Showing posts with label Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary. Show all posts

Saturday, November 9, 2013

The two words – Secular and Communal

These two words Secular and Communal have been making rounds in my mind. Thought best to sit and make a personal judgement on them – find the right and the wrong in them and their correct applications to those who speak such words with a loud open mouth and make that big noise like the bursting of crackers on the Diwali night.

India is a Secular country which does not have an official state religion. Let’s see where this leads to.

Secular: Secularism means, equal treatment meted to followers of all religions by the state and envisions acceptance of religious laws as binding on the state, and equal participation of state in different religions.

Communal: Meaning in Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary, “pertaining to a commune or community”. So there is no specific reason to say that Communal means being hurtful to other religions apart from the religion you practice.

So by using the word Communal repeatedly, some people who call themselves Secular are trying to divide the country (India) on religious ground.

Here I have to say, having been brought up in an area where the Muslims families were more in number than Hindus, never felt any difference. From a tender age till now religion has never drawn a line in my life to differentiate people. Even we had Christian families who were very close. The people of the other religions always participated in each other’s religious festivity.

It is a great mistake if we tread upon the path that has been made by some to divide this huge country on religious grounds.

Common man wants to live in peace for he has to toil hard to earn his bread and butter. Those who are doing this nuisance have lots stashed in their kitty…maybe out of the wrong earnings they have made. They want to live in peace and see the fun in making others fight, and in all this there is creation of fear, tension, anger and loss of lives.

I say these two specified words, used mostly in politics, hardly makes any space in my life.

Jai ho!