old and unions of nation and religion more relaxed, when external threat is not strong, then religious consciousness’ generally, as well as its relationship to nationalism are stronger (e.g. Greece, Poland, Belgium, Croatia), there also exist significant countervailing forces in the shape of the earlier institutionalization of secular-democratic discourse. Religion is the system of theological beliefs and dogmas. It is also a vital basis for identity formation. Religion is the moral force, which gives strength to a person or to a nation. Politics is the art of governance. If Politics is the last refuge of scoundrels and religion, the opium of the masses, any nexus between the two is bound to spell doom. Religion is the root of the most of the profound and permanent values of life while politics is about recognition and conciliation of opposing religion. This was the sole reason of introduction of secularism in Indian Constitution. The liberal democratic vision of secularism is generally seen as characterized by three principles:
1) Liberty and freedom of religion
2) Citizenship, and the right to equality and non-discrimination and
3) Neutrality and the separation of state and religion.

The first two principles have posed little controversy in the Indian context. Rather, the right to freedom of religion and the right to equality and non-discrimination are generally recognized as important constitutional values in their own right as well as a foundation of Indian secularism. The third principle i.e. relation between religion and politics, is the main cause of problem. To understand the relation between religion and politics it is necessary to understand the concepts of Toleration, and secularism/communalism.

TOLERANCE: The principle of Toleration is derived from the cultural traditions of Indian society. One of the major issues in the understanding of Indian history is the manner of cultural development and assimilation of various sections in cultural stream. The second is the nature of the state in India during various historical phases. As far as the first is concerned, two ideal prototypes have been put forward – first, the alleged assimilation of Dravidians into Aryans culture, and second, the assimilation of the Scythians, Huns, etc. in the Hindu fold later on. The whole situation changed significantly after the arrival of Muslims in India. In the words of Dr. R.C. Majumdar, “Muslims did not merge themselves into the pattern and the form with Hindus as single type of homogeneous culture.” For him both the communities were permanently divided into two powerful units, which did not prove amenable to a fusion or even any close permanent co-ordination. In the words of M.K. Gandhi, “India cannot cease to be one nation because people belonging to different religions live in it. The introduction of foreigners does not necessarily destroy the nation; they merge in it.” Though the statement given by the legend that it is impossible to assimilate the two religion is somehow, true but still the framers of Indian Constitution of India found the alternative of this problem i.e. Secularism. The Indian concept of secularism is different from Western one because it includes the concept of toleration as another important ingredient. Toleration has been cast as the characteristic of the Majority Hindu Community. Concept of Toleration needs democratization. This requires the delinking of Toleration with that of majoritarian and religious foundation.

SECULARISM: Secularism is the pressing issue in the contemporary Indian political system. In the multi-religious society like ours, secularism cannot be merely explained and understood as the separation of politics or the State from religion. It can neither be understood as an alien, intolerable, and modernist imposition of the Western concept of secularism on the Indian society. The Indian Constitution requires the State to equally tolerant to all religions. The Indian model of secularism, as envisaged by the founding fathers of neither supports the theory of ‘wall of separation’ advocated by Western oriented critics of secularism nor it stands for the theocratic fundamentalism approach or orientation of the statecraft. It is indeed an assimilation of the Nebruvian concept of a democratic state and the Gandhian politics of satya and ahimsa. An ethico-political approach to the statecraft is the need of the hour. A creative synthesis of the basic tenets of religious values and the western democratic norms and outlook can alone reinforce a sense of human solidarity and a common commitment to the core values of human civilization such as respect for life, liberty, justice, and equality, mutual respect, caring and integrity, what Gandhi calls a climate of creative co-existence.