a contextual missiology of the spirit - eTheses Repository ...

spiritual values, it is uniquely tolerant of other religions and is the sole basis of an
authentically Indian secularism. Such an indigenous secularism, which advocates
state support of all religion, is presented as superior to Nehruvian pseudo-
secularism, imported from the West, which advocates strict separation of state
and religion. Following from these propositions regarding secularism, spirituality,
and Hinduism, Hindu nationalist conclude that a Hindu state is necessarily the
best guardian of an indigenous Indian secular democracy. 98
However, S. Gopal states that Nehruvian secularism does not mean a state where
religion is completely discarded. On the other hand,
It [Nehruvian Secularism] means freedom of religion and conscience, including
freedom for those who may have no religion. It means free play for all religions,
subject only to their not interfering with each other or with the basic conception
of our state. It means that the minority communities, from the religious point of
view, should accept this position. It means even more, that the majority
community, from this point of view, should fully realize it. For by virtue of
numbers as well as in other ways, it is the dominant community and it is its
responsibility not to use its position in any way might prejudice our secular
ideal. 99
The minority groups seem to be watching with suspicion the new secularism as
proposed by BJP. As in most states where the BJP rules, it is argued that the
freedom of minorities is at stake, and so they see the new concept as a sugar-
coated pill to safeguard the interests of the majority over the minority. The most
98
McKean, Divine Enterprise, 6.
99
S. Gopal, Jawaharlal Nehru: An Anthology (N. Delhi, India: OUP, 1983), 327. Veer, Religious
Nationalism, 23.
203