ESSENTIAL RELIGIOUS PRACTICES DOCTRINE AND ITS EFFECT ON SECULARISM
India being a land of diverse religions and cultures, there are various religions namely Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Sikhism and Buddhism. Therefore, to avoid any conflict in such multireligious nation, the concept of secularism was adopted. Secularism in simple words means state recognizes no religion but respect all religions. The word 'secular' was added in the Preamble in the year 1976 in Indian Constitution. Although the concept of secularism is adopted from western countries but India follows such secularism model with slight deviation such as state interference is allowed in case of secular practices associated with religion under Article 25 of Indian Constitution. Thus, Indian Judiciary has played important role in reshaping the elements of secularism through Essential Religious Practices Doctrine (ERP) as evolved in case of Commissioner, Hindu Religious Endowments, Madras v. Sri Lakshimindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt . This article throws a light...