BharatNotes Secularism
noun (uncountable)Usage in a UPSC answer
India's constitutional secularism, far from mandating a rigid wall between religion and State, obliges the government to maintain principled equidistance from every faith while intervening to root out social evils—an arrangement that lets the polity reform discriminatory practices without surrendering its commitment to religious pluralism.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
secular (adj), secularist (n/adj), secularise (v), secularisation (n), secularity (n)
Root
Coined 1851 by George Jacob Holyoake; Latin saeculum = age/worldly affairs; -ism = doctrine/principle suffix; added to Indian Constitution's Preamble 1976
Etymology
Coined by British writer George Jacob Holyoake in 1851 to describe a system of ethics not grounded in religion. Added to the Indian Constitution's Preamble by the 42nd Amendment (1976), though the Supreme Court in Kesavananda Bharati (1973) had already held secularism to be part of the Basic Structure.
Memory Hook
Think "secular" = of this saeculum (age/world), not the next one—a SECULAR state minds the worldly affairs of CENTURIES (Latin saeculum), leaving heaven to the temples.
Seen in UPSC Question Papers
- Prelims 2020 — Emergency Provisions
- Mains 2022 · GS1 · 15 marks — Indian Society
- Mains 2019 · GS1 · 10 marks — Indian Society
- Mains 2019 · GS2 · 10 marks — Polity
- Mains 2018 · GS1 · 10 marks — Indian Society
Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Secularism” — proof this word earns its place on your list.
Tip: press Alt+S to hear pronunciation
