As constitutionally aligned, civically educated, and politically unaffiliated ordinary citizens, we find ourselves asking an increasingly uncomfortable question: do we, as a nation, actually understand what secularism means? Or have we reduced it to a ritual that is recited loudly, interpreted selectively, and practised inconsistently?

What the Constitution clearly says

The Constitution of India is not ambiguous. The Preamble declares India a “Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic”, committed to justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity. These are not ornamental words. They are binding promises. In our school civics classes, we were clearly taught that India is not a Hindu state, not a Muslim state, and not a state aligned to any faith. That choice, debated intensely during Partition, was consciously made. History may argue alternatives; the Constitution settled the matter.

We accepted that contract. It entailed an understanding that secularism, as envisaged by the framers of the Constitution, was never about hostility to religion. It was about neutrality. Equal distance. Equal respect. Equal restraint.

Article 14 guarantees equality before the law. Article 15(1) prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Article 25 assures freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise, and propagate religion—subject to public order, morality, and health.

That final qualifier matters. Rights were never absolute; they were balanced.

Where imbalance creeps in

And yet, the imbalance around us is hard to miss. We live in a secular republic........

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