That unity transcends the innumerable diversities of blood, colour, language, dress, manners and sect. Dr Vincent Smith wrote: India beyond all doubt possesses a deep underlying fundamental unity far more profound than that produced either by geographical isolation or political suserainty.
It incorporates special provisions towards safeguarding the language, culture, and educational as well as religious institutions of the minorities. The constitution of India ensures equality of status, treatment and opportunity to all citizens irrespective of caste and creed. The slogan, Vasudhaiba Kutumbakam (the whole world is my family) has not originated recently, but its prelude can be seen in the ancient Vedic and Buddhist scriptures. In his speech Swamiji had underlined that the Aryans, Sakas, Hunas, Mongols, Turks, Parsees and Europeans who came to India from time to time mixed up and assimilated themselves thoroughly with indigenous people and constituted an organic whole, called Indians. That is why she has displayed respect to all the world religions for ages, which has once again been proclaimed loud and clearly by Swami Vivekananda in his immortal speech at the Parliament of World Religions at Chicago in 1893 by addressing the Americans as brothers and sisters, receiving huge applause for more than fifteen minutes in the auditorium and leaving the audience spell bound. But India was never cowed down by the partition, because it continued to pursue with utmost regard the secular theory and accepted in principle the co-existence of all faiths. Even during the struggle for freedom against the British, this concept was used openly to combat the nasty communalism and pose a counter force to negate the two-nation theory of Jinnah, eventually leading to the partition of India. Indian rulers from Ashoka to Akbar came under the spell of this precept and professed secularism.
The ancient Indian precept of Sarva Dharma Sambvhava (all religions are true) has formed a base to develop such a secular concept in India. Indias secularism has a different connotation, which means showing equal regards to all faiths and nurturing no antireligious bias. In the West it has developed as an outcome of a revolt against the supremacy of the Church over the people and over the then political leadership.
India is a secular country the word secular is enshrined in its constitution, which is totally distinct from that of the West. She held in warm embrace people belonging to any religion by showing profound philanthropy. Prior to 1962, unable to bear the brunt of torture by China, hundreds and thousands of Tibetans sought shelter in India and settled down here permanently. Similarly in old times, Jews being oppressed by the Romans took shelter in the Deccan, though they maintained their separate entity in terms of their religious belief and practices all the while. In days of yore, when Arabians tortured Zoroastrians in the name of religion, many of them sought shelter in India leaving their hearth and home and made India their permanent abode, and subsequently came to be known as Parses, because their original country was Persia. India has never made any discrimination between any people any time there lies Indias large heartedness. It presented the most glaring example during the Bangladesh liberation struggle in 1971, when millions from erstwhile East Pakistan sought refuge in India until they achieved their independence from Pakistans slavery, though millions also stayed back and adopted India as their homeland. It has continued to maintain the same tradition even after the partition. It became a home to all those who were outcastes in their own homeland. Since the beginning of history, she has withstood all types of people with varied culture, beliefs and practices, languages and provided shelter to foreigners who came to her in times of danger to their life and property. India is a unique country famous for displaying extreme toleration.
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