Short Essay on the Freedom of Religion – Secularism is a part of the basic structure of our Constitution, which means that the feature cannot even be taken away by a Constitutional amendment by the Parliament.
India not only has no State religion but is also duty bound to ensure that no discrimination on grounds of religion or religious belief is made and that all religions and faiths get equal protection of the laws to flourish.
The Constitution of India provides that everyone has the right to practice and propagate the religion of his or her choice. This is a fundamental right. Despite the Constitutional guarantee the political scene of the nation is such that religion is frequently used to ignite communal passions so that vested interests could grind their own axe.
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Doubtlessly, no religion teaches intolerance towards the followers of other religions and all faiths preach universal brotherhood unfortunately, despite the message being loud and clear our politicians have made people unlearn it quite often. Religious feelings are delicate and little misunderstanding sets the flames ablaze.
We have seen it often enough that ruling parties have taken sides against an entire community to gain political ground. When the apparatus of State power put in place to protect turns around to assist the killers and looters, the result can be and has been disastrous.
We are yet to learn many lessons and one of them is that if one is not tolerant today; he will not be tolerated tomorrow.