| ID | 022615 |
| Title Proper | Religion in public space: Two centuries of problem in governance in Modern India |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Embree, Ainslie T |
| Publication | Jan 2002. |
| Description | 54-76 |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article examines historical developments over the past 200 years, but especially in the nineteenth century, that provide the background and context for defining the relationship between the state and religious institutions in modern India. That relationship was described by the British government of India as a policy of neurality and non-interference; the declaration in India's Constitution that India is a secular state appears to be a reiteration of this position. Yet the acrimonious discussion surrounding the meaning of "secular" in contemporary India indictes that the issue is far more complex. Early manifestations of this issue can be traced to contradictorary pressures on India's British rulers. Christian groups objected to the East India Company continuing the policy of the former Muslim rulers of giving support to Hindu and Muslim religious institutions, and to the Company's refusal to permit missionaries to work in its territories. Other groups feared any government support for Christian activity that attacked Hindu and Muslim beliefs and practices. Still others argued that in becoming rulers, the British had made a "compact" to preserve Indian rights and usages. Non-interference or the "colonial compromise" was a policy to deal with these pressures. The colonial government, like India's present day government, was continually forced to become involved in religious activities; non-intervention, then, like secularism today, was an attempt to work within the framework of Indian social and political realities. |
| `In' analytical Note | India Review Vol: 1 No 1, Jan 2002 54-76 |
| Journal Source | India Review Vol: 1 No 1 |
| Key Words | Religion-India ; India-Religion ; Modern India ; Secularism-India |