INDIA AS A SECULAR STATE (Princeton University Press, 1963) by D.E.SMITH is perhaps the earliest book published on secularism in India. DE Smith begins the book with a working definition of Secular State: The secular state is a state which guarantees individual and corporate freedom of religion, deals with the individual as a citizen irrespective of his religion, is not constitutionally connected to a particular religion nor does it seek either to promote or interfere with religion. Upon closer examination it will be seen that the conception of a secular state involves three distinct but interrelated sets of relationships concerning the state, religion, and the individual. The three sets of relations are: 1. religion and the individual (freedom of religion) 2. the state and the individual (citizenship) 3. the state and religion (separation of state and religion) It may help to visualize a triangle in which the two angles at the base represent religion and the state; the apex represents the individual. The sides and base of the triangle represent the three sets of relationships mentioned above. Now out of print, the book can be downloaded here: https://archive.org/details/indiaasaseculars033124mbp INDIA AS A SECULAR STATE : DE Smith (Pages x + 518; Princeton University Press, 1963)
Posted on: Fri, 16 Jan 2015 00:22:02 +0000