Secularism and Secularisation of the State: Decoding Gandhian Philosophy in Contemporary India

Abstract

The endeavour of this chapter is to examine dichotomy surrounded on secularism and secularisation constructed through Gandhian philosophy of secular state. An attempt has been made to scrutinise Gandhi’s religious experiment with secularism and how it differs with classical description of the western bravura of tolerance, coexistence and pluralism since Gandhi was not considered as secularist in the common Western sense of term. The classical Western interpretation of “secularism” and “religion” almost negating to each other due to some historical events which created two opposing centres of power vested in the political organisation and the ecclesiastical order, respectively. Gandhian political thought on secularism and minorities’ rights are really astonishing where he paradoxically distinguishes between state and religion but insists on secularism with good blend of religion and spirituality. Gandhi believed that it is irrelevant to divorce religion from politics in Indian context as both have concomitant effects. That unique interpretation of secularism where religion plays a pivotal role in state politics puts him an illustrious philosopher of our time who described secularism virtually in a different arena. Gandhi proudly claimed that he could not see politics without spirituality and religion; nonetheless, he also pitched for the secularisation, multiculturalism and diversity of Indian society, hence stalwartly advocates the protection of religious and cultural rights of minorities. In such peculiar contradictory thoughts, it is desirable to decode the Gandhian view of secularism and the duty of the state to promote this ideal.