What's "secularism"? by S Sen in whats app
There're various models available.
In the UK, the head of the state is also the head of the church; yet it's, generally, considered secular and, in fact, that image tallies with the daily life experience of the citizens, in general, and the followers of minority faiths in particular.
In the US, the President takes oath on the Bible.
The official speeches, quite often, end with the exhortation: God bless America!
In India, "secularism" is meant to have, mainly, two dimensions:
(i) equality in the eyes of law and
(ii) respect for plurality in public space.
It doesn't mean denigration of religion - an unavoidable evil, and limiting its scope, in public space, to the minimum.
To my mind, right at this moment, we have to direct our energies towards defending pluralism.
Kavita Krishnan's text has done precisely that.
The fight for women's rights have to be conducted in unison.
In fact, we've so many fights to fight.
At a given moment which of these would be foregrounded would depend on the specific context.