The concepts of secularism, democracy, equality and justice, and national unity and development defined this legitimating this paper is based upon my m. The conception of secularism in the constituent assembly debates at the time of the framing of the indian constitution, the question came up a number of times as to whether secularism as a term should be brought into the indian constitution and what should it mean. The debates in the turkish grand national assembly 19231928 and the indian constituent assembly 19461949 inscribed the secular infrastructures of these states into law. The seventh volume of the proceedings of the constituent assembly debates mentions that on 15 november 1948, prof. Constitution was emphasized, yet the constitution of india. Search engine for constituent assembly debates in india. Sep 23, 2009 the conception of secularism in the constituent assembly debates at the time of the framing of the indian constitution, the question came up a number of times as to whether secularism as a term should be brought into the indian constitution and what should it mean. Constituent assembly debates on 6 december, 1948 part i. Constituent assembly debates 9th december,1946 24th. Following indias independence from british government in 1947, its members served as the nations first parliament an idea for a constituent assembly was proposed in 1934 by m. But i write down these opening features of secularism at the outset because they seem to me to be invariant among the different forms that secularism may take in different contexts. Comments and criticism, by the hon ble members are included where t hey are relevant to elucidate and appreciate the vie w s of dr.
The second section of the article asks whether, in light of this conceptual precision, india is a secular stateand answers that, increasingly, it is not. The constitutional assembly debates monday, the 9th december 1946 the first meeting of the constituent assembly of india took place in constitution hall, new delhi, on monday, the 9th december 1946. Even as the omission of the words secular and socialist from the preamble text in a government advertisement has stoked a controversy. Political scientist shefali jha explains in an article that all the members agreed, of course, on the necessity of establishing a secular. I needed to consult the debates on secularism in the constituent assembly. Constituent assembly of india debates proceedings volume vii monday, the 29th november 1948the constituent assembly of india met in the constitution hall, new delhi, at ten of the clock, mr. A close examination of these debates shows that while the separation of religion and state was an important aspect of turkish and indian secularisms, both allowed the. Debates show why preambles original text left out the two. Minority rights in the indian constituent assembly debates, 19461949. Constituent assembly of india debates proceedingsvolume vii monday, the 29th november 1948the constituent assembly of india met in the constitution hall, new delhi, at ten of the clock, mr. As in indias constituent assembly, an advisory committee on fundamental rights and a basic principles committee were set up on november 7, 1951 on begs motions. It was felt that only through secularism could india evolve itself into a meaningful entity, particularly in terms of fighting against the british. Deliberate omission at the outset it must be pointed out that in the constitution of india, as originally enacted, the word secular did not appear in the preamble to describe the character of the sovereign democratic republic of india, nor was the word secular used in the. Jan 29, 2015 even as the omission of the words secular and socialist from the preamble text in a government advertisement has stoked a controversy, the constituent assembly debates clearly show why.
On the floor of the constituent assembly, for about two years, the issue suffered convulsions caused by the utterances of. Ambedkars work, which incorporates everything he said in the assembly and which finds place in the debates. Mohibul haque, assistant professor of political science, amu aligarh. Ambedkar himself had tried to soothe agitated minds when he had argued in the debates in the constituent assembly.
Roy, a pioneer of the communist movement in india and an advocate of radical democracy. Ambedkar and which are related to the specific context and. Sir, it has been repeated to our ears that ours is a secular state. Secularism, it has been argued, failed to stem the spread of communalism in india, because its marginalising and contempt of religion bred a backlash on which. The proceedings of the constituent assembly show that a member of the constituent assembly called mr. Kt shah made some attempts to introduce the concept of secularism by using the word secular or secularism in a suitable place. Click download or read online button to constituentassemblyofpakistandebates book pdf for free now. In studying the debates of the constituent assembly around the freedom of expression of religion, it is. This again raises the question before the judiciary and the legislature, if religion in india should. I show that the normative repertoire of indian nationalism comprised conceptions of secularism, equal citizenship rights, democracy, social justice, development and national unity. This article is part of a series of posts on the constituent assembly debates, meant to highlight the various points of views and negotiations that went into the creation of the indian constitution.
Constituentassemblyofpakistandebates download constituentassemblyofpakistandebates ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. The constituent assembly of india was elected to write the constitution of india. A step by step guide to how the constitution was made. Any discussion on secularism would need first to focus on two basic aspects. Constituent assembly debates on 12 august, 1949 part i constituent assembly of india volume ix friday, the 12th august 1949 the constituent assembly of india met in the constitution hall, new delhi, at nine of the clock, mr. Constituent assembly debate on freedom of religion logos. Constituent assembly of india debates proceedings volume x monday, the 17 th october, 1949 the constituent assembly of india meet in the constitution hall, new delhi, at nine of the clock, mr. The constituent assembly met for the first time in new delhi on 9 december, 1946 in the. Each post analyzes the debates on a particular issue. Constituent assembly debates on 6 december, 1948 part i constituent assembly of india volume vii monday, the 6th december 1948 the constituent assembly of india met in the constitution hall, new delhi, at ten of the clock, mr. Download pdf constituentassemblyofpakistandebates free. In 1922 gandhiji said swaraj will not be a free gift of the british parliament. Queen elizabeth house working paper series, number 30. Scholarship on the minority question has begun with the constituent assembly and that on secularism centered on the category of religion.
Jan 30, 2015 nehru, too realised this, as is clear from the constituent assembly debates see below. Ambedkar, the chairman of the drafting committee of the indian constitution, had strongly pitched for minority rights as the constituent assembly discussed the interim report on fundamental. Constituent assembly debates and uniform civil code soon after independence the question of the position of personal laws got entangled into the whirlpool of national politics. Constituent assembly debate on fundamental rights logos. Constituent assembly debates constituent assembly debate on 22 august, 1949 constituent assembly of india volume ix monday, the 22nd august 1949 the constituent assembly of india met in the constitution hall, new delhi, at nine of the clock, mr. He knew, of course, what secularism meant, but he also knew that the constitution drafted by them did not adhere to the principles of what was, in his words, dictionary secularism.
How is secularism understood and how can it be implemented in a country with a large hindu majority, where hinduism and the state. Some aspects of the indian constituent assembly debates, 19461949, faculty of social studies, university of oxford, 1997, and forms. Constituent assembly debates 9th december,1946 24th january,1950 addeddate 20120318 11. Firstly, the word secularism has no substitute in any of our languages. Mirza muhammad afzal beg, a brilliant lawyer, was the prime mover. It concludes on the note that religious identity did play a significant role in the later part of the freedom struggle and subsequently, in the constituent assembly debates. Chapter 3 uniform civil code and the constitution of india. Even though indias constituent assembly debates were informed by remarkable seriousness, scholarship, and integrity, most of the linguistic decisions taken by the constituent assembly, in many cases insightful, were located in consensual democracy and the domination of the elites in that body. If secularism has its relevance only in context, then it is natural and right to think that it will appear in different forms and guises in different contexts. Assembly of pakistan debates volume v1949 constituent assembly of pakistan monday, the 7th march, 1949 the constituent assembly of pakistan met in the assembly chamber, karachi, at four of the clock, in the evening, being the first day of the fifth session of the constituent assembly of pakistan, mr. Now our object is, or the object of this house should be, as soon as possible and as rapidly as possible to drop these classifications and differences and bring all to a level of equality. A perusal of the constituent assembly debates clearly reveals the. A society to critically engage with the history and contemporary relevance of the indian constitution. Uniform civil code and constituent assembly debates as referred before, ucc was originally encapsulated in article 35 of the draft constitution.
Secularism according to gandhi, should be more of an eclectical concept rather than an atheistic concept. Secularism in the constituent assembly debates, 19461950. Swagat baruah, gujarat national law university abstract although the 42nd constitutional amendment, by inserting the word secular in the preamble, has asserted that india is a secular nation, the relationship between the state and religion has not yet been defined but only interpreted. Constituent assembly believed in enlightenment secularism, with its core principle of separation that is religion as essentially a private concern with which states had no legitimate business. Jul 27, 2002 secularism, it has been argued, failed to stem the spread of communalism in india, because its marginalising and contempt of religion bred a backlash on which communalism thrived. Secularism has become an accepted notion universally, but time and again due to. In 1946 constituent assembly debate, kt shah member of constituent.
Debates in the constituent assembly are instructive. Like the war is the opposite word of peace, in common parlance in the indian context, secularism is understood by its antonym communalism, while in the western context, secularism is understood by its antonym. Jun 25, 2014 by apoorva tadepalli the fears of the constituent assembly members regarding politicisation of religion have come true. However, indian secularists correctly identify the indian states distinctive. There was a demand to add a proviso in article 35 which would make the ucc, whenever it would have been enacted, not obligatory in nature and personal laws be kept out of its purview. Constituent assembly debates on 12 august, 1949 part i. The conception of secularism in the constituent assembly. Constituent assembly debates on 6 december, 1948 part ii. In the indian context, one has to remember that the content of secularism stems out of this major concern. Shah moved an amendment to incorporate the words secular, federal. How is secularism understood and how can it be implemented in. Jun 06, 2014 this article is part of a series of posts on the constituent assembly debates, meant to highlight the various points of views and negotiations that went into the creation of the indian constitution. Constituent assembly debates good governance india.
Oct 26, 2019 ambedkar himself had tried to soothe agitated minds when he had argued in the debates in the constituent assembly. The multilingual and multicultural ethos that is constitutive of indian society was. Constituent assembly debates on minority rights dr. Constitution in this respect are the secularism along with democratic egalitarianism and. The dominant position on secularism that a democratic constitution find. Secularism in the indian context penn law university of. By apoorva tadepalli the fears of the constituent assembly members regarding politicisation of religion have come true. Secularism, it has been argued, failed to stem the spread of communalism in india, because its marginalising and contempt of religion bred a backlash on which communalism thrived. I accepted this secularism in the sense that our state shall remain unconcerned with religion, and i thought that the secular state of partitioned india was the. This article contends that this contempt for religion was marginalised in the course of the secularism debates in the constituent assembly.
Secularism in the constituent assembly debates, 19461950 secularism, it has been argued, failed to stem the spread of communalism in india, because its marginalising and contempt of religion bred a backlash on which communalism thrived. Constituent assembly of india volume ix friday, the 12th august 1949 the constituent assembly of india met in the constitution hall, new delhi, at nine of the clock, mr. It reasoned that the assemblys proceedings published in a multiplevolume set, the constituent assembly debates, werent helpful in resolving disputes about the constitutions meaning. Tejani argues that late nineteenth to early twentiethcentury understandings of an uppercaste, hindu nationalism, and early to midtwentiethcentury understandings of communalism as a problem of muslim minority separatism, informed the indian constituent assemblys debates on secularism in the late 1940s. I want to now turn from features that define or characterize secularism to features of its justification and basis of adoption. Request the article directly from the author on researchgate. An analytical appraisal of our struggle for independence reveals that indian leaders had aspired in early twenties that indians political destiny would be shaped by the indians themselves. The 42 nd amendment was a 20 pages long document that gave unprecedented powers to the parliament. I quite realise their feelings in the matter, but i think they have read rather too much into article 35, which merely proposes that the state shall endeavour to secure a civil code for the citizens of the country. Constituent assembly of india your article library. This article contends that this contempt for religion was marginalised in the course of the secularism. In contrast, this article argues that caste was central to the formulation of indian secularism and requires a longer historical perspective. The debates in the turkish grand national assembly 19231928 and the indian constituent assembly 1946. In its young life, india has broken the norms of democracy in many ways.
I accepted this secularism in the sense that our state shall. When the preamble to the constitution was discussed in the constituent assembly, debate over the incorporation of secularism took up a large portion of time. Page 25 of 141 the idea of secularism in 21st century. On the floor of the constituent assembly, for about two years, the issue suffered convulsions caused by. Constituent assembly of india volume vii monday, the 6th december 1948 mr. The omission to use the word secular was not accidental but deliberate. Nehru, too realised this, as is clear from the constituent assembly debates see below. The constituent assembly of india, consisting of indirectly elected representatives, was established to draft a constitution for india including the nowseparate countries of pakistan and bangladesh.
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