There are no exceptions where the practice of secularism is concerned, in case the term is properly rather than misleadingly applied. Should what took place in India in the 1950s occur where the two religions with the most number of adherents were concerned, in which only one of the two faiths was made the subject of reform while the other remained untouched, such discrimination cannot be termed secular. The Islamic faith enjoins believers to follow the practice of Ijtehad, which is to use the critical faculties that human beings have been endowed with to ensure that adjustments are made to take account and to deal with changes wrought over time. Such a call is in contrast to Taqlid, or blind belief in following a practice simply because it has been in vogue for a long time. Muslims in India share with their Hindu brothers and sisters a desire for advancement of knowledge, and the expansion in skillsets and in practices to deal with an ever modernising world. To confine paths to reform to just Hindus rather than Muslims as well was symptomatic of the differential treatment that was given to both, oddly in the name of secularism. An example of discrimination that affected only the Hindu faith was the retention of British-era control by the state of temples, while leaving untouched the religious places of other communities.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pointed out in his interview to this newspaper, secularism is when all the people of the nation are covered under a policy of the state. Such a stance is all the more necessary and relevant in India, a country that was cruelly partitioned in 1947 on the specious ground that Hindus and Muslims are “Two Nations”. Such a theory was unacceptable, and ought to have been resisted rather than agreed to, but was not, with the consequence that partition took place. There cannot be a greater contrast to the treatment of religious minorities than what has taken place in Pakistan and India. In the neighbouring state, religious minorities have been almost entirely eliminated, while in India they have grown significantly in proportion to those belonging to the majority faith.
Inclusivity is the essence of secularism, and this is the principle followed in the matter of the numerous welfare schemes that have been introduced during Modi 1.0 and Modi 2.0. In none of them is there a religious tag which confines the benefits only to those of a particular faith, or excludes any particular faith. Houses are built for all, food grain is distributed to all, loans are given to all, and healthcare is made available to all. Commentators who have fallen victim to the misleading disinformation that the Government of India under Prime Minister Modi is against secularism ought to check on all such schemes, so as to be assured that there is no discrimination whatsoever in coverage.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out in his interview, there is no question of bias or discrimination when the coverage of a scheme is the entire population. The truth is that each citizen of India is a child of Bharat, irrespective of his or her faith, and needs to be treated as such. It is a travesty of the truth when such discrimination is ended and the same gets termed by vested interests as contrary to secular principles. From the start of his political career, Prime Minister Modi has been subjected to volley upon volley of criticism, including for such habits as visiting temples regularly. Presidents of the United States go to church regularly, yet the same is not used to call them anti-secular. Where Prime Ministers of India are concerned, as a practicing Hindu, Indira Gandhi used to visit temples often without drawing the same criticism as has been faced by Prime Minister Modi. The fact is that it is in the sphere of policy that commitment to secularism is manifested through equality of treatment to those of all faiths. Judged by this most accurate of yardsticks, through the 100% coverage the schemes announced by him have within the general population, there cannot remain any doubt that policies of the Modi government are designed and implemented in a non-discriminatory manner that covers every citizen irrespective of faith.