Not sure how long we can remain secular: Supreme Court raps India on religious divisions

While the country threw a fit over Barack Obama saying that the religious intolerance in India would disappoint Gandhi had he been alive, a similar warning has come from someone closer home. Amplifying the apprehensions of a section of India, the Supreme Court said that it was not sure for how long India can claim to be ‘secular’. The Times of India reports: “It is a secular country but I don’t know how long it will remain so,” Justice Vikramjit Sen said during the hearing on a PIL seeking recognition for Christian courts set up under its personal law." [caption id=“attachment_2090253” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The Supreme Court. Agencies.[/caption] The Indian Express reports: “The bench was hearing a PIL by advocate Clarence Pais, who wanted the apex court to put its stamp of approval on the decrees of divorce and other such decrees issued by an ecclesiastical court or tribunal. An ecclesiastical court, set up under the Canon Law, is an institution for Catholic Christians.” The comment comes at a time when the country is really more divided on religious lines than ever before. While the Hindutva groups have started programmes like Ghar Wapsi based on the spurious logic of ’love jihad’, other groups have seen their tolerance level for comments on their religion dip. For example, comic group All India Bakchod recently apologised to Christians for cracking jokes on their ‘roast’ - the format of the roast traditionally is to be offensive and scathing. The Christian group, like Hindutva groups to0 lodged an  FIR against AIB. Pais has demanded that the Supreme Court endorse the provisions of dissolution of marriage under the Canon Law as legal. He also wanted the Supreme Court to issue a directive saying that no law of India can try a Roman Catholic for bigamy, except the Canon Law. The SC shot down Pais’ counsel Soli Sorabjee’s argument that the matter was related to the crucial issue of religious freedom in India. The apex court suggested that, in fact, religion shouldn’t be allowed to interfere with civil issues. “This cannot be accepted, otherwise every religion will say it has a right to decide various issues as a matter of its personal law. We don’t agree with this at all. It has to be done though a decree of a court,” the bench said.   Pais’ petition had cited that if marriages can be dissolved by Muslims in accordance to the Mohammedan law, Christians should be allowed to do the same.