Introduction

The previous chapter asked how a democratic state can guarantee equality to every group when a country contains many different cultures and communities living side by side. This chapter takes up one major answer to that question: secularism.

Secularism is everywhere in Indian public life. Every political party in India claims to be secular, yet the meaning and record of secularism in India is constantly argued over. Secularism is questioned not only by religious leaders and Hindu or minority-community nationalists, but also by ordinary politicians, social activists, and even academics.

This chapter works through that ongoing debate by asking a set of pointed questions that will guide everything that follows:

• What does secularism actually mean?
• Is secularism a Western idea simply transplanted onto Indian soil?
• Can secularism work in a society where religion continues to exercise a strong hold over people's everyday lives?
• Does secularism show partiality — does it 'pamper' minority communities?
• Is secularism, at bottom, hostile to religion itself?

By the end of the chapter you should be able to explain why secularism matters for a diverse democracy like India, and to describe precisely what makes the Indian model of secularism different from the mainstream Western model most people are familiar with.