Views On Indian Secularism - History of Secularism

History of Secularism

Religions of India are known to have co-existed and evolved together for many centuries predating Republic of India. Indian civilization is among the oldest and living civilizations of the modern world. India is a country where religion is very central to the life of many people. India’s age-old philosophy as expounded in Hindu scriptures called Upanishads is sarva dharma samabhava, which means respect for all belief systems. This basic trait of Sanatan dharma is what keeps India together despite the fact that India has not been a mono-religious country for over two millennium. A Hindu Nationalist school of thought also proclaims that with Sanatan Dharma being the spirit of India, the very concept of western secularism is redundant and badly imposed.

Some researchers believe that the history of Indian secularism begin with the protest movements in the 5th century BC. The three main protest movements were by the Charvakas (a secularistic and materialistic philosophical movement), Buddhism, and Jainism. All three of them rejected the authority of the Vedas and any importance of belief in a deity.