La specificite de la laicite a l'indienne

In: Critique internationale: revue comparative de sciences sociales, Heft 2, S. 121-147

Abstract

Contemporary discussions of secularism in India have been constrained by the tradition-modern (western) dichotomy. For some, secularism is originally a Christian doctrine adapted to modern western conditions, & means the strict separation of church & state. It is also predominantly a single-value doctrine, motivated either by liberty (as in the United states) or equality of citizenship (as in France) more suited to single-religion societies than to the socio-cultural context of India where it is more appropriate to rely on resources of multiple & indigenous religious traditions for the sake of quite different values of peace & toleration. Others argue that India has the civilizational resource from which to retrieve its own conception of secularism captured best by the phrase 'sarva dharma samb-hava' (equal respect for all religions). I argue instead that India has worked out a distinctive conception of the secular that was at once Indian & modern. This remains a practical conception rather than a coherent doctrine or theory, & can thus be called Indian secularism only by extension. This conception builds on traditional resources as well as on the legacy of the British colonial state but innovatively transforms them. Many distinctive features characterize it. First, it deals simultaneously with inter-religious & intra-religious domination. Second, it has an explicit multi-value character. Third, it rejects strict separation. Separation does not mean exclusion or strict neutrality but what I call principled distance. Fourth, it implies neither respectful indifference nor active hostility but respectful transformation of religion. In short, secularism inherits the tradition of religious reform that began in India both prior to the advent of colonial modernity & because of a critical engagement with it. Finally, Indian secularism is an ethically-sensitive practical settlement & less a scientific, rationalist doctrine worked out by ideologues & implemented by political agents. Adapted from the source document.