It is this communalism which has stood as a counter to the secular ethos of the country; it is this which is the major obstacle for
secularism being properly implemented.
He said unlike Pakistan where
secularism is in "shambles", In India "
Secularism is intact because of Hindus.
The title of the talk was 'The erosion of
secularism in India: will it result into the rise of Hindu state?'
The state elite endorsed a rigid
secularism, resembling the French model of laicism, and radically limited the scope of religion in the public sphere.
Secularism per se means a mode of governance in which state remains neutral in religious matters and is not supposed to tilt in favour of a particular religion.
Scott proposes a refreshing and provocative take on the way the discourse surrounding
secularism has been constructed and used politically since the word first entered the lexicon in the nineteenth century.
To step out from such a situation, we must carry the spirit of
secularism and equality by leaving the structure of capitalism", he said.
The first third of the book is a whirlwind history of
secularism, starting in ancient Greece but quickly progressing to the Enlightenment in the 1700s and forward to today.
What actually is this Indian
secularism for which the first Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru stood.
Summary:
Secularism is not merely about how religious groups are treated by the state.
SEX AND
SECULARISM BY JOAN WALLACH SCOTT PRINCETON, NJ: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS.
One long-held assumption is that gender equality is an enduring principle of
secularism.