Comparative Analysis of Russian and Indian Secularism

Secularism is a practice which entails building a 'wall of separation' between State and Religion. The general understanding is that this wall helps in prohibiting intervention from either side. However, since the State acts as a guardian of the public interest it may interfere in religious affairs, essentially, to dilute and de-circumscribe the limits of religious orthodoxy. It is, however, pertinent to note that some interventions in religious affairs are made even though there is no valid reason. One such example is the atheistic policy of the Russian state. The objective of this book is to compare the different models of secularism practiced in Russia and India respectively, and lay down some guiding principles which a secular State can adopt to rehabilitate a religion which was subjected to unwarranted State interventions.