Mixing politics with religion

FEBRUARY 2019 TOPIC: Mixing politics with religion is a distortion of the secular nature of our country and its Constitution. What do you think?

In today’s world, politics has unfortunately become the most unethical profession. To carry forward their agenda, politicians now use religion to polarise people. Religion is meant to unite people, not to divide them. Mixing religion with politics would only escalate the feelings of insecurity among people and destroy the constitutional set-up. Let’s not forget that we were always known for “unity in diversity” and so it is high time that we ask our politicians to stop mixing religion with politics.
Prince Joseph (17)
V Care International School, Surat

A secular state has no official religion. It allows equal freedom of worship to all. A secular state is not anti-religion. In fact, “it is neither religious nor irreligious or anti-religious, but it is wholly detached from religious dogmas. Our views on secularism can be summed up in the phrase ‘Sarwa Dharma Sambhava’: that is equal respect for all religions. Unfortunately, caste has become a significant factor in electoral politics.
Deepal (14)
St Joseph’s Convent School, Jalandhar

Politics should have nothing to do with religion. We have a democratic type of government; politics is directly related to the people, not to any particular religion. One may not have the required leadership skills but is still being voted to power just because of the religion he/she belongs to. Politicians often make decisions favouring their religion. They make decisions for the advantage of the people of their religion and not for the good of the entire nation. India is a secular nation; politics should not be mixed with religion as it creates a sense of division among the people.
Ananya Bachani
Sophia Girls’ Sr. Sec. School, Bhilwara

In India, the Constitution is the supreme law, and distortion of this prime law is not acceptable. As elections are looming near, politicians are making every possible effort to get votes. They use religion as a weapon to divide and create hostilities among people, causing harm to the secular fabric of our country. We have the power to choose our leaders. Let’s ask ourselves, ‘Do we want to be carried away in the name of religion?’
Dhanya Jha
St Francis’ Convent Inter College, Jhansi

Mixing politics with religion was one of the reasons for the partition of the country into India and Pakistan. Leaders have the duty of bringing the people together and not separating them in the name of religion. One must enter the polling booth as an Indian and not as a Sikh, Hindu, Muslim or Christian. Every single vote ensures the prospect of having good governance.
Anahit Sandhu (14)
St Joseph’s Convent School, Jalandhar

The word ‘secular’ is not a mere word in our Constitution. It is the principle by which our country is governed. How will a country ever progress and prosper if its leaders are not concerned about the welfare of the people? Our politicians use religion as a bait to woo voters. This creates a big gap between different religions and this often leads to mob violence. Mixing religion with politics amounts to not only distortion but also violation of the secular nature of our Constitution.
Tridib Das (14)
Don Bosco High School, Lichubari, Jorhat

Politics and religion serve humanity in different ways. Because human systems are imperfect and prone to degeneration, those systems should be kept as separate as possible allowing them to function properly to achieve their different goals. Both systems can fail. And then you have hell! People may give preference to religion. This would ultimately result in the distortion of the secularism of the country, and the Constitution would remain meaningless.
Gargi Kothe (14)
Agragami Convent School Mhasala, Wardha

India is a country where people of various religions live together in peace. Our politicians are destroying this peace by mixing politics with religion. This is a cheap act used by various political groups during elections to get votes. The basis of politics is power and the basis of religion is faith; if power starts influencing faith then it can be disastrous.
Tanmay Shukla (14)
Jeevan Marg Sophia Sec. School, Deoria

“Ram Mandir! No! It’s our Masjid; you will bear the consequences, just wait and watch!” This is what we hear every day now on news channels. Politics and religion when mingled disturb the secular nature of our country and its Constitution. Every religion believes in God. Why do our ‘leaders’ fight in the name of God?
Sargun Saini (14)
St Joseph’s Convent School, Jalandhar

India has no state religion; all citizens have the freedom to follow any religion of their choice. The government must treat all religions with equal respect. Below are examples where politics is recklessly mixed with religion:

• Communalism by political parties to increase their vote bank.
• “Slaughtering of cows” is a storm in a tea cup, it actually isn’t worth the controversy it gained.
• Mob lynching and honour killing are on the increase by leaps and bounds.

The above are just the tip of the iceberg and the roots are solely linked to mixing politics with religion. This will surely hinder the progress of our country and prove to be a threat to the Indian Constitution.
Riza Khan (15)
St Francis’ Convent Inter College, Jhansi

Political parties should be concerned with development, human rights, law and order, justice, education, health, economic growth, etc. If any religion violates the Constitution, the lawmakers must take strong action without thinking about their vote bank benefits.
Hemakshi Kapoor (14)
St Anthony’s Jr College, Agra

Our freedom fighters dreamt of an independent India where the Constitution will defend democracy and secularism. But, secularism has become a mere farce in our country today. Political leaders are mixing politics with religion to set public opinion in their favour. This gives rise to communalism and prejudices against others’ religion and community. Our political system and Constitution should be kept away from religion in order to prevent hurting the religious sentiments of others and giving rise to biased decisions by the government.
Alisha Agarwal
St Anthony’s Jr College, Agra

In India ‘secularism’ is in serious danger. Our political leaders do not believe in the ideals of secularism because that would not allow them to engage in the politics of religion, and the politics of religious identity. Secularism does not mean being ‘bereft of religion’, secular implies not using private affairs of an individual for political mileage (vote bank).
Taru Jain
Sophia Girls’ Sr. Sec. School, Bhilwara

Religion and politics must be kept separate. Religion is meant to unite people with similar beliefs into a moral community. Politics, on the other hand, is meant to unite people of a country into a single community, regardless of personal beliefs and practices. When the two are mixed, the results are bound to be disastrous.
Nirbhay Kumar Singh (13)
Jeevan Marg Sophia Sec. School, Deoria

Politics should have nothing to do with a citizen’s choice of religion. Pursuit of religion is for personal transcendence and has nothing to do with the world of politics. When politicians play with people’s beliefs and faith, the secular nature of our country as well as its reputation is distorted.
Samridhi Goyal (14)
St Anthony’s Jr College, Agra

India is a secular country because all religions are considered equal by the state. But our politicians, for their advantage violate this by differentiating us on the basis of religion, which contaminates Indian politics and disturbs the secular nature of the country. Government’s unwanted interference leads to hatred among the people and hinders the growth of the nation.
Keshav Agrawal (14)
Jeevan Marg Sophia Sec. School, Deoria

The most important aspect of secularism is separation of religion from the state power. Strangely our politicians ask for votes on the basis of religion. The issue of Ram Mandir is raised during elections to get votes and then relegated to the deep recesses of oblivion. Religion should be separated from politics for our country to function democratically.
Tanisha (14)
St Joseph’s Convent School, Jalandhar

Mixing of politics and religion leads to religious disharmony and may further lead to violence. Mixing politics with religion is equal to identifying a person by his religion or caste and ignoring his talents and potentials.
Isha Inani
Sophia Girls’ Sr. Sec. School, Bhilwara

Mixing religion with politics affects the decisions of citizens particularly during election time. Politicians use religion as a tool just to gain votes. Often we blame politicians but we forget that we are the ones who chose them as our leaders.
Ayushmaan Baranwal (14)
Jeevan Marg Sophia Sec. School, Deoria