Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi says secularism European concept, not needed in India

NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi on Monday said secularism was an European concept which was not needed in India. He went on to allege "one insecure Prime Minister introduced secularism in the Constitution during emergency in order to appease some sections of people." The Tamil Nadu governor's observations evoked strong retort from several parties who advised him to abide by the constitutional post he was holding.
"Secularism is not a Bhartiya concept, it is an European concept, let it be there, let them be happy with it.How can India be away from Dharma? " TN governor said at a convocation of Hindu Dharma Vidya Peetham at Thiruvattar in Kanyakumari. "A lot of frauds have been committed on people of this country, and one of them is that they have tried to give a wrong interpretation of secularism," the governor said.
"In Europe, secularism came because there was a fight between the church and the king. They wanted to stop the fight which had been going on for hundreds of years. So they advocated separation between the Church and the King to ensure there was no interference with each other. In India, there is no need for secularism," he added.
"At the time of independence, when the Constitution was being drafted, a discussion came up on secularism and the Constituent Assembly rejected it observing that Bharat is a dharma-centric country and there has been no conflict, similar to what was witnessed in Europe," the governor claimed.
Citing the Constituent Assembly discussions, he said it was deliberated there that Bharat is a country of dharma and, "how can there be a conflict with dharma? How can Bharat be away from dharma? it cannot be! Hence, they said secularism was a European concept and let it be there. In India, there was no need for secularism, they said and hence, it was not included in the Constitution.
R N Ravi's remarks evoked a strong response from ruling DMK which said that "secularism was the most needed concept in India."
"Article 25 says that there should be a conscious freedom of religion that he doesn't know. He should go and read the Constitution fully. 22 languages are listed in our Constitution. Hindi is a language which is spoken by a few states. The remaining states speak other languages. The problem with the BJP is that they neither know India, nor the Constitution," said DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan.
CPI leader D Raja deplored the governor's remarks and said that secularism was needed to keep religion and politics separate.
"I strongly deplore the statement made by RN Ravi. What does he know about secularism? What does he know about India? He is a governor, he must abide by the Constitution. The Constitution of India defines India as secular democratic republic. Dr BR Ambedkar emphatically rejected theocratic concept. Ambedkar went to the extent of saying, if at all Hindu Rashtra becomes a fact, that will be a calamity for the nation. Secularism means keeping religion and politics separate. Don't bring Gods for electoral purposes," D Raja said.
This is not the first time the Tamil Nadu Governor has stoked a row with his remarks on secularism. Last year, he said that the people who want to break this country have given a distorted interpretation of secularism.
"Our Constitution is not against 'dharma' ...it is the people who want to break this country, they have given a distorted interpretation of secularism. We have to understand the true meaning of secularism in our Constitution. Those talking about eradicating Hinduism have a hidden agenda to break this country in collaboration with hostile foreign powers. They will not succeed as Bharat has inherent strength," the governor had said.
(With inputs from agencies)