Class 11 Political Science Chapter 18 Secularism Question Answer As Per New Syllabus to each Chapter is provided in the list of SCERT, NCERT, AHSEC Class 11 Political Science Unit 18 Question Answer/Class Political Science Unit 18 Question Answer are given so that you can easily search through the different Chapters and select the needs Notes of AHSEC Class 11 Political Science Lesson 18 Question Answer English Medium. covers all the exercise questions in NCERT, SCERT.
Class 11 Political Science Chapter 18 Secularism
Class 11 Political Science Chapter 18 Secularism Question Answer | Guide for Class 11th Political Science Unit 18 English Medium Also Same NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Political Science In this post we will explain to you what to try If you are a Student of English Medium then it will be very helpfull for you. NCERT/SCERT, AHSEC Class 11 Political Science Chapter 18.
Chapter 18 Secularism
VERY SHORT TYPE QUESTION & ANSWERS:
1. Define Dharma According to Dharmashastras.
Ans: According to dharmashastras dharma can be defined as the basis of the vedic traditions “Dharma of each person determined by the position one occupied in the society system of varnas.
Dharma is accepted as a set of prescriptions and prohibitions. The Buddhist literature highlights it as the basic feature of conscience.
2. What do you mean by a secular state?
Ans: The secular state is a state which guarantees individual and corporate freedom of religion, deals with the individual as a citizen irrespective of his religion, is not constitutionally connected to a particular religion nor does it seek either to promote or interfere with religion upon closer examination it will be seen that the concept or a secular state involves three distinct but interrelated sets of relationship concerning the state, religion and the individual.
3. What is the meaning of the term secularism?
Ans: Secularism is an ideology which provides a theory of life and conduct as against one provided by religion. According to a New English dictionary, secularism denotes the absence of connection with religion. Secular literature means literature that is not concerned with or devoted to the service of religion.
Likewise secular education means a curriculum where religious education is excluded. In very simple words secularism signifies the separation of the state and the religion.
4. Examine the importance of dharma in our social, Political and civil life.
Ans: Dharma has a significant role in our social, political and civil life. Dharma subscribes to moral actions. A person takes responsibility for one’s motives and intentions. It is assumed that one can’t be held accountable for the consequences of one’s actions. Dharma prepares the individuals to know the truth and to know the real or right course of action. It also refers to the highest virtue and spiritual efforts. It also talks about what one should do or should not do.
5. What is the meaning of the term satya?
Ans: Satya means that one should adhere to truth. That is each and every individual should follow the rules of dharma. Those acts which are done by the spiritual power or by the will of soul, are right. We have to do it for ourselves but we should be aware that the act should not be harmful for others.
6. What do you mean by the term Ahimsa?
Ans: Ahimsa means non-violence i.e. not kill any one. Gandhiji wanted to follow Ahimsa in thought, speech and action. To mould one’s mind and should in such a fashion that one did not think in terms of injuring feelings of anybody else and resistance to evil by love is called Ahimsa.
7. Is India a secular State?
Ans: India is a secular State. The term secular means that the state has no religion of its own. The state is neither religious nor anti religious. The state observes complete neutrality in religious matter. In the Indian Constitution from Articles 25 to 28 the Right to Freedom of Religion has been granted to all the persons residing in India. Accordingly all the persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely progress, practise and propagate the religion of their choice.
8. What do you mean by the word secular?
Ans: The term’ ‘Secular’ means non-spiritual having no concern with religious or spiritual matters.
9. What are the characteristics of Indian secularism?
Ans: The most important characteristics of Indian Secularism are:
(i) Indian Secularism is not a static but a dynamic affair. It is not blind but an enlightened one in the sense that, while it disallows the religion tơ interfere in the sphere of the former.
(ii) Indian Secularism not merely looks to the religion in keeping it off from the sphere of state, it goes ahead in the direction of combating communalism.
(iii) It is owing to the actual Practice of dynamic secularism in our country that special seats are reserved for the members of the backward and depressed classes not only in matters of their admission into public institutions but also in respect of public employment and elections. Special care is given to the upliftment of the weaker sections of the people of our country.
(iv) The union and the state governments may be seen to have been given due representation to the minority communities of the country. The election of Dr. Zakir Hussain, Fakruddin Ahmed and Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam as the President of India is an example of secularism similarly our prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is also well taken as the triumph of secularism in our country.
10. Describe the main points of secularism an embodied in the constitution of India.
Ans: The ideal of secularism, as embodied in the constitution is based on the principle to which the congress under Mahatma Gandhi remained so irrevocably wedded; it also indicates that our founding father furnished a brilliant example to under the of two-nation theory of Jinnah that become the basis of our country’s partition.
Thus, a leading member Shri Anantha Sayanam Ayyanger Stated in the constitution Assembly on 7 Dec. 1948, “We are pledged to make the state a secular one. I do not mean by the word secular that we never-believe in any religion, and we have nothing to do with it in our day to day life. It only means that the state or the Government cannot aid one religion as against another. Therefore, it is obliged to be absolutely secular in character.
Our constitution like the Turkish constitution of 1945, for example, now where uses the word ‘secular’ in quite direct and unambiguous terms, its secular character is traceable in these important directions:
(i) The preamble to the constitution speaks of the liberty to all citizens in relation to various important matters that include faith, belief and worship.
(ii) Article 14 says that the state shall not deny to any person equality before the law of equal protection of law within the territory of India.
(iii) Article 15 says that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on various grounds in which religion, race and caste have their conspicuous place. It is further provided that on several grounds no citizen be subjected to any liability or disability with regard to access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainments and the Use of wells, tanks, bathing quits, roads, places of public resort wholly or partly maintained by the state funds.
(iv) Article 16 says that no citizens on several sides like those of religious race or caste among others, shall be intangible for, or public employment, nor shall they be denied admission to any educational institution wholly or partly maintained by the state.
(v) Article 17 says that untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden. The enforcement of any disability arising out of untouchability shall be an offence punishable under the law.
(vi) Article 25 Provides that every religious denomination or any sections thereof shall have the right to profess, practice or propagate any religion.
(vii) Article 26 Provides that every religious denomination or any section shall have the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious purposes, to manage its own affairs in matters of religion, to own movable and immovable property and to administer such property in accordance with law.
(viii) Article 27 Says that no person shall be compelled to pay any taxes the proceeds of which are specifically appropriated in payment of expenses for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religious denomination.
(ix) Article 28 provides that no religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly or partly maintained by the state.
(x) Finally, Article 29 provides that the state shall not impose upon it any culture other than the community’s own culture and that every community shall have the right to establish and administer educational management institutions by a minority community on the ground that it is under the management of a religious community.
All these provisions of the constitution boldly declare that India is a secular state. As Basu says, “The sum total of the above provision makes our state more secular than even the united state of America.
11. Explain the ancient Indian concept of Dharma.
Or
Explain the meaning of Dharma according to Mahabharata.
Ans: Dharma is widely discussed in Shanti Parva of Mahabharata. The view propounded is a combination of theoretical and practical considerations. The basic view of Dharma is that it subscribes to a moral action. The concept lays stress upon the fact that each individual has his own nature and temperament and ‘dharma’ for one consists in realisation of his/her potential in the context of place one occupies in society. An individual should fulfil its duty to work for others that is Nishkarma Dharma is related to four ends of life.
These are dharma, anth, Kama and moksha. Dharma is the controlling factor to the other ends. The more emphasis is given on upkar of welfare of all
12. Is India a secular state? Give reason in support of your answer.
Ans: India is a secular state originally it was not declared a secular state though the preamble of the constitution but later an vide 42nd Amendment Act of word secular has also been added.
Secularism means that the political system and running of administration should be based upon a civil secular rational ideology and the state should have left the task of coordination among different religions and being about unity among them into the hands of voluntary social organization. It is the duty of a secular state to have a neutral impartial and judicious outlook in the matters of religion.
This point of view of secularism lays emphasis on the following things:
(i) Religion and beliefs should be considered a personal matter of the individual.
(ii) Civil administrative set-up should be free from influence of religion dominated parties and religious organizations.
(iii) Only those laws, Which have been made and amended by the elected representative of the people, should be enforced in the society.
(iv) Democratic setup should be adopted which is not based on any religion and which does not-give recognition to a particular ideology based on any religion. It means the political system should not be a theocratic.
(v) Society should accept a temper and inquiry involving rejection of dogma and the affirmation of programme.
(vi) There should be recognition of equality of status and opportunity for men and women irrespective of caste, colour and Creed.
(vii) There should be recognition to fraternity of citizens and not as members of some religious or linguistic or ethnic groups.
13. What are the factors responsible for the growth of communalism in India?
Ans: Following are the factors responsible for the growth of Communalism in India:
(i) Divide and Rule Policy of the British: The British rulers adopted the policy of ‘Divide and Rule’ to strengthen their roots while living in India. They divided the people of various communities of India and spread the feeling of distrust among them and hence they sowed the seeds of communalism in India.
(ii) Political Organisations: Different communal organisations are found in India which have created hatred among the people of various religious communities by propagating, and hence they are the root cause of communalism..
(iii) Inertia indifferent Government: When the government does not take proper action at the proper time, communalism spreads among the subjects. Sometimes the government favours religion and leaves others which create differences.
(iv) Ineffective Handling of Communal Riots: Sometimes the state governments have been proved ineffective to curb the communal riots in their respective states. It also results in spreading communalism. As a result of the above factors, communalism is raising its ugly face in India after the Independence and also creating great problems even in the working of the Indian political system.
14. Discuss the Indian model of secularism.
Ans: Sometimes it is said that Indian secularism is an imitation of western secularism. But a careful reading of our Constitution shows that this is not the case. Indian secularism is fundamentally different from Western secularism. Indian secularism does not focus only on church-state separation and the idea of inter-religious equality is crucial to the Indian conception. Let us elaborate this further. What makes Indian secularism distinctive? For a start it arose in the context of deep religious diversity that predated the advent of Western modern ideas and nationalism.
There was already a culture of inter-religious ‘tolerance’ in India. However, we must not forget that tolerance is compatible with religious domination. It may allow some space to everyone but such freedom is usually limited. Besides, tolerance allows you to put up with people whom you find deeply repugnant. This is a great virtue if a society is recovering from a major civil war but not in times of peace where people are struggling
for equal dignity and respect. The advent of western modernity brought to the fore hitherto neglected and marginalised notions of equality.in Indian thought. It sharpened these ideas and helped us to focus on equality within the community. It also ushered ideas of inter-community equality to replace the notion of hierarchy. Thus Indian secularism took on a distinct form as a result of an interaction between what already existed in a society that had religious diversity and the ideas that came from the west. It resulted in equal focus on intra-religious and interreligious domination.
Indian secularism equally opposed the oppression of dalits and women within Hinduism, the discrimination against women within Indian Islam or Christianity, and the possible threats that a majority community might pose to the rights of the minority religious communities. This is its first important difference from mainstream western secularism. Connected to it is the second difference. Indian secularism deals not only with religious freedom of individuals but also with religious freedom of minority communities. Within it, an individual has the right to profess the religion of his or her choice.
Likewise, religious minorities also have a right to exist and to maintain their own culture and educational institutions. A third difference is this. Since a secular state must be concerned equally with intra-religious domination, Indian secularism has made room for and is compatible with the idea of state-supported religious reform. Thus, the Indian constitution
bans untouchability. The Indian state has enacted several laws abolishing child marriage and lifting the taboo on inter-caste marriage sanctioned by Hinduism.
It should be clear by now why the complexity of Indian secularism cannot be captured by the phrase “equal respect for all religions”. If by this phrase is meant peaceful coexistence of all religions or inter religious toleration, then this will not be enough because secularism is much more than mere peaceful coexistence or toleration. If this phrase means equal feeling of respect towards all established religions and their practices, then there is an ambiguity that needs clearing. Indian secularism allows for principled state intervention in all religions. Such intervention betrays disrespect to some aspects of every religion. For example, religiously sanctioned caste-hierarchies are not acceptable within Indian secularism. The secular state does not have to treat every aspect of every religion with equal respect. It allows equal disrespect for some aspects of organised religions.
15. Examine the Western Model of Secularism.
Ans: All secular states have one thing in common, they are neither theocratic nor do they establish a religion.
Features of Western concept of secularism:
(i) State and religion has a separate sphere of its own, with independent jurisdiction i.e. Mutual exclusion of state and religion, principled distance of state from religion and no illegitimate intrusion of religion in the state.
(ii) The state cannot aid any religious institutions.
(iii) State cannot hinder the activities of religious communities as long as they are within the broad limits setup by the law of the land.
For example: if religious women forbids a woman from becoming a priest, then the states cannot do anything. Like this, if a particular religion forbids the entry of some of its members in the sanctum of its temple, then the state has no option but to let the matter rest exactly where it is. So here religion is a private matter, not a matter of state policy or law. This model interprets freedom and equality in an individualist manner. Liberty is the liberty of an individual. Equality is the equality between individuals. There is little scope for community based rights or minority rights.
On the other hand drawbacks of this model can be seen as, such states focus on intra-religious domination by strict separation of state from church to realise among other things individual freedoms, issues of inter-religious (and therefore minority rights) equality are often neglected. This model leaves no scope for the idea of state supported religious reforms.
16. Discuss the hindrances to Indian Secularism.
Ans: The main criticism against Indian secularism are as follows:
(i) It is an Anti-Religious State: Partition of India led to the creation of a Muslim dominated Pakistan. Logically, India should have become a Hindu State. Instead, India’s Constitution described India as a secular state and secularism meant being anti-religion. However this argument is invalid because our secular republic is neither anti-religious nor indifferent towards all religions. Indian secular state accepts all religions.
(ii) Secularism is a Western Notion: In European States, Christianity was the majority religion. Secularism in Europe meant that the State was free from the influence of Christian Church. In western world, as we discussed, secularism meant a complete separation of state and religion. Therefore, secularism was totally a western notion. This meant that Indian secularism was not secularism at all. Indian secularism respects all religions equally and does not completely separate religion from politics.
This argument is invalid because: (a) India decided to be secular after a painful partition in order to bind people to love and sanity and (b) Indian Constitution chose to be different from western view of secularism. Our Constitution gave special rights to religious minorities to help them live with dignity and respect.
(iii) Dangers of Encouraging Minority Communalism: The critics of Indian Secularism argued that it is wrong to give special privileges to people on grounds of religion. Morally, a civilized state has a duty to protect members of minority communities and their interests. The critics argued that while special privileges for the physically handicapped are justified, concessions like giving subsidies to Haj pilgrims are not justified.
(iv) More Inference in One Religion than in Others: The State reformed the Hindu society by means of laws such as Hindu Marriage Act and the Hindu Succession Act. These laws were particularly welcomed. But the government did not interfere with the social customs and beliefs of other communities. Many people felt that the government was unjust by interfering in one religion more than in others. A Common Civil Code is a feature of every advanced democracy. But the Government of India was unable to discharge its Constitutional obligations.
(v) Vote Bank Politics i.e., Secularism has become a Political Weapon: Politics is a game of numbers, because power belongs to those who command the highest number of votes. Religion and Caste are being used by some parties to seek political power. Many parties have been using “Secularism” as a slogan to create a divide between the majority and minority communities.
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