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See also Secularism
Some people argue that Secularism has a different meaning in South Asia than it does in other parts of the world. In South Asia, some Hindu groups in most parts of South Asia consider that Secularism refers to a political group of people and think that Secularists in South Asia often consist of Indian born Marxists.
The groups in India who are often critical of the secularists say that the Secularists in India often take positions that would be considered as anti-secularist in the West. They point out that Secularism is defined through history in different ways Secularism
They often say that Indian secularism is Pseudo-secularism, i.e. the state of implicit non-secular trends in the face of pledged secularism. The term is used by groups who perceive a double standard exhibited within the established secular governing policy towards culturally different groups.
Where as critics point out to people like Nehru, Gandhi and Subash Chandra Bose all of whom were non-communist hindus championed secularism. Also they point out to Dalai Lama a Buddhist and Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, a muslim as evidence that secularism and religion are not mutually exclusive and the idea of secularisn in India is not entirely different from the western idea of secularism.
A comparison of secularism in India and United States is given in the following article*.
Many people in India allege that the minority groups, especially the Muslims and the Christians, are given special privileges and advantages over Hindus.
Since an amendment in 1976, the constitution of India describes her as 'secular', but secularism is actually an alien concept for the Indian society and therefore the overwhelming majority of the Indians understand the word very differently from the rest of the world: as a form of governance that is not affiliated with any particular religion. Instead, it is commonly understood as a philosophy where all religions are accepted/tolerated and the state is expected to involve itself actively in making the balancing act. The state’s organs and bureaucracy’s participation in religious rituals and symbolism, such as during the inauguration ceremony of a state building, are not considered as at odds with secularism, Such events are common and can even be considered secular as long as all major religious priests and rituals are represented.
Religious appeasement is more important for the government or legislature than separation of religion from state. Criticism of ay religious dogmas and beliefs are normally not accepted as a genuine right or freedom of expression. Books with even academic criticism of popular beliefs are routine banned. The state has made laws promoting appeasement of religious dogmas, such as banning slaughter of cows for beef, a common diet in many parts of the world and even acceptable diet for many communities in India. Basically, the Indian society does not relate to secularism and confuses it with tolerance of religious dogmas.
It is normal in Indian way of secularism for public money to be spent towards religion’s indirect promotion. All government schools routinely promote prayers.
Many political parties in India have been accused of appeasing the minority groups, which are their vote banks.
The educational institutions established by non-Hindus can apply for the "Religious Minority Status". This means that 50% of the seats in these institutions are reserved for students belonging to a particular religion. For example, in DBIT Mumbai, 50% of the seats are reserved for Roman Catholic students.
The Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) also enjoyed a minority status (50% of the seats reserved for Muslims), until the High Court declared that the status was anti-constitutional. But the Teachers' and Students' Union of AMU, as well as many political leaders protested this decision of the Court.
Many Muslims groups have also asked for quotas in prestigious institutions managed by Government. A committee set up by the HRD ministry in 2005 recommended quotas for Muslims in institutions such as IITs, IIMs and IIFT *.
Recently, the Congress Government of Andhra Pradesh introduced a 5% job quota for Muslims, but it was struck down by the Supreme Court of India.
Also, the Government of India allows different laws for different religions, which it says is a consideration to accommodate for the religious differences(see Shah Bano case). For example, the Muslims are allowed to have more than one wife and divorce their wives using the triple talaq method. Many Indians (including moderate Muslims and Christians) are pressing for implementation of a uniform civil code as originally proposed in the Constitution of India.
Some other examples of alleged pseudo-secularism in India are the special concessions given to Muslims for pilgrimages (Hajj). Public figures in the government reflect the society and practice religious rituals in matters of governance such as 'Yagnas' for a good monsoon etc.
Critics say that the Secularists in India often take positions that would be considered as anti-secularist in the West. Rajeev Srinivasan wrote about Indian Secularism: "Thus the concept of secularism was born: a separation of Church and State, so that religious considerations could be excluded from civil affairs and public education. However, the so-called 'secularism' rampant in India is a perversion of that reasonable idea: in India it is contrived to mean the active involvement of the State in supporting certain religions (Islam, Christianity and Marxism) and oppressing others (Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Jainism)." *
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"Indian secularism"