‘Secularism does not mean denying your own religion, culture’: EAM Jaishankar

Cuttack (Odisha) (India), May 5: Secularism means respect for all religions and it does not mean denying your own religion or somehow not being proud of your culture and heritage, said External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar Sunday, clarifying what he means by the concept.

His comments came during an interactive session in Odisha’s Cuttack while he was campaigning for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the Lok Sabha elections.

When asked how secularism can be integrated into the country’s foreign policy, EAM Jaishankar explained: “Now, first of all, let us be very clear what we mean by secularism. Secularism means respect for all religions. Secularism does not mean denying your own religion. own religion or you are somehow not proud of your culture and heritage. In present day Bharat there is history, culture and traditions.

“These are facts of life. If something existed 3,000 years ago, it was a reality. So we shouldn’t be defensive about a lot of these things. I would respect all religions, but as you know, as an individual I will obviously be proud in mind, I will act as a state in a way that takes note of everyone, but I don’t have to downplay my own identity in any way in that regard. And I think we get respect for that as well,” he said.

The minister also emphasized that India has become a “Vishwabandhu” nation working in harmony with everyone in the world experiencing instability, chaos and war.

“A ‘Vishwabandhu’ nation has an international advantage. A ‘Vishwabandhu’ works in harmony with everyone in a world of instability, chaos and war. This has now become the identity of India. For our national security, we have so many partners that we can join forces with America, Europe, Russia, the Gulf States or Israel,” EAM said.

“They may have internal conflicts. A country that can deal and form partnerships with different countries for its national interests is called a Vishwabandhu. A Vishwabandhu does ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’ at the global level,” he added.

EAM Jaishankar’s take on secularism comes as US President Joe Biden said India, China, Japan and Russia have a ‘xenophobic’ nature.

Biden said the “xenophobic” nature of India, China, Japan and Russia is responsible for their economic problems and argued that the US economy is growing because it welcomes immigrants to its territory. He made the statement while campaigning for his re-election at a fundraising event in Washington, arguing that Japan, along with Russia and China, would do better economically if the countries embraced immigration more.

Following the US President’s comment, EAM Jaishankar on Saturday refuted US President Joe Biden’s comment on ‘xenophobia’ and argued that India’s economic growth is 7 percent, which is higher than many other countries. Jaishankar reiterated that India is the most open, pluralistic and diverse society and not ‘xenophobic’.

“We are the most open society, to date I have never seen such an open society, such a pluralistic society, such a diverse society, so I would say that actually not only are we not xenophobic, but we be the most open, most pluralistic society. and in many ways the most understanding society in the world,” said EAM Jaishankar while interacting with professionals in Bhubaneswar on his book ‘Why Bharat Matters’.

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