It was a pleasant surprise to know that the majority of the people of India still believe that their country is a country of people of all religions. In the new nationwide survey by Lokniti, 79% of people said that the country belongs to everyone, while only 11% said that it belongs only to Hindus.

The Pew survey report published three years ago also had a similar conclusion on this subject. In that survey, the majority also said that respect for all the religions is at the core of Indianness. Therefore, what the ‘Lokniti’ survey is telling us is not new. Still, if the results of the survey startled people, there must be some reason for it.

The survey results made news because they contradict our daily experience which tells us that the idea of India as a country where people of different faiths live together with mutual understanding has disappeared. But this survey says something else. How do we explain it then?

One of my friends said that it was like generation after generation writing essays in their school life on the topic ‘Dowry system is a curse’ has not made dowry extinct in this country. Now it is taken so silently that no one knows about it. Similarly, we all keep saying that the country belongs to people of all religions, but in practice, something else has been happening. This is the difference between words and deeds.

The surveyors must have ensured that the participants belonged to different religions. It is natural for Hindus to dominate any representative group because that is the reality of India. It makes it all the more reassuring to know that such a representative group believes that the idea of harmony and togetherness works for the country. The country belongs to everyone; this is the idea of secularism. The people of India still agree with that idea.

If people believe that the country belongs to people of all religions and beliefs, then it means that they also believe that everyone has equal rights........

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