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19 July 2010

Enshrined in law

Secularism became a vital part of the Indian constitution after independence, but it is now under th

By Mehdi Hasan

The French writer André Malraux once asked Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, what his greatest challenge had been since independence. “Creating a just state by just means,” he replied. Then, after a pause, he added: “Perhaps, too, creating a secular state in a religious country.”

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