Pseudo-secularism

The term pseudo-secularism is used to describe individuals who claim to be secular but may display biases towards a particular religion, whether consciously or unconsciously. This term has gained popularity in recent Indian politics, where it is often used to criticize individuals who identify as secular and advocate for minority rights while remaining silent or opposing concerns faced by the majority religion. Some Hindu nationalist politicians, who are accused of promoting communalism, employ this term as a counter-accusation against their critics, alleging that the secularism followed by the Indian National Congress and other parties is flawed or distorted.

Background

The first recorded use of the term "pseudo-secularism" was in the 1951 book Philosophy and Action of the R.S.S. for the Hind Swaraj, by Anthony Elenjimittam. In his book Elenjimittam accused leaders of the Indian National Congress of pretending to uphold secularism.[1]

After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was accused of representing the Hindu communalism in Indian politics it started using the counter-charge of "pseudo-secularism" against the Congress and other parties.[2] The BJP leader LK Advani characterizes pseudo-secular politicians as those for whom "secularism is only a euphemism for vote-bank politics". According to him, these politicians are not concerned with the welfare of the minorities, but only interested in their vote.[3]

The Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar has criticized the term as propaganda by Hindu nationalists.[4] Historian Mridula Mukherjee has described it as "a term propounded by the ideologues of Hindu nationalism to delegitimize and deny the genuineness of secularism. The subtext is that secularism is only a veneer put on to hide alleged policies of minority appeasement. The proponents of the term allege the secularists of being pro-Muslim and anti-Hindu."[5]

Examples

The state policies of independent India accorded special rights to Muslims, along with other religious minorities like Christians and Parsis, in matters of personal law. For example,

  • In 1986, a Muslim woman Shah Bano Begum was denied alimony even after winning a court case, because the Indian Parliament reversed the court judgement under pressure of Islamic orthodoxy.[6][7]
  • Sharia inspired laws for Muslims, such as those allowing triple talaq (now banned), Half Inheritance for Females,[8] Child Marriage[9] and Polygyny[10]
  • The religion-based reservations in civil and educational institutions to improve the representation of minorities.[7] The Hindu nationalist BJP is openly against reservation of Muslims in educational institutions and the parliament.[11]
  • In 1998, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh accused BJP of playing along with pseudo-secular parties for compromising on issues like Article 370, Ram temple and Uniform civil code of India.[12]
  • In 2006, Manmohan Singh, then Prime Minister of India said that "We will have to devise innovative plans to ensure that minorities, particularly the Muslim minority, are empowered to share equitably in the fruits of development. These must have the first claim on resources." during his speech at the 52nd meeting of the National Development Council.[13] TOI reported that the former PM statement came after the Sachar Committee report which highlighted how Muslim communities were lagging behind in education and livelihood opportunities in India.[14]
  • Hindu Temples are managed by each state's government in India. Religious places of minority religions like Islam, Christianity and Sikhism are managed by their followers.[15][16] Some argue that state regulation is necessary to prevent caste and gender based discrimination in places of worship, and hence should be expanded to all religion instead of 'freeing the Hindu temples'. [17]

See also
Wikiquote has quotations related to Pseudo-secularism.

Further reading
  • Shourie, Arun (1998). Indian controversies: Essays on religion in politics. New Delhi: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-8190019927
  • Shourie, Arun (2005). A secular agenda: For saving our country, for welding it. New Delhi, India: Rupa. ISBN 9788190019934
  • Goel, Sita Ram (1995). Perversion of India's political parlance. ISBN 978-8185990255
  • Goel, S. R. (2003). India's secularism, new name for national subversion. New Delhi: Voice of India. (Original in Hindi: Sekyūlarijma, rāshṭradroha kā dusarā nāma; translation into English by Yashpal Sharma.) ISBN 978-8185990590

References
  1. Elenjimittam, Anthony (1951). Philosophy and Action of the R. S. S. for the Hind Swaraj. Laxmi Publications. pp. 188–189.
  2. Deepa S. Reddy (2006). Religious Identity and Political Destiny: Hindutva in the Culture of Ethnicism. Rowman Altamira. p. 173. ISBN 978-0-7591-0686-4.
  3. Mary Ann Tétreault; Robert Allen Denemark (2004). Gods, Guns, and Globalization: Religious Radicalism and International Political Economy. Lynne Rienner Publishers. pp. 115–. ISBN 978-1-58826-253-0.
  4. Mani Shankar Aiyer (1 May 2006). Confessions of a Secular Fundamentalist. Penguin Books India. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-14-306205-9. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  5. Mohapatra, Aswini; Mukherjee, Mridula; Mukhia, Harbans (28 April 2017). "Are we a nation of pseudo-secularists?". The Hindu.
  6. Rafiq Dossani; Henry S. Rowen (2005). Prospects for Peace in South Asia. Stanford University Press. pp. 195–. ISBN 978-0-8047-5085-1.
  7. Shabnum Tejani (2008). Indian secularism: a social and intellectual history, 1890-1950. Indiana University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-253-22044-8. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
  8. "Two Muslim women challenge the Shariat's inheritance law with their two cents".
  9. Ohri, Raghav (22 June 2022). "Prohibition of Child Marriage Act doesn't repeal Muslim personal law: HC in 2014". The Economic Times.
  10. Kanaiyalalu Manghandasu Talreja (1996). Pseudo Secularism in India. Rashtriya Chetana Prakashan. p. 46.
  11. Livemint (10 June 2023). "BJP believes there should be no Muslim reservation: Amit Shah in Nanded". mint. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  12. M. G. Chitkara (2003). Hindutva Parivar. APH Publishing. p. 84. ISBN 978-81-7648-461-9.
  13. "Muslims must have first claim on resources: PM | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. PTI. 9 December 2006. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  14. "'PM's remark on Muslims misread'". The Times of India. 11 December 2006. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  15. "Why India is not a secular state". The Economic Times. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  16. "Why should the government run Hindu temples?". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  17. "A case for state control of Hindu temples". The Hindu. 28 December 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
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