SECULARISM

by Madhav Godbole

For the first time since Independence, India is at a crossroads of secular and Hindu Rashtra (nation) ideologies. The Constitution of India is ambivalent about secularism, pandering to the demands of both the majority and minority communities. The founding fathers could not even agree on calling the Constitution 'secular'. The word 'secular' became a part of the Preamble only during the 'Emergency'. There is no consensus yet on its definition. In the process, secularism, though declared by the Supreme Court as a part of the 'basic structure' of the Constitution, has lost all credibility. Godbole's thoughtful and comprehensive agenda for strengthening secularism includes setting up a constitutional commission on secularism, the separation of religion from politics, defining the words 'secular' and 'minorities', doing away with the freedom to propagate religion, an amendment of Article 48 by deleting the provision prohibiting cow slaughter, and increasing the role and responsibilities of the central government. The implementation of this will require national consensus, statesmanship, maturity and far-sightedness. Secularism should be a must-read for the youth of this country, political parties, legislators, professionals, academia, media, social thinkers and opinion-makers. For, no other issue will decide the future of India as decisively.

Genres: India

446 pages, Paperback

Published January 9, 2016

About the author

Madhav Godbole is a retired Indian civil servant. He joined the Indian Administrative Service in 1959 and took voluntary retirement in March 1993, when he was Union Home Secretary & Secretary(Justice). His distinguished career includes assignments such as Secretary, Petroleum & Natural Gas, and Secretary, Urban Development in Government of India, Principal Finance Secretary, in Government of Maharashtra, and Chairman, Maharashtra State Electricity Board.

He worked in the Asian Development Bank, Manila, from 1980 to 1985. Dr.Godbole has written 18 books in English and Marathi, of which 10 are in English. His essays and research papers have been published in several English and Marathi books. Of his 8 books in Marathi, four books have been awarded prizes for non-fiction, intellectual writing.

Dr.Godbole has been chairman of several committees including Enron power project, good governance, and management of India’s international borders. He has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Bombay University and an M.A. in Development Economics from Williams College, USA.

Dr.Godbole and his wife Sujata live in Pune.

Reviews

[Anil Swarup]

Another well researched book from an author who has had first hand experience of handling tricky and challenging situations while he was in the Civil Service. One may not fully agree with the prescription provided at the end of the book but the analyses is irrefutable. His understanding of the Indian ethos is immaculate : "We not only believe in universal toleration, but we accept all religion as true". That is what India is all about and that is what we are proud of. He quotes copiously from those that have written on religion. The quote from former President, S. Radhakrishnan is a seminal one : "Hinduism is a movement, not a position; a process and not a result; a growing tradition, not a fixed revelation". Similarly, he mentions what Farid Zakaria had to say about the "non-doctrinaire character that gives Hinduism its absorptive and assimilative power". The author is, however, critical of the manner in which the subject is being handled by the present government : "The login name for the Modi Government is development, but the password is Hindu".
A book worth reading and worth keeping as well

[Anandh Sundar]

The book dissects what it means to be secular, and traces India's history right from the Constitutional assembly debates, till modern day. While I expected a bleeding heart liberal sort of exposition, Madhav comes down hard on ALL political parties who have exploited various causes like cow slaughter, minority freedoms, civil rights etc. A must read if you wish to get a balanced view and an introduction.

[Lobsang Gyaltsen Negi]

यह पुस्तक अत्यंत महत्वपूर्ण है। इस पुस्तक में "ध्यान रखिए,भारत को खतरा साम्यवाद से नहीं है,बल्कि हिन्दू दक्षिणपंथी सांप्रदायिकता से है। भारतीय विदेश सेवा के अधिकारियों को 1959 में दिए गए उद्वोधन में जवाहरलाल नेहरू जी ने कहा। यह पुस्तक भारत के धर्मनिरपेक्षता , राजनेतिक , अल्पसंख्यक आदि पर महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाता है ।इस पुस्तक में भारतीयों के लिए चिंतन करने योग्य विषयों पर चर्चा की गई है।