Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

@article{192388,
        author = {Dr.Mausumi Mukherjee},
        title = {Indian Secularism-A Case Study of Kumbh Mela},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {9},
        pages = {1332-1334},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=192388},
        abstract = {India is often described as a melting pot of religions, cultures, languages, castes, and ideologies. Despite periodic assertions of religious, ethnic, and linguistic identities, the unity and solidarity of the Indian nation have largely remained intact, demonstrating remarkable resilience against divisive forces. The constitutional commitment to a “sovereign socialist secular democratic republic,” as enshrined in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution, continues to command widespread faith, notwithstanding contemporary challenges.
This paper examines the evolving nature of Indian secularism through a detailed case study of the Mahakumbh Mela at Prayagraj. While the secular structure of the Indian polity has survived numerous critiques and stresses, recent developments—particularly the overt involvement of the state in promoting and facilitating large-scale religious congregations—have rekindled debates on the meaning and practice of secularism. The Mahakumbh, celebrated as the world’s largest religious congregation, provides a fertile ground to analyse the tensions and harmonies between religious revivalism, state neutrality, syncretic culture, economic development, environmental sustainability, and constitutional secularism.
The study argues that contemporary Indian secularism is witnessing a paradigmatic shift from a negative conception—where the state maintains strict distance from religion—towards a model of positive secularism that emphasises equal respect for all religions, albeit with discernible challenges. Through an analysis of socio-political, economic, administrative, and environmental dimensions of the Kumbh Mela, the paper highlights both the integrative and polarising potentials inherent in state-facilitated religious events in a plural democracy.},
        keywords = {Positive secularism, pluralistic spiritual heritage, religious congregation, syncretism},
        month = {February},
        }