Class 8 Social Science Understanding Secularism Exam Notes

Class 8 Social Science Understanding Secularism Exam Notes. Please refer to the examination notes which you can use for preparing and revising for exams. These notes will help you to revise the concepts quickly and get good marks.

Covers the following topics:

1. Definition
2. What is Indian Secularism
3. Ways to Protect Secularism
4. Indian Constitution & Secularism
5. Need to Separate Religion from state
6. India Secularism & Democratic Societies of the World
7. Protection of Secularism in India

 Introduction

 "Secularism is neither a religion nor indifference to religion but equal respect for all the religions, not mere tolerance but positive respect without it, there is no future 'for the nation. " -Indira Gandhi

Imagine you are working in a US firm as a chief engineer but you are paid less than the other engineers just because you are not an American, and when you ask for the reason to your seniors, you are thrown out of the company. This situation is called discrimination. In such a condition, the person who is discriminated takes wrong steps or starts fighting for justice with the other discriminated ones. To fight and remove such kind of discrimination, the Indian Constitution has adopted secularism and India became a secular state.

Definition

Secularism is a freedom to live by an individual's religious beliefs and practices. It separates power of religion and power of the state. This separation maintains law, peace and order in the society, state and in the country

What Is Indian Secularism

The Indian Constitution mandates that the Indian State be secular. According to the constitution, only a secular State can realize its objectives to ensure the following

 (i) that one religious community does not dominate another.

(ii) that some members do not dominate other members of the same religious community

(iii) that the State does not enforce any particular religion nor take away the religious freedom of individuals

Ways To Protect Secularism

The Indian State works in various ways to prevent the above domination

(i)First It uses a strategy of distancing itself from religion. The Indian State is not ruled by a religious group. and nor does it support anyone religion. In India government spaces like law courts, police stations, government schools and offices are not supposed to display or promote anyone religion

(ii) The second way in which Indian secularism works to prevent the domination of one community is through a strategy of non-interference. This means that in order to respect the sentiments of all religions and not to interfere with religious practices the State makes certain exceptions for particular religious communities.

For e.g in Sikhism : Indian State recognize that wearing a pugri (turban) is essential to a Sikh's religious practice and in order not to interfere with this, allows an exception in the law that wearing helmet during driving is necessary.

(iii) The third way in which Indian secularism works to prevent the domination listed earlier is through strategy of intervention. For e.g. untouchability. This is good example where members of the same religion ('uppercaste' Hindus) dominate other members (some 'lower castes') within it. In order to prevent this religionbased exclusion and discrimination of 'lower castes', the Indian Constitution bans untouchablity.

In this instance, the State is intervening in religion in order to end a social practice that it believes discriminates and excludes, and that violates the Fundamental Rights of 'lower castes' who are citizens of this country.

(iv) Similarly, to ensure that laws relating to equal inheritance rights are respected, the State may have to intervene in the religion-based 'personal laws' of communities.

The intervention of the State can also be in the form of support. The Indian Constitution grants the right to religious communities to set up their own schools and colleges It also gives them financial aid on a nonpreferential basis

→ INDIAN CONSTITUTION AND SECULARISM

(i) Indian Constitution contains Fundamental Rights that protect us against state power as well as against the tyranny of the majority

(ii) The Indian Constitution allows individuals the freedom to live by their religious beliefs and practices as they interpret these

(iii) In keeping with this idea of religious freedom for all, India also adopted strategy of separating the power of religion and the power of the state.

(iv) Secularism refers to this separation of religion from the state

♦ NEED TO SEPARATE RELIGION FROM STATE

♦ Role of majority

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