This refers to the article, “Reinventing the concept of secularism” (October 3) by Ramesh Davesar. Secularism is an alien concept, borrowed from Europe, where it had to be introduced after being fed up with the excessive, dogmatic and irrational (recall ‘sun rotates around the earth’ belief and punishing of the heretics) interference of the Church with worldly functioning of kingdoms. Aping Europe, we too, after independence, introduced secularism by the strange name of Dharm-nirapekshata, which actually means neutrality or disregard for dharma. But dharma is a unique, wholesome and time-tested ethos of our country. Can India for the sake such a moral compass and still functionIJ
Even a non-native like Mark Tully remarked, “India is a Hindu nation forced to wear the ugly formless garb of Western secularism. Hindu nationalism is a backlash against this pedantic Nehruvian aspiration, the 50-year-old soulless construct that sunders religion from its natural place in Indian public life”. In any case, the Indian brand of secularism failed the litmus tests of history. Freely denouncing Hindu traditions and efforts to promote the same, suppressing facts about proselytizations and invaders's depredations, campus calls to ‘bharat ki barbadi’, selective left-liberal outraging — all this is secularism. If not Uniform Civil Code, then let the ‘secularists’ spell out what ensures true secularism that redresses the said problems.