On Minority Rights Day, the Institute of Policy Studies and Advocacy hosted a live webinar titled “Multiculturalism, Secularism, and Socialism: Minority Rights or Conceptual Overload?”
Dr. Amir Ali, Assistant Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), delivered a lecture focusing on how a conceptual overload of terms like secularism and multiculturalism was actually thwarting the cause of minority rights.
Dr. Ali emphasised, “The principle of secularism has historically been the foundation for protecting minority rights in India. However, in the last three decades – particularly since the economic liberalisation of the 1990s – secularism has faced growing disenchantment and criticism due to unrealistic expectations placed upon it.”
He argued that the erosion of socialist policies in India, driven by the rise of an aspirational, consumerist middle class shaped by liberalisation, has negatively impacted both secularism and the broader cause of minority rights.
Dr. Ali questioned the role of multiculturalism in the Indian context, noting that secularism has traditionally been the guarantor of minority rights. He asked whether multiculturalism adds substantive value or merely complicates the discourse, reinforcing the conceptual “overload” suggested in the webinar’s title.
Dr. Ali highlighted the differing origins of secularism in Europe and India. In Europe, secularism emerged after the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) as a solution to religious conflicts and violence. In contrast, in India, secularism has been invoked pre-emptively to prevent communal violence. He noted, however, that this preventive role has often fallen short, leading to growing disillusionment with the concept.
The lecture also analysed how the BJP’s approach to secularism has changed over time. In the 1980s, BJP leaders critiqued the Congress Party’s policies as “pseudo-secular,” suggesting the possibility of a more genuine secularism. Today, however, secularism faces more widespread rejection, reflecting a significant ideological shift over the past three decades.
Dr. Ali examined recent judicial rulings, such as Karnataka High Court’s March 2022 decision on the hijab ban in schools and colleges. The court applied the “essential practices” test to rule that the hijab was not an essential aspect of Islamic faith, argued that wearing the hijab impeded the emancipation of Muslim girls, and asserted that overt religious symbols should be excluded from public spaces. Dr. Ali noted that this reasoning aligns more closely with the French laicite model of secularism than with India’s traditional understanding of the concept.
Dr. Ali welcomed the Supreme Court’s November 2024 dismissal of a petition seeking to remove the words “secular” and “socialist” from the Preamble of the Indian Constitution. He concluded by noting that the fates of secularism and socialism in India are deeply intertwined, particularly in light of the economic inequalities exacerbated by neoliberal market policies.
The lecture underscored the need to critically examine and recalibrate the frameworks of secularism, multiculturalism, and socialism to uphold minority rights in a rapidly evolving socio-political landscape.
