Browsing by Subject "Secularism"

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Open Access
Crisis and Response of Indian Federalism-Assessing the Federalism through the Prism of Constitution and Democracy
(University of North Bengal, 2023-09) Nagarwal, Narender
research paper investigates the profound claim of India as nation having cooperative federalism. The most striking feature of Indian federalism is the concentration of power at the central level as well as the decentralization of certain powers to provincial units. Nehru envisioned a cooperative federalism for India's government structure, which postulates a multifaceted mechanism to maintain its territorial integrity as well as its democratic and plural character. The federal arrangement is constitutionally protected, and certain subjects, areas, and residuary powers are predominated by the union. The contentious issue of present discourse is whether India’s cooperative federalism exists or lost its distinctiveness. The main task of this research paper is to examine how the politics has endangered the core tenets of Indian federalism thereby pushed the nation into totalitarian or majoritarian state. The massive abuse of the authorities, institutions and repeated dents to fiscal federalism are the area of concern. The main political battle is not about who is supreme-central government or regional government but whether Nehruvian model of cooperative federalism will survive or not. The regional government have been struggling to have equitable share in the resources, finance, and legislations. Many regional governments have steadily outspoken on the subject of undermining their power and central government authoritarianism. The tribulation journey of Indian federalism from cooperative to confrontationist poses serious questions about the future of Indian federalism and what would be the future of many territories, states, and centrally administered regions in India if this confrontationist approach continues. The primary base of the present research is to critically examine the political development of last few years and how these events have undermined the constitutional ethos apart from crisis of federalism”
Open Access
Discourse formation and praxis in everyday life
(University of North Bengal, 31-03-2017) Roy, Sanjay K.
In sociology, and in other social sciences, we generally talk about others, while keeping absolutely mum about ourselves. The result is so called “objective” (in most cases manipulated) “scientific” dispassionate “texts”1 which obscure the reality and do not help enriching our collective wisdom. Subjective knowledge (in Weberian sense), drawn by applying reflexive or autobiographical method, which is usually given no respect in the so-called scientific tradition, could be an alternative mode of doing sociology. Discourses in sociology and other social sciences could be drawn from lived experiences, with high degree of embeddedness, which would help understand the dynamics of everyday life social praxis better.
Open Access
ENQUIRY INTO THE NOTION OF SECULARISM
(University of North Bengal, 2023-03) BHATTACHARYA, APABRITA
Open Access
Indian Secularism – Distinctive Ideas of Jawaharlal Nehru
(University of North Bengal, 2015) Roy, Krishna
To Nehru, secularism meant granting of equal status to all religious in India. Secularism demands tolerance and close and active interaction among various communities in India. But when Nehruvian model of secularism had been put to practice, there were threats to this concept arising out of communal violence in present Indian context and hence Nehru’s secularism has been criticized by several scholars. Irrespective of such criticism Nehru defined secularism as a means to strengthen national unity and to construct better and brighter India.
Open Access
Secularism in Indian culture : a critical study
(University of North Bengal, 2017) Roychowdhury, Pampa; Saha, Debika,
Open Access
The Bhakti Cult’s Vision of Religious Reformation: A Secular Strategy for The Modern World
(University of North Bengal, 2025) Bhattacharya, Apabrita
This paper aims to explain the origin and significance of the Bhakti cult in medieval India. Though it has significant social and religious overtones, the Bhakti movement is fundamentally spiritual. The Bhakti movement may also be viewed as an effort to lessen animosity among various religious groups. Even though the movement originated in South India, its secular worldview quickly expanded throughout the nation. During the era of the Bhakti movement, there was a noticeable and profound shift in society. It encourages the idea of religious cooperation and fights against bigotry and social injustice. This paper has attempted to define the role played by Bhakti saints in fostering social cohesion. Secularism seeks to foster a few tolerant, cooperative ideals in our contemporary culture to create an unbiased, conflict-free environment. In this paper, I intend to demonstrate the principles of religious unity, emphasised by a few well-known Bhakti saints, that offer a secular perspective and strive for social welfare.
Open Access
A transition from spiritual enlightenment to social action: a survey on buddhism
(University of North Bengal, 2024-03) Das, Kirtika
This paper intends to discuss how Buddhist ethical guidelines lead to practical engagement. There is discord regarding Buddhism's activeness towards society in the beginning. Here, we would know how individual awareness leads to social welfare in Buddhism. Buddhism has evolved, starting from Pratyekabuddhas up to Engaged Buddhism. The main point of contention is- Whether theravadins were socially active before the nineteenth century. An awakening mind tends to be congenial with humans and other living creatures. As we know, a Bodhisattva always wants to alleviate the sufferings of others. The Bodhisattva tradition also evolved with time. How do contemporary Buddhists respond to current issues? A theravadin is patently socially and politically active, but what about in the pre-contemporary period? Here, we would know about the shift from self-liberation to liberation for all.