Abstract: Secularism, understood in the western sense, is the rigorous separation of church and state. The situation in India is very different from that in the West in that religion plays a major part in people's personal life. There is no distinction made between any faith and others in India. In India, discrimination based on religion is illegal and religious freedom is a basic right. In addition to the religious freedom guaranteed by the Indian constitution, this study attempts to examine several conceptions of secularism in India. Moreover, it provides an overview of the significance of both secularism and religious freedom in India. Our country's founding fathers ensured religious freedom as a basic right in the Indian constitution. The Indian constitution is well-equipped with a secular character, prohibiting discrimination based on religion, even though it did not contain any secular words when it was adopted. Furthermore, Nehru and Gandhi's concepts of Dharm Nirpekshta and Sarva Dharma Sambhava, respectively, have been a route towards realizing and comprehending the ideas of secularism in India. Various scholars have offered differing perspectives on the type of secularism that would be appropriate in the Indian setting. As a result, this essay emphasizes and provides a summary of religious freedom and secularism in the Indian setting.

Keywords: India, ethnic conflicts, religious conflicts, communal harmony, identity politics, economic disparities, conflict resolution, national unity, diversity, interfaith dialogue.