This background would help us to give us some clues to understand the context in which nehru was writing. The mind and face of secularism s natarajan the secular state is a convenient phrase but an illogical concept. Jawaharlal nehru, first prime minister of independent india 194764, who established parliamentary government and became noted for his neutralist nonaligned policies in foreign affairs. While serving his country, he enjoyed iconic status and was widely admired internationally for his idealism and statesmanship. Rajasekhariah jawaharlal nehru occupies a unique position in history as a freedom fighter and builder of modern india. Democracy and secularism are therefore twin siblings. Nehru and his views on secularism mainstream weekly. A background before we analyse nehrus ideas on different aspects of secularism we would make a brief overview of the life and times of jawaharlal nehru. Reflections on the category of secularism in india. Indias limbs were cut off and in a moment of muddied thinking primarily on part of nehru, balochistan and north west frontier province were left to fend for themselves, only to be consumed by a greedy pakistan.
Nehru and democracy download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Nehrus faith the crisis of secularism in india books. Gandhinehru tradition and indian secularism mainstream. Nov 10, 2017 in a conversation with the communist, za ahmad, an old comrade from jawaharlal nehrus days in provincial politics in the united provinces, nehru admitted that the congress party was, in 1945, more or less the uppercaste hindu communal party that it was depicted as in the propaganda of its opponents. That is to be found in his unflinching efforts to establish and practice secularism within the countrys. Ekam sat vipra bahudha vadanti that which exists is one. It is an argument of this paper that nehruvian views on secularism must give way to nehrus own views on the matter which have great. Is there any difference between gandhis secularism. The mind and face of secularism economic and political weekly.
Having participated in the long struggle for freedom from the british, nehru, fondly called pandit nehru, a reference to his kashmiri pandit community roots, was a firm believer in nation building, as he. Click download or read online button to get nehru and democracy book now. Nehrus approach to secularism is, therefore, based on an uncompromising critique of religion in the first sense and a deep appreciation and respect for religion in the second sense. Nehru quotes a modern definition of religion, according to which. The politics of indian secularism modern asian studies. In a conversation with the communist, za ahmad, an old comrade from jawaharlal nehrus days in provincial politics in the united provinces, nehru admitted that the congress party was, in 1945, more or less the uppercaste hindu communal party that it was depicted as in the propaganda of its opponents. He was also one of the principal leaders of indias independence movement of the 1930s and 40s. When nehru was not secular enough for the far left. The following is a list of international prime ministerial trips made by jawaharlal nehru during his tenure as the prime minister of india from 1947 to 1964. His secularism is in opposition to the framework of secularism found in europe and america, and is of great importance to the country todaygiven the perversion of his ideology which has been.
Apr 22, 2020 it is because the people of india are getting a wee bit more sceptical of their politicians, and a bit more respectful towards dictionaries, that a reaction is setting in to the antisecular logic of nehruvian secularism. Secularism in india, secularism in india essay, indian. Nehru s secular ideals are one of complexity and aim to harness the plural nature of the diverse range of religious beliefs and traditions in india. The gandhinehru secularism places the importance of the states neutrality between indias many faiths. Nehrus nationalism and ours, the telegraph welcome to. It is his policy of creating an artificial wall between the majority and the minority, and the introduction of differential. Fobbed off at the time as of no consequence, this omission was quite deliberate and reflected an awareness on the part of the designers of. Indias tryst with secularism it has always been the claim of indias politicians that their country is a secular state. Nehru and half baked secularism has produced an anti hindu media learn more about hinduism s.
The wise call it by various names this is the indian concept of secularism that god is one and there are different paths to attain it sarva dharma samabhava all approaches are equally. The book goes on to discuss how these policies correspond to the pillars of nehrus vision for a modern, independent india that encapsulated socialism, nonalignment and secularism and assesses their longrun impact in indian politics. Contributions of jawaharlal nehru to indian economy. If secularism has its relevance only in context, then it is natural and right to think that it will appear in different forms and guises in different contexts.
Jun 14, 2018 nehru and half baked secularism has produced an anti hindu media learn more about hinduism s. On the invitation of gopal krishna gokhale, gandhi returned to india. Jawaharlal nehru the architect of modern india, always yearned to build a secular nation. Nehru himself was an enigmatic personality embodying in himself past traditions, present compulsions and future aspirations of the people and the country.
On the one hand, almost every politician swears by it. But nehrus use of the word equally in the quotation above is slightly. Signs of a crisis in the relations between state, society, and religion include the violence directed against muslims in gujarat in 2002 and the precarious situation of indias minority religious groups more generally. Yes secularism is an import just like cricket and english language. He was a writer, thinker and a statesman of great eminence. Nehru and secularism 301 when we take up to argue india as a secular state, we have to examine whether nehru s conception of secular state conforms to either of them or neither of them, as he was the chief exponent as well as the promoter of this concept in india. He felt that religious tolerance, an essential aspect of secularism. The mind of jawaharlal nehru download ebook pdf, epub. I grew up in dehradun, in a home with fine views of the lower himalaya. It is this tradition of the saints and sages, which is a source of fundamental reality, which has given the indian people a moral foundation and certain moral concepts which hold together our ideals and our life in general, jawaharlal nehru 1965.
He played a heroic role in the development of a secular outlook during the freedom movement. Jun 12, 2018 indias limbs were cut off and in a moment of muddied thinking primarily on part of nehru, balochistan and north west frontier province were left to fend for themselves, only to be consumed by a greedy pakistan. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Nehru did not practise any religion, nor did he believe in. Nehru is a western conception where he want a kind of separation of politics from the religion. From his dissection of communalism nehru discovered that secularism was the sole response to the communal forces. In contrast, this article argues that caste was central to the formulation of indian secularism and requires a longer historical perspective. The politics of indian secularism volume 26 issue 4 prakash chandra upadhyaya.
The last chapter contains an evaluation of nehrus olicies and a short conclusion. When secularism was to be practised, no other political system could be established except one which was a functional democracy. Why nehru dropped and indira inserted the sword in the constitution. But i write down these opening features of secularism at the outset because they seem to me to be invariant among the different forms that secularism may take in different contexts. It has been said that pandit nehru was the staunchest champion of the secular state.
In these times of ineradicable modernity, secularism of the nehruvian kind, which has even lost its claims to be founded on the dubious notion of implicit negotiation between communities, is bound to seem an imposition. The jawaharlal nehru port near the city of mumbai is a modern port and dock designed to handle a huge cargo and traffic load. Historically, it has an antireligious con notation, marking the emancipation of the christian world from its priestly class. Nehru and the secular state of india loyola ecommons. It maintains that secularism reified the religious minority and, in so doing, denied both its potential to overcome marginality and the legitimacy of the community in the nation. The modi governments efforts to democratise the nehru memorial and museum and library nmml by embarking on, among other things, building a museum of prime ministers on the teen murti premises is seen by many as an effort to dilute the memory of indias first prime minister in popular consciousness. Secularism in india as gandhi and nehru saw it is distinctly different from the western view of secularism. This may mean one of two things, that nehru talked socialism when not in office but gave it up when he became prime minister, or that, with nehru, socialism was a growing thing, and that there was nothing static or dogmatic about his conception of socialism. At the dawn of indias independence in 1947, advocates of secular nationalism decisively won. Relevance of nehruvian secularism in the country neha p asrani. France is a paradigmatic example of negative secularism, which attempts to discredit religion altogether. India s first and longest serving prime minister, pandit jawaharlal nehru, was a man of vision. The birth of buddhism is traced to a reaction against the restricted nature of hinduism. While secularism has been integral to indias democracy for more than fifty years, its uses and limits are now being debated anew.
It may be noted that the objectives resolution, which was the foundation for. Nehru and half baked secularism has produced an anti hindu. Nehruvian values of secularism, pluralism and welfarism and nonalignment to help the country out of its present crisis. Do not blame him for todays communalism his critics say indias first prime minister. The assurance of religious freedom and establishment of secular state. Mokerjee protested vehemently against what they took to be a threat to file stability and integrity of traditional forms of marriage and the family in. Gandhi preached his ideals of secularism and religious tolerance. When the country celebrates the 125th birth anniversary of pandit nehru, an occasion arrives to explore his most important contribution to all of us. Nehrus nationalism and ours, the telegraph one of the books i read as a boy was the autobiography of the mountaineer tenzing norgay. Nehrus spectacularly indian vision and the wrath of the. The last chapter contains an evaluation of nehru s olicies and a short conclusion.
Relevance of nehruvian secularism in the country neha p. However, although the preamble to the constitution of 1950 proclaims india to be democratic, it makes no mention of secularism. It has always been the claim of indias politicians that their country is a secular state. Nehrus four pillars of domestic policies were democracy, socialism, unity, and secularism, and he largely succeeded in maintaining a strong foundation of all four during his tenure as president. Nehru was, and not for the first time in his long career in public life, wrong. There were thus positive facets of nehrus contribution to nationbuilding in india. Nehrus secularism shariful hasan nehru is the architect of. His farsightedness and political wisdom was based on a comprehensive theory of democracy, socialism, secularism.
Having participated in the long struggle for freedom from the british, nehru, fondly called pandit nehru, a reference to his kashmiri pandit community roots, was a firm believer in nation building, as he understood that the young indian nation had a tryst with destiny. Chapter vi nehru on secularism an evaluation evaluating any aspect of nehrus ideas is a daunting task. Nehru s four pillars of domestic policies were democracy, socialism, unity, and secularism, and he largely succeeded in maintaining a strong foundation of all four during his tenure as president. Nehrus nationalism and his role in the freedom movement are closely interrelated, since it was the nature of nehrus nationalist ideas that dictated his. Gandhinehru tradition and indian secularism mainstream weekly. He was also one of the principal leaders of indias. Why nehru dropped and indira inserted the sword in the constitution ironically though, it was nehru along with the chairman of the drafting committee of the constitution, b r ambedkar, who were also most opposed to the idea of including the word secular in the preamble of the constitution. Nehruvian secularism was anything but secular the sunday. He virtually laid the foundation for modern india, in his thoughts and deeds. Nehrus concept of religion is intended to serve the needs ofan individual who. Secularism for gandhi was an absolute necessity to bring about any form of constructive and allencompassing political movement. Opinion nehru was authentically indian and secular. List of international prime ministerial trips made by. Two concepts of secularism reason, modernity and archimedean ideal akeel bilgrami in these times of ineradicable modernity, secularism of the nehruvian kind, which has even lost its claims to be founded on the dubious notion of implicit negotiation between communities, is bound to seem an imposition.
The nehru years in indian politics university of edinburgh. The united states of america at one end might observe a benevolent attitude towards the church, at the. In the early years after independence, the countrys first prime minister, jawaharlal nehru, and the ruling indian national congress or congress party advocated for an indian brand of secularism designed to hold the countrys disparate communities together under one roof. Click download or read online button to get the mind of jawaharlal nehru book now. Jawaharlal nehrus name is almost synonymous with the idea of a secular. If exclusiveness is the dna of the wahabi secularism of elite individuals, the dalits of the indian intellectu. Jawaharlal nehru, communalism, congress, hindu mahasabha, rss. This is especially so when it is on a controversial topic like secularism. To understand secularism in india, we need to understand secularism in general, its origins in europe, protestantism versus roman catholicism, christianity versus judaism, the role of church, european history and the conditions under which secularism was imported to india. The following points highlight the top twentyfive contributions of jawaharlal nehru to indian economy. Pdf pandit jawaharalal nehrus views on secularism marathi. The mind and face of secularism economic and political. Gandhi, ambedkar, and the ethics of communal representation, c.
Jawaharlal nehrus views on religion and secularism, indeed even his considered political practice, were very different from the nehruvian secularism that emerged soon after his death, a handiwork of intellectuals close to his daughter, indira gandhi. Secularism is challenged not only by clerics and religious nationalists but by some politicians, social activists and even. The crisis of secularism in india books gateway duke. Secularism in india i do not expect india of my dreams to develop one religion, i. Indias first and longest serving prime minister, pandit jawaharlal nehru, was a man of vision. There were thus positive facets of nehru s contribution to nationbuilding in india. When we recall the personality of jawaharlal nehru, we. Nehru associated secularism with modernity and considered sentiments based on caste and religion as backward and a belief from the past. Secularism is challenged not only by clerics and religious nationalists but by some politicians, social activists and even academics. There are a few studies on nehrus political philosophy in general. Nehru and secularism 301 when we take up to argue india as a secular state, we have to examine whether nehrus conception of secular state conforms to either of them or neither of them, as he was the chief exponent as well as the promoter of this concept in india. Nehrus nationalism and ours, the telegraph welcome.
Aug 20, 2015 if exclusiveness is the dna of the wahabi secularism of elite individuals, the dalits of the indian intellectu. A background before we analyse nehru s ideas on different aspects of secularism we would make a brief overview of the life and times of jawaharlal nehru. But, nehruvian understanding of religion and also secularism is. There are a few studies on nehru s political philosophy in general. But the story does not end there, for nehruvianism also witnessed certain distortions in indias nationbuilding process and much. Ironically though, it was nehru along with the chairman of the drafting committee of the constitution, b r ambedkar, who were also most opposed to the idea of including the word secular in the preamble of the constitution. On the other hand, all kinds of anxieties and doubts beset secularism in india. But the story does not end there, for nehruvianism also witnessed certain distortions in india s nationbuilding process and much.
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