The Constitution of India and the secular state

As I have stated before, India is (or rather, should be) a secular state (राज्य, rajya), but a Hindu nation (राष्त्र, rashtra). However, several articles in the Constitution of India obstruct the realization of India as a secular state.

Here is an excellent letter to the Hindustan Times by Sanjeev Nayyar, founder of the eSamskriti web site, about minority rights in the Constitution of India and the implications:

esamskriti- Marking lives less ordinary
The term minority is not defined in the Constitution. Nowhere in the world, except in India, is a minority defined by religion or caste. Is anyone listening?

The subject articles, Articles 25-30, may be located in http://lawmin.nic.in/legislative/Art1-242%20(1-88).doc. To quickly locate these articles in Microsoft Word (I use Word 2002), select View > Document Map. Articles 25-28 may be found under the heading Right to Freedom of Religion; Articles 29-30 may be found under the heading Cultural and Educational Rights.

PS eSamskriti is a treasure trove of essays on Indian culture, history, and philosophy and photographs. Check it out!