Indian Secularism refers to the secularism as practiced by the Government of India. Although India has no state religion, separate laws are applicable to different religious groups according to custom. Some people argue that Secularism has a different meaning in South Asia than it does in other parts of the world. Nations with state religions:  Buddhism  Islam  Shia Islam  Sunni Islam  Orthodox Christianity  Protestantism  Roman Catholic Church A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. ...

Meanings of Indian Secularism

Critics of secularism in India often argue that the "secular" thinkers in India take positions that conflict with conventional secularism. They point out that Secularism is defined through history in different ways.[1] Indian secularism is often alleged to be 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. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Pseudo-secularism in a societal setting is the state of implicit non-secular trends in the face of pledged secularism. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A double standard, according to the World Book Dictionary, is a standard applied more leniently to one group than to another. ...

Critics point to people like Nehru, Gandhi and Subash Chandra Bose, all of whom were non-communist Hindus who championed secularism. Also they point to Dalai Lama and Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan, as evidence that secularism and religion are not mutually exclusive, and the idea of secularism in India is not entirely different from the western idea of secularism. Jawaharlal Nehru (जवाहरलाल नेहरू) (November 14, 1889 - May 27, 1964), also called Pandit (Teacher) Nehru, was the leader of the (moderately) socialist wing of the Indian National Congress during and after Indias struggle for independence from the British... Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948) (Devanagari: मोहनदास करमचन्द गांधी, Gujarati મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી), called... Netaji poster in Thiruvananthapuram Subhas Chandra Bose (January 23, 1897 - August 18, 1945) also known as Netaji, was a Orissa born and Bengal based Indian leader of the movement to win independence from British rule. ... The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (1876-1933). ... Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Bacha Khan) Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Urdu: خان عبد Ù„ غفار خان) (b. ...

A comparison of secularism in India and United States is given in the following article[2].

Many people in India argue that the minority groups, especially the Muslims and the Christians, are given special privileges and advantages over Hindus. There is also a collection of Hadith called Sahih Muslim A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Persian: Mosalman or Mosalmon Urdu: مسلمان, Turkish: Müslüman, Albanian: Mysliman, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of the religion of Islam. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ...

Since an amendment in 1976, the national constitution describes India as "secular".

Influence of Religion

Religious appeasement is more important for the government than separation of religion from state. Criticism say 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. Many people in India do not relate to secularism and confuse it with religious tolerance.

It is normal in India for public money to be spent towards religion’s indirect promotion. All government schools routinely promote prayers.

A right-wing internet columnist 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)."[3]

Incomplete Separation

It is normal in Indian way of secularism for public money to be spent towards religion’s indirect promotion. All government schools, whether Christian, Hindu or Islamic (Madrassas), routinely promote religious prayers. Many political parties in India have been accused of appeasing the minority groups, which are their vote banks, by putting up candidates who have the same religion as the majority of the voters in a constituency, ensuring the voters special consideration after the candidate wins the election. This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article discusses the adherents of Hinduism. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... A Madrasah complex in Gambia Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand, ca. ... Vote bank is a term used in Indian politics. ...

Many self-proclaimed secular parties, create vote banks among minority religion communities, by fanning fears of being sidelined or persecuted by the majority community of Hindus.

Instances in 2006 of the Government asking for a record of the number of Muslims at higher positions in the Army,^[1] was seen by many in the intellegensia as a bid to create communal divides in the name of increasing representation of Muslims in the Army, which has always carried the image of the most secular institutions of India.

Religious Minority Status

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. Don Bosco Institute of Technology (DBIT) is a private, un-aided[1] engineering college situated at Kurla (West), Mumbai. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

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. Victoria gate, a prominent building at the university Aligarh Muslim University was created by the Act of Indian Parliament and is located in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. ... The Allahabad High Court was one of the first High Courts of India to be established in India. ...

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 [4]. Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are the premier educational institutions for science and technology spread all over India . ... The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are the premier management schools of India, located in the cities of Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Indore, Kolkata, Kozhikode and Lucknow. ... The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) was set up in 1963 by the government of India as an autonomous organisation to help professionalise the countrys foreign trade management and increase exports by developing human resources; generating, analysing and disseminating data; and conducting research. ...

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. , Andhra Pradesh  : (Telugu: ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్, Urdu: آندھرا پردیش, IPA: ), is a state in southern India. ... Look up quota in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution 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. The Government of India (Hindi: भारत सरकार Bhārat Sarkār), officially referred to as the Union Government, and commonly as Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of a federal union of 28 states and 7 union territories, collectively called the Republic of India. ... The Shah Bano case is infamous in India and has generated political controversy in the country; it is sometimes described as an example of appeasement of the vote bank for political gains. ... Triple Talaq is a controversial Sunni Islamic procedure whereby a husband can divorce his wife by saying to her talaq, talaq, talaq (I divorce you, three times). ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

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. This article does not cite its references or sources. ...