Secularism
It is surprising that so many eyebrows are raised when one argues in favour of establishing a secular constitution, which was originally the case post independence. If I may humbly take the liberty of defending such initiative within the scope of this letter, then it is important to point out that secularism embodies two important principles. First, it presents a case for neutrality towards every religion. Second, it promotes prohibition of religious associations in state activities. Hence, neither a secular constitution prevents a good Muslim from practicing his religion in harmony, nor it makes our nation any less peaceful for believing in our respective faith.
A particular political force often argues that the Islamic sentiment of the majority must find reflection in the national constitution. Yet, such opinion raises the concern that our nation will entertain democracy's signature defect--the tyranny of the majority. If we go back in history to 1592, it was a Muslim statesman Akbar, the Mughal Emperor of India, who displayed extreme tolerance for all faiths--a fundamental trait of secularism - by abolishing taxes on his Hindu subjects and by facilitating multi-religious dialogues between scholars of various faiths. We must today take inspiration from such statesmanship.
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