The disenchantment with the secular ideal
Hindustan Times Punjab|December 18, 2024
The secular ethos envisaged in the Constitution should be the foundation for governing India
Yamini Aiyar

On December 12, through an interim order, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, led by the current Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, delivered a brief respite against the rising tide of communalism. The bench has temporarily barred trial courts from admitting petitions and passing "effective orders" allowing surveys in cases related to the Places of Worship Act, 1991 until the validity of the 1991 law is determined. In so doing, the Supreme Court has put a temporary lid on the Pandora's box opened by former Chief Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud's observations in the Gyanvapi mosque case that merely allowing a "survey" did not violate the Places of Worship Act.

But this respite may well be short-lived. Open majoritarianism and shrill bigotry are now the dominant culture of our polity. We are allowing this to transform us from a society that, in its founding moment, audaciously attempted to build a sense of civicness on the basis of mutual respect and tolerance bound by constitutional values of secularism into one that has fallen prey to insecure, aggressive pettiness. The plethora of petitions to examine whether temples stood where mosques do and reinterpret history are an outcome of this. The violence in Sambhal after the survey team arrived in late November is just a fleeting glimpse of what could lie ahead. To confront this malaise, we desperately need to restore our secular ethos. The real tragedy is that secularism today has very few champions.

This story is from the December 18, 2024 edition of Hindustan Times Punjab.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 18, 2024 edition of Hindustan Times Punjab.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM HINDUSTAN TIMES PUNJABView All
Hindustan Times Punjab

Legend, institution, icon: Industry remembers Shyam Benegal

Filmmaker Shyam Benegal, considered the pioneer of Indian parallel cinema, died at the age of 90 on Monday, leaving behind a legacy that remains unparalleled.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times Punjab

'OTT has offered me the genres I wasn't getting previously'

This festive season, actor Tahir Raj Bhasin has more reasons to celebrate — his OTT series Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein (YKKA) Season 2 has been well-received, and the show is all set for a third outing.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times Punjab

India face Bangladesh in their CT opener, Pakistan on Feb 23

India will play Bangladesh on February 20 in their opening Group A game of the ICC Champions Trophy, to be played in Dubai as part of the hybrid model agreed for the tournament.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times Punjab

Konstas to debut; Head, Rohit ready to go

Much of the intrigue on Tuesday centred around the fitness of two key figures on either side—Australia's Travid Head and India's Rohit Sharma.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times Punjab

INDIA GEAR UP FOR WOMEN'S T20 U-19 WORLD CUP TITLE DEFENCE

The India women's cricket team has so far been unsuccessful in winning a World Cup, not even after the big boost of coming under the BCCI fold in 2006.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times Punjab

Harleen Deol, Pratika Rawal shine as India women clinch ODI series

It was a thoroughly dominant all-round performance from India yet again in this series as they defeated West Indies by 115 runs in the second women's ODI and took a 2-0 lead in the three-match series at the Kotambi Stadium, Vadodara on Tuesday.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times Punjab

Khel Ratna row: Lapse on my part, says Manu

Seeking to end all \"speculations\" after her name was not considered for the Khel Ratna Award, Paris Olympics double medallist shooter Manu Bhaker on Tuesday admitted to a possible lapse in her application for the country's top sports award.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times Punjab

US sanctions on 4 Pak firms have 'no justification': PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday defended Pakistan's nuclear and missile programme, saying the recent US sanctions against the country's four entities have \"no justification\".

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times Punjab

Russian firm denies corruption in Bangladesh nuclear plant project

Russia's state-run nuclear agency on Tuesday refuted allegations of corruption and embezzlement leveled against it by an anti-graft panel in Bangladesh looking into an atomic power plant it is building in the South Asian country.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024
Hindustan Times Punjab

Killed Haniyeh in Tehran, Israel says for 1st time

Defence Minister Israel Katz on Monday acknowledged that Israel had killed former Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran earlier this year, as he warned the military would \"decapitate\" the leadership of Yemen's Houthi rebels.

time-read
1 min  |
December 25, 2024