RAS question
The word 'Secular' in the Preamble means:
Correct answer: (D) The State treats all religions equally.
In the Preamble, secular means that the Indian State treats all religions equally and remains neutral rather than favouring or opposing any one religion.
Explanation
Indian secularism is not the idea that the State must be hostile to religion, nor does it require an absolute wall between religion and public law. S R Bommai, as repeated by the verified Supreme Court judgment, treats secularism as a positive concept of equal treatment of all religions. The Indian position is neutrality: the State is neither pro any particular religion nor anti any particular religion, and it gives equal protection to all religions while regulating secular activities. That is why the Preamble's word "secular" points to equal treatment and non-discrimination, not to a State religion or anti-religious policy.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Secularism does not make the State anti-religious; the Supreme Court describes the State as neither pro nor anti any particular religion.
- (B) This overstates the idea, because the Indian model does not rest on complete separation of religion and State; it allows neutral regulation of secular activities.
- (C) A secular State cannot have its own religion, since neutrality and equal protection of all religions rule out official preference for one faith.
Concept
This tests the Preamble and the basic constitutional meaning of secularism. It recurs in RAS because polity questions often check whether aspirants understand Indian secularism as equal treatment and neutrality, not as hostility to religion or a rigid Western-style separation.