Nepal is a small and poor country in the Himalayan region whose economy is mainly tourism-dependent. The devastating earthquake of April 2015 that killed thousands of people and reduced the state literally to rubbles, flattening some of the world famous heritage sites, almost shattered the country.
However on Monday, Nepal carved a place in history when its Constituent Assembly rejected the call to revert the Himalayan country to a Hindu nation and rather preferred to remain secular. What a beautiful message for the world around, particularly at a time when religious one-upmanship is trying to gain momentum in some regions.
Let us learn from this insignificant nation that the best thing to achieve peace and prosperity in this turbulent world is to keep religion at bay. Let the individual be free to practise the religion of his choice without the state imposing the religious decrees on the citizens.
We know what regressive and repressive measures are unleashed by some of the Islamic countries on the subjects imposing the proclamations dictated by the sole religion that is practised and professed. Is there any respect for the individual of another faith other than the religion they propound? That apart, without any democratic principles being accepted is there any reverence for a woman in such society? Take for instance the state of affairs in Saudi Arabia. Will you be able to proclaim your beliefs in public in that country ridden with parochialism?
It is high time that we learn to keep religion at bay. Accepting plurality in every phase is possibly the best thing that we can ever aspire for. It would be fitting at this juncture to draw attention to pseudo-secularism that is being tacitly promoted in some countries beginning with our own land. We harp of being a secular democratic republic but intolerance rooted in religiosity is mounting by the day, imposing on us a series of don’ts on eating, drinking, wearing, reading and seeing. Are we a free and liberated lot?
