Secularism- Concept and Practice

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Indian secularism has been criticised for its failure to contain religious stresses and strains. It is considered to be an ideology of the state. It has failed to be an effective reference model to guide the shaping of social interaction in the society. As such it remains statist. It has undergone excessive politicization. It has not gone deep in the domain of civil society.

In the papers that have been included here there is an attempt to initiate fresh dialogue on the concept and practice of secularism in India.

Dr. A.K. Lal is a well known sociologist from Bihar having three decades of experience in research and training Dr Lal has worked on different things and has successfully completed projects funded by the Central Government as well as Voluntary Organization. He has special interests in the problems of dalits which finds articulation in his contributions facilitating understanding of the phenomenon of change and continuity among these people. He has long experience of field work in Bihar. Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. Dr Lal has been in close rapport with Sociological activities of Sulabh Inter- national and has been founder Director of its institutions for research and social intervention During his stay in Sulabh International he organised courses for sanitation and rural development and helped the organization in initiating programmes for upliftment and social integration of scavengers. Dr. Lal has authored a number of books including the well known work on Bonded Labours in Bihar entitled Politics and Poverty His other books are The Urban Family, Elite and Development (with Sachchidananda) and Harijan Elite (with Sachchidananda), and Dalits in Action. In addition to these he has written a number of research articles and book reviews Dr. Lal is presently a senior fellow in the G. B. Pant Social Science Institute Allahabad.

India has been a land of religious tolerance. Peaceful co-existence has been its ideal. Plurality has been the essential feature of Indian social order. Secularism has been an ideology of its people. We still remain wedded to diversity in spite of excessive polarisation. Secularism, however, needs to be kept in firm rapport with the orientation and the behaviour of the people. It has to be nurtured to tide over avoidable complexities, threatening to rupture its social texture. In a society like India, secularism has to be a strategy for peace and harmony. Our commitment to the ideology of secularism has to be strengthened specially in the context of continuing onslaught of the forces of fundamentalism. There is a need for continuous dialogue on the problem of communalism that exists in spite of sincere attempts to root it out.

It was with this intent that a seminar on "Secularism-Concept and Practice" was held at A.N. Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna in November 1993 in collaboration with the Indian Social Institute, New Delhi. The response to our invitation to participate in the seminar was overwhelming. The deliberations were highly fruitful. Among those who participated in the discussion included distinguished social activists, eminent sociologists, well-known political scientists and leading journalists. While different dimensions of the phenomenon were discussed, the seminar did not aim at unanimity of opinion. The present work includes the papers presented in the seminar. It also includes papers specially written on the theme after the conclusion of the seminar.

I am obliged to the authors who contributed articles of exceptionally high quality for inclusion in the volume. These are likely to provide adequate understanding of the phenomenon of secularism, specially in the context of Bihar. I am grateful to Dr. Sebasti L. Raj, the Executive Director of the Indian Social Institute for inspiring me to do this work. He also provided the needed financial support for the seminar.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages