The word, secular, a keyword in the Indian Constitution is beginning to acquire a faintly archaic ring in Indian public discourse today, unless it is prefixed by pseudo-, which appears to give it instant contemporaneity and muscle — like a shot of adrenalin. Think also of that other constitutional epithet, socialist, and how quaint it sounds in the robust new India of today. The nation seems to be in search of a new set of defining adjectives for its favourite noun, democracy, just as there is energetic competition over the relative iconicity of its ‘founding fathers’. So, it would be heartening for those to whom the word, secular, still has a sort of crepuscular glow to know that the Delhi High Court has objected to the Centre and the Reserve Bank of India issuing new coins embossed with the images of Hindu deities and temples. The court’s objection invokes that ‘old’ idea of secularism, on which the “idea of India” had been founded after Independence. The court believes that the State should distance itself from, rather than identify with or endorse, symbols or icons that might be perceived as embodying a particular religious identity: “don’t do it for any religion across the board”.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by some residents of Delhi — a city that has seen enough not-quite-secular unrest in recent times, provoked by a clash of religious symbols and celebrations. It is, indeed, the duty of the nation’s judiciary and keepers of law and order to make its citizens, especially those from the minority communities, feel secure in a climate that might make them apprehensive. And that is what the court has done. The additional solicitor general had argued that these new coins were commemorative, following the 1,000th year of a temple and the silver jubilee of a shrine board. The court has asked for guidelines for the issuing of such commemorative coins, having asserted previously that there is an important difference between the public celebration of such anniversaries and the State-endorsed “commemorations” of the coin- issuing kind. The court’s argument about the State having to remain equidistant from all religions used to be the standard, though revered, one in secular democracies. It needs reiteration in the new India with an authority that matches the force with which it tends to be undermined.