Secularism in India is different from Western concepts. It stands for mutual respect, understanding, and tolerance for all religions, major or minor, and accepting differences of opinion. Cultural practices are the living ways of life of people, individual or collective, in the political, economic, and social spheres.
Various challenges faced by the cultural practices in the name of secularism:
- Intolerance and Violence: This leads to a lack of tolerance and respect for each other. Deaths and violence in the name of cow protection are examples of this.
- Majoritarianism: This reflects upon the use of religion for political mobilization of the people and spreading hatred against the minorities may be it Muslims, like the case of Muzaffarnagar, Sikhs as in 1984, Christians as in Kandhamal.
- Radicalization: The people are taken into believing ideologies which are extreme and may harm the unity and integrity of the country. Security situations can be faced by the expansion of terrorism and exploitation of vulnerable masses.
- Vote bank Politics: Candidates attempt to align themselves with the issues of a particular religious group in the hope of winning elections.
- Alienation: The people get distanced away from their traditional roots and feel social, and psychologically distant from other people in the name of religion. The people going to the Middle East for ISIS, etc. are an example of this. Moreover, the various challenges may hamper the inclusiveness of Indian democratic culture by promoting ideological alienation. The above can result in Distance from Education, Employability, Excellence, fraternity, and dignity of the individual.
Conclusion: Thus, the challenges to the cultural practices in the name of secularism are several, affecting the people’s rights to life and liberty, dignity, and fraternity. However, in essence, our cultural practices are founded upon the principles and philosophies of tolerance, non-violence, truth, Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam (the world is one family), etc., which in turn are reflected in our modern constitutional principles. Thus, following them in practice would act as an effective check and balance against the challenges of modern times.