Secularism is European concept, not Indian, says Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi

TN Governor Ravi

Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi said secularism is a European concept and not an Indian one.

While speaking at an event in Kanniyakumari, Ravi said a lot of frauds have been committed to the people of this country, and one of them is that they have been given a wrong interpretation of secularism. “What does secularism mean? Secularism is a European concept, and it is not an Indian concept. In Europe, secularism came because there was a fight between the church and the king... How can India be away from 'dharma'? Secularism is a European concept and let it be there only. In India, there is no need for secularism,” he said.

This is not the first time that the Tamil Governor made this statement. Last year, he said secularism is a European concept that was born out of conflict and war; but was added to the Constitution for political reasons.   He had also alleged that there was widespread caste discrimination in Tamil Nadu.  "There was unacceptable social discrimination in our society. We have untouchability. We have social discrimination. A large section of our brothers and sisters are not treated equally. It is painful. It is a social evil and that must be eradicated,” he said.

Last month, Sports and Youth Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin slammed the governor’s comment on the quality of the school education syllabus of the state government. According to Udyanidhi,  the remark was an insult to teachers and students.

VIDEO | "A lot of frauds have been committed to the people of this country, and one of them is they have tried to give a wrong interpretation of secularism. What does secularism mean? Secularism is a European concept, and it is not an Indian concept. In Europe, secularism came pic.twitter.com/E4vxWo6Gnq

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Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 22, 2024

“A good syllabus promotes independent and rational thinking. In that sense, Tamil Nadu’s syllabus is the finest in the country and will continue to nurture talented students,” Udhayanidhi said.

Ravi claimed that the quality of education in the state is on a sharp decline and teaching standards in government schools have fallen below the national average.