RBSE Solutions for Class 11 Political Science Chapter 8 Secularism

Rajasthan Board RBSE Solutions for Class 11 Political Science Chapter 8 Secularism Textbook Exercise Questions and Answers.

RBSE Class 11 Political Science Solutions Chapter 8 Secularism

RBSE Class 11 Political Science Secularism InText Questions and Answers

TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Question 1.
Is India a Secular State? 
Answer: 
India is a Secular State. By inserting the word ‘Secular’ in the Preamble of the Constitution by the 42nd Amendment Act, India was declared as a Secular State.

Question 2.
Write one characteristic of Secularism.
Answer: 
In a secular state, there is no state religion.

Question 3.
What is the meaning of Secular State?
Answer: 
A Secular State is one that protects all religions equally and does not uphold any religion as the state religion.

Question 4.
Which religion is the official religion of India?
Answer: 
India has no official religion. 

Question 5.
What is the essence of Secularism?
Answer: 
The essence of secularism is that no one should be discriminated against on the grounds of their religious practices and beliefs. All forms of domination related to religion should end.

RBSE Class 11 Political Science Secularism Textbook Questions and Answers 

Question 1. 
Which of the following do you feel are compatible with the idea of Secularism ? Give reasons.
(а) Absence of domination of one religious group by another.
(b) Recognition of a State religion.
(c) Equal State support to all religions.
(d) Mandatory prayers in schools.
(e) Allowing separate educational institutions for any minority community.
(f) Appointment of temple management bodies by the government.
(g) Intervention of State to ensure entry of Dalits in temples.
Answer: 
(a) It is compatible with the idea of Secularism because Secularism opposes all forms of inter-religious domination.
(b) It is not compatible with Secularism because in a Secular State, there is no official religion.
(c) It is compatible with Secularism because in Secularism, all religions are treated alike.
(d) It is not compatible with Secularism.
(e) It is compatible with Secularism because in Secularism, minority community should be given freedom to run their schools.
(f) It is not compatible with Secularism because government should not interfere in the temple management.
(g) It is compatible with Secularism. All Hindus including Dalits should be free to enter temples. 

Question 2. 
Some of the key characteristics of Western and Indian model of Secularism have got mixed up. Separate them and make a new table

Answer:

Question 3. 
What do you understand by Secularism? Can it be equated with religious tolerance?
Answer: 
The dictionary meaning of Secularism is “Indifference or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations”. Secularism rejects religion completely. It rather supports anti-religious feelings. Secularism implies a way of life and conduct guided purely by materialistic considerations. It holds that materialism alone benefits mankind while religious feelings retard it. But in its modern meaning, Secularism means freedom of religion and a non-interference policy of state in religious activity. In this way, Secularism in its modern meaning is not anti-religious. 

It is this policy of non-interference by the State which gives equal protection to all the religions. Secularism is a doctrine that opposes all forms of inter-religious domination. Secularism challenges not merely inter-religious but also intra-religious domination. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “The term Secular means non-spiritual, having no concern with religious or spiritual matters.”

According to Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, “Secularism does not mean that we shall not take into consideration the religious sentiments of the people. All that what a Secular State means is that Parliament shall not be competent to impose any particular religion on the rest of the people.” Can Secularism be equated with religious tolerance? No doubt religious tolerance is needed for the establishment of Secularism. But Secularism cannot be equated with religious toleration because Secularism is much more than the mere peaceful co-existence or toleration.

Question 4. 
Do you agree with the following statements? Give reasons for supporting or opposing any of them.
(a) Secularism does not allow us to have a religious identity.
(b) Secularism is against inequality within a religious group or between different religious groups.
(c) Secularism has a western-Christian origin. It is not suitable for India.
Answer: 
(a) We don’t agree with this statement because Secularism allows religious identity. In Secularism, people enjoy freedom of religion.
(b) We agree with this statement because Secularism is against inequality within a religious group or between different religious groups. In Secularism, all religions are treated equal and no discrimination is made on the basis of religion. 
(c) We don’t agree with this statement. The Western model of Secularism is not a product of the Christian world. Secularism is suitable to Indian conditions.

Question 5. 
‘Indian Secularism focuses on more than the religion-state separation.’ Explain.
Answer: 
India is a Secular State. Secularism is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution. Sometimes it is said that Indian Secularism is an imitation of Western Secularism. But it is not a reality. Indian Secularism is basically different from Western Secularism. In Western Secularism, emphasis is on separation of State from the Church. But the Indian Secularism focuses on more than religion-state separation. In India, there was a culture of inter-religious toleration. Western modernity and thought influences Indian culture. 

Western modernity emphasised on equality within the community. Idea of inter-community equality replaced the notion of hierarchy. Moreover, Indian Secularism opposed the oppression of Dalits and Women within Hinduism, and the discrimination against women within Islam or Christianity. Western Secularism deals with freedom of individuals, whereas Indian Secularism deals with  rights of the minorities also. Article 26 of the Indian Constitution provides that subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination shall have the right 
(I) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes;

(II) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion:

(III) to own and acquire movable and immovable property:

(IV) to administer such property in accordance with the law. Indian Secularism has supported religious reform by the State. Untouchability is abolished by the Indian Constitution. Many religious reform Acts have been passed by the Indian Parliament. Thus, Indian Secularism focuses on more than the religion-state separation.

Question 6. 
Explain the concept of principled distance.
Answer: 
In Secularism, the concept of principled distance means that the state should not interfere in any religion actively. After the First World War, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, ruler of Turkey, instead of following concept of distance, followed active intervention in suppression of religion