A few days back, I went to the market for taking Goddess Lakshmi with us and buying lanterns and diyas for Diwali. There I saw a Muslim man selling garlands and lanterns to his customers. There were similar scenes during the festival of Eid, where a Hindu guy was giving Holy Quran and selling garlands. Shocked Right!!!. But this is the reality of the country where I live and the country is India. Most of you might have seen and heard the famous dialogue of Akshay Kumar in the movie ‘Namaste London’. His dialogue was “India is a place where a Catholic women steps aside for a Sikh to be sworn in as Prime Minister by a Muslim President to govern a nation of 80% of Hindus”. This is not a movie fiction, this is reality of the country where I live.

                                     Back in 2006, when President George W.Bush introduced his wife Laura to the then Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He said and I quote , ” This is the Prime Minister of the most diversified and the world’s largest secular democracy”. The world is aware of the diverse and secular nature of Republic of India. The world secularism means people from different religion, caste and race habitat with mutual understanding and respect for each other. India is the biggest example of secularism. People live each other in peace and share and respect each other’s religious beliefs. It is this country where you will find a Hindu going to Ajmer Sharif, a Muslim celebrating Diwali and people of different religion celebrating Christmas with their Christian brothers and sisters. The people of India have learnt about tolerance and respecting each other.

                                   

                          

                            There have been few problems as well. There is an example of Babri mosque massacre in 1992 followed by Mumbai riots n ‘93 and then the Gujarat riots in 2002. These were the events that shook the secular walls. People do use these issues for their political or personal gains. These were those incidents that most of India regrets. People have learned a lot from past mistakes and have acknowledged the significance of secularism. Secularism have become the means through which all people can participate in the overall development of the country.

                          Many people have tried to shake up the religious harmony, whether they might be terrorist or certain fringe elements. It has not only strengthened secularism but also has enlightened the people’s mind. After Mumbai attacks, there was a certain feeling of religious tension. But there were thousands of Mumbaikars who came on streets chanting the slogans of unity and supporting secularism. People’s perceptions are changing fast. They know what the right thing for the country is. This has been acknowledged by the government as well. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also shares this feeling and that’s why he gave the slogan ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’ alias ‘Support from everyone and Development for Everyone’. This has strengthened the secular fabric of India. This is why India can be truly referred to as ‘Secular Republic Of India’