Topic Of The Day:-“Inbuilt freedoms”
Now, it is certainly true that the Constituent Assembly explicitly rejected a motion moved by Brajeshwar Prasad from Bihar to have the words “secular” and “socialist” included in the Preamble. But this was not on account of any scepticism that the drafters might have had on the values of secularism. Quite to the contrary, despite what some might want us to believe today, the assembly virtually took for granted India’s secular status. To them, any republic that purports to grant equality before the law to all its citizens, that purports to recognise people’s rights to free speech, to a freedom of religion and conscience simply cannot be un-secular. To be so would be an incongruity. Secularism, as would be clear on any morally reasonable analysis, is inbuilt in the foundations of constitutionalism, in the idea of a democracy properly understood. In the case of our Constitution, it flows from the series of fundamental rights guaranteed in Part III. How can a person be guaranteed a right to freedom of religion without a concomitant guarantee that people of all religions will be treated with equal concern? To fully understand what secularism in the Indian context means, therefore, we must read the Constitution in its entirely. There is no doubt that within the Assembly, there existed a conflict between two differing visions of secularism: one that called for a complete wall of separation between state and religion, and another that demanded that the state treat every religion with equal respect. A study of the Constitution and the debates that went into its framing reveals that ultimately it was the latter vision that prevailed. As the political scientist Shefali Jha has pointed out, this constitutional dream can be best comprehended from K.M. Munshi’s words. “The non-establishment clause (of the U.S. Constitution),” Munshi wrote, “was inappropriate to Indian conditions and we had to evolve a characteristically Indian secularism… We are a people with deeply religious moorings. At the same time, we have a living tradition of religious tolerance — the results of the broad outlook of Hinduism that all religions lead to the same god… In view of this situation, our state could not possibly have a state religion, nor could a rigid line be drawn between the state and the church as in the U.S..” Or, as Rajeev Bhargava has explained, what secularism in the Indian setting calls for is the maintenance of a “principled distance” between state and religion. This does not mean that the state cannot intervene in religion and its affairs, but that any intervention should be within the limitations prescribed by the Constitution. Sometimes this might even call for differential treatment across religions, which would be valid so long as such differentiation, as Mr. Bhargava explains, can be justified on the grounds that it “promotes freedom, equality, or any other value integral to secularism.” We can certainly debate the extent to which the state intervenes in religious matters, and whether that falls foul of the Constitution’s guarantees. We can also debate whether an enactment of a Uniform Civil Code would be in keeping with Indian secularism or not. But what’s clear is that a diverse, plural society such as India’s cannot thrive without following the sui generis form of secularism that our founders put in place. It might well yet be inconceivable that the government chooses to amend the Constitution by destroying its basic structure. But these are not the only efforts we must guard against. We must equally oppose every move, every action, with or without the state’s sanction, that promotes tyrannical majoritarianism, that imposes an unreasonable burden on the simple freedoms of the minority. We can only do this by recognising what constitutes the essence and soul of the Constitution: a trust in the promise of equality. What, we might want to keeping asking ourselves, does equality really entail? What does it truly demand?
MEANINGS AND WORDS
1) Purports
Meaning: Appear to be or do something, especially falsely.
Example: “she is not the person she purports to be”
Synonyms: Claim, Profess
2) Concomitant
Meaning: Naturally accompanying or associated.
Example: “she loved travel, with all its concomitant worries”
Synonyms: Attendant, Associated
Antonyms: Unrelated
3) Conflict
Meaning: A prolonged armed struggle.
Example: “regional conflicts”
Synonyms: Action, Battle
Antonyms: Calm, Peace
4) Prevailed
Meaning: Prove more powerful or superior.
Example: “it is hard for logic to prevail over emotion”
Synonyms: Win, Triumph
5) Comprehended
Meaning: Include, comprise, or encompass.
Example: “a divine order comprehending all men”
Synonyms: Comprise, Include
Antonyms: Exclude
6) Moorings
Meaning: The ropes, chains, or anchors by or to which a boat, ship, or buoy is moored.
Example: “the great ship slipped her moorings and slid out into the Atlantic”
7) Rigid
Meaning: Not able to be changed or adapted.
Example: “rigid bureaucratic controls”
Synonyms: Fixed, Set firm
Antonyms: Flexible
8) Foul
Meaning: Very disagreeable or unpleasant.
Example: “the news had put Michelle in a foul mood”
Synonyms: Unkind, Unfriendly
Antonyms: Kind
9) Enactment
Meaning: The process of passing legislation.
Example: “the enactment of equal pay legislation”
Synonyms: Passing, Ratification
Antonyms: Repeal
10) Thrive
Meaning: Prosper; flourish.
Example: “education groups thrive on organization”
Synonyms: Flourish, Prosper
Antonyms: Decline, Wither
11) Sui generis
Meaning: Unique.
Example: “the sui generis nature of animals”
Synonyms: Individual, Special
Antonyms: Common, Ordinary
12) Tyrannical
Meaning: Exercising power in a cruel or arbitrary way.
Example: “a tyrannical government”
Synonyms: Autocratic, Oppressive
Antonyms: Democratic, Liberal
13) Essence
Meaning: The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something, especially something abstract, which determines its character.
Example: “conflict is the essence of drama”
Synonyms: Spirit, Quintessence
