Agartala, Sept. 8: Tripura governor Tathagata Roy, has given a new twist to the meaning and interpretation of the word secularism. In a tweet today, Roy said, "According to dictionary meaning (never mind home-made ones) Hindi for 'secular' should be dharm heen or dharm varjit. Not dharm-nirapeksha."

Gouri Bhattacharya, a follower of the governor on twitter, quoted scholar Amiya Bagchi who interpreted secularism as 'dharma nirlipta'. Another follower, Nilanjan Banerjee, congratulated the governor while a follower with the pseudonym Prettypadmaja gave a new definition saying, "In India seculars are those who publicly hate Hindus, love all other religions but secretly pray to Hindu Gods and Goddesses."

The series of tweets follows the decision by the Union home ministry to allow persecuted religious minorities of Pakistan and Bangladesh to live in India. The governor has even pasted a copy of the order on twitter.