An analysis of the narrowing space of secularism in India and its ramifications in the region

Abstract

Indian society was diverse and complex in nature from its emergence and was marred with communal conflicts. Hence, it was inevitable for the founding fathers of the Indian state to adopt an inclusive political system based on democracy, secularism, and pluralism to achieve unity in diversity. Due to the self-centric mindset of succeeding politicians who began to drift away from these ideals, secularism has been declining for a long time. The appalling political behaviour of the ruling elite has been enlarging the gulf between the theory and practice of secularism since the rule of the Indian National Congress, starting from the demise of Nehru. It has been damaging the idea of composite cultural nationalism by narrowing its societal space. That practice has also created an ideological vacuum filled by religious nationalism over time and reached its culminating point when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power in India. This article analytically explores the consequences of the narrowing space of secularism and the resultant rise of Hindutva. It also delineates the destabilization of the domestic environment and an alarming regional security situation affected by the emerging extremist ideology in place of secularism in India.