I may know more about Game of Thrones than I do about the Mahabharata. I speak English and not a word of Hindi. But my greatest pride as an Indian American is held within my secularism - a concept that, arguably, has historically been Indian.

Just this week, 64 years ago, India celebrated its inauguration as a secularist and socialist republic. Though much has changed about India in its young years of being an independent country, one positive thing that has impressed me about Indian culture, for the most part, above all, is our tolerance for people of different religions and creeds.

I could go on and name the different religions of high ranking government officials, both in history and current. India’s prime minister is a Sikh. They have also elected a woman to this position. Ten years ago, a Muslim was president of India. Right now, the head of India’s Research and Analysis Wing, is a Muslim.  If these are not good qualifications for being secular, I don’t know what is.

It’s not as if this is a recent fad that has somehow come up because of Indian culture’s “westernization”. India has long been a favorite place for oppressed races, religions, and other minorities to flock to. It was a cultural hub that allowed for Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam to somehow co-exist more peacefully in one nation as three different religions than other places in Europe did at the time. Even people of Judaism were not too uncommon in India during medieval times, and we all know how Europe has historically treated them.

Some might even say that our peaceful and accepting cultures went a little too far; instead of a Spanish Inquisition, we let numerous different cultures invade our country and assimilate themselves into our culture! The Dutch and Danish, for example, were influenced heavily by India’s tolerance for different religions and races.

As Indian Americans, it can be easy to get caught within negativity within the home-place of our heritage. For example, we read all the time about abuses done to women within India. Government corruption has turned from a topical item of discussion to a practical joke amongst all of us. Discrimination to other races, religions, and minorities - such as the comically stupid upholding of criminalizing gay sex - is still a huge problem and impediment to our moral progress.

Additionally, who can forget the religion based partition of India and Pakistan - which created countless conflicts, tension, and deaths between the two nations? Or multiple conflicts, riots, and internal struggles between Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims for power? One of our nations’ most beloved leaders, Indira Gandhi, was assassinated by a Sikh extremist. It hasn’t been perfect; there’s a lot of room for improvement.

I am not saying to ignore these issues or pretend they don’t exist. All I am trying to say is that for all of its problems, India and Indian culture has progressed so much within the last 64 years - a relatively low amount of time to become progressive for a nation. It has gotten to the point where many of these aggressive religious proselytizers and bigots are actually condemned by the majority. Problems exist, but we are aware of it and even through our cynicism are willing to deal with them.

Yeah, I don’t know Hindi, Telegu, or Tamil. I am not the most traditional of Indian Americans and in contrast to a lot of other Indians, I am not religious at all. But I have a lot of pride for the secular constant that has embedded and defined our community across the globe. Because if there’s one thing that defines Indians, it’s our ability to accept others, progress past our mistakes, and secularly move towards a better world.  

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