Sociology

(DAW)
DAILY ANSWER WRITING

December’24
SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL
(Paper-II)
(Model Answer-14)
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Sunya IAS – DAILY ANSWER WRITING (DAW) – DECEMBER’24
SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL – PAPER –II
(Model Answer)
Q.14 Indian society has become more secular. It is easy to grasp but complex to demonstrate.
Elaborate. (10 marks, 150 words)
Approach:
Introduction: Briefly define secularism
Body:
• Understanding Indian secularism
• Complex demonstration of Indian secularism
Conclusion: Conclude appropriately by bringing back secularism’s significance
Introduction: Secularism is a liberal concept of democracy. It is a principle that involves

two things - The first is the strict separation of state from religious institutions and secondly,
people of different religions and beliefs are equal before the law.
Understanding Indian Secularism

• Encompassing Role of Religion: According to T. N. Madan - Religion in India is
constitutive of society. Politics and economics are neither autonomous domains nor
contradictory to religion; they are simply encompassed by religion.
• Constitutional Provisions: The Indian constitution established a secular state founded on
the principles of equality and non-discrimination through its preamble, fundamental rights
and directive principles. Secularism has been seen as one of the "Basic Features" of the
Indian constitution, alongside the ideas of social and economic democracy.
o Example: Right to freedom of religion (Article 25-28) include freedom of conscience
and the profession, practice and Propagation of religion, freedom from taxation for
promotion of a religion, freedom from attending religions instruction, prosecution of
interest of religions minorities.
• Individual and Religion: Secularism does not mean being irreligious or anti-religious.
• State and Religion: The relationship of state with religion leads to a unique model of
Indian secularism. It has following features-
o No Official Religion: India does not have any official state religion.
o Sarva Dharma Sambhav: The state does not favor or discriminate against any
religion. It treats all religions with equal respect. All citizens, irrespective of their
religious beliefs, are equal in the eyes of law.
o Principled Distance: Indian secularism permits principled government involvement
in all religions. Such a move shows disregard for some tenets of every religion. The
secular state is not required to recognise all aspects of all religions equally. It permits
the same disregard for some features of established religions.
o No Religious involvement in Government Schools: No religious instruction is
imparted in government or government-aided schools. But the general information
about all established world religions may be imparted without giving any importance
to any one religion or the others.
Complex Demonstration of Indian Secularism

• Communalism: Religion should not overplay its part. Though the situation has
improved, the state has still compromised on the principle of secularism, thereby leading
to violent communal strifes.
o Example: Babri Masjid, Godhra riots, ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits in 1989.
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Sunya IAS – DAILY ANSWER WRITING (DAW) – DECEMBER’24
SOCIOLOGY OPTIONAL – PAPER –II
• Different Laws: While Hindus are governed by state laws like Special Marriage Act,
Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act 1956 etc., there is no such law for other religious
communities like Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians etc.
• Partition: The animosity between two communities was visible in the form of the Great
Indian partition of 1947. This happened when all the religious communities were united
against a common oppressor- the British.
• Religious Revivalism: Due to modernization and globalization, there has been increasing
alienation among people, thus strengthening religious beliefs of people, and leading to
religious revivalism.
o Example: Rise of God men.
• Political Mobilization: Certain political parties in India use religion and caste as a factor
for the promotion of their political interest despite a ban on the communal electorates and
use of religion for capturing votes.
o Example: "Ghar Wapsi' is a religious conversion campaign organized by political
parties to convert poor people into Hinduism by alluring them with monetary benefits.
• Uneven Modernization: The process of modernization in India has been uneven, with
some religious communities being deprived. This leads to the rise of religious
consciousness among the community.
o Example: Sachar committee report highlights the plight of Muslims in India, whereby
they are one of the least educated religious communities.
o Example: Partha Chaterjee highlights that people of some religion benefit from
state sponsored positive discrimination (SCs are recognized among Hindus,
Buddhists, Sikhs, and not among Christians and Muslims).
• Cultural Nationalism: In this form, the nation is defined by a shared culture and a
common language, rather than on the ascribed concepts of common ancestry or race.
o Example: Killing of Christians in Kerala.
• State Intervention: In India as Gurpreet Mahajan points out, the critics of secularism
makes two arguments:
a. The concept of secularism, a separation of religion and policies, is alien to Indian
society and way of life.
- Example: State intervention in case of dogmatic religious practises like Sabrimala
ban on women’s entry.
b. Separation of religion from politics is an idea that comes with protestant ethics-as a
gift of Christianity, in India. Hence, it has limited applicability.
• Religious Institutions: In India, the symbolism associated with building a place of
worship is often used by a community to announce its presence or importance.
o Example: According to the 2011 census, there are around 3.01 million that are places
of worship, more than the number of schools and colleges (2.1 million).
Conclusion: India is therefore progressing toward secularisation, but there have been bumps
along the way. The State has started implementing certain new policy initiatives, including
the identification of "minority dominated areas" and "special scholarships." The creation of
an "Equal Opportunity Commission" and a "Diversity Index" to measure the "inclusiveness"
of various governmental organisations are two significant initiatives.
******
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Introduction: Secularism is a liberal concept of democracy. It is a principle that involves

Understanding Indian Secularism

Complex Demonstration of Indian Secularism

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