NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Political Science Chapter 15 - Secularism

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1. It is compatible with the idea of Secularism because Secularism opposes all forms of inter-religious domination.
2. It is not compatible with Secularism because in a Secular State, there is no official religion.
3. It is compatible with Secularism because in Secularism, all religions are treated alike.
4. It is not compatible with Secularism.
5. It is compatible with Secularism because in Secularism, minority community should be given freedom to run their schools.
6. It is not compatible with Secularism because government should not interfere in the temple management.
7. It is compatible with Secularism. All Hindus including Dalits should be free to enter temples.

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The dictionary meaning of Secularism is “Indifference or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations”. Secularism rejects religion completely. It rather supports anti-religious feelings. Secularism implies a way of life and conduct guided purely by materialistic consideration. It holds that materialism alone benefits mankind while religious feelings retard it. But in its modern meaning, Secularism means freedom of religion and a non-interference policy of state in religious activity. In this way, Secularism in its modern meaning is not anti-religious. It is this policy of non-interference by the State which gives equal protection to all the religions. Secularism is a doctrine that opposes all forms of inter-religious domination. Secularism challenges not merely inter-religious but also intra-religious domination.
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “The term Secular means non-spiritual, having no concern with religious or spiritual matters.”
According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, “Secularism does not mean that we shall not take into consideration the religious sentiments of the people. All that what a Secular State means is that Parliament shall not be competent to impose any particular religion on the rest of the people.”
Can Secularism be equated with religious tolerance ? No doubt religious tolerance is needed for the establishment of Secularism. But Secularism cannot be equated with religious toleration because Secularism is much more than the mere peaceful co-existence or toleration.

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1. We don’t agree with this statement because Secularism allows religious identity. In Secularism, people enjoy freedom of religion.
2. We agree with this statement because Secularism is against inequality within a religious group or between different religious groups. In Secularism, all religions are treated equal and no discrimination is made on the basis of religion.
3. We don’t agree with this statement. The Western model of Secularism is not a product of the Christian world. Secularism is suitable to Indian conditions.

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India is a Secular State. Secularism is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution. Sometimes it is said that Indian Secularism is an imitation of Western Secularism. But it is not a reality. Indian Secularism is basically different from Western Secularism. In Western Secularism, emphasis is on separation of State from the Church. But the Indian Secularism focuses on more than religion-state separation. In India, there was a culture of inter-religious toleration. Western modernity and thought influences Indian culture. Western modernity emphasised on equality within the community. Idea of inter-community equality replaced the notion of hierarchy. Moreover, Indian Secularism opposed the oppression of Dalits and Women within Hinduism, and the discrimination against women within Islam or Christianity.
Western Secularism deals with freedom of individuals, whereas Indian Secularism deals with rights of the minorities also. Article 26 of the Indian Constitution provides that subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination shall have the right (I) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes; (II) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion; (III) to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and (IV) to administer such property in accordance with the law. Indian Secularism has supported religious reform by the State. Untouchability is abolished by the Indian Constitution. Many religious reform Acts have been passed by the Indian Parliament. Thus, Indian Secularism focuses on more than the religion-state separation.

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In Secularism, the concept of principled distance means that the state should not interfere in any religion actively. After the First World War, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, ruler of Turkey, instead of following concept of distance, followed active intervention in suppression of religion.