Below we publish the statement issued by Kerala chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, on January 22.

SECULARISM is the soul of the democratic republic of India. It has been part of our identity as a nation right from the days of our national movement. Those belonging to different faiths and those who were not part of any religion had taken active part in our freedom struggle. This nation belongs to all people and all sections of Indian society, in equal measure.

Religion is a private affair and the Indian Constitution has minced no words in stating that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and have the right to freely profess, practise and propagate religion. As those who have taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of India, we ought to ensure that every person within our territories enjoys this right in equal measure. At the same time, we cannot be promoting one religion above all others, or demean one religion beneath every other.

As our first prime minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru has often opined, Indian secularism means the separation of religion and state. We even have a strong tradition of maintaining that separation. However, of late, the line that demarcates religion and state seems to be getting thinner and thinner. This is a major departure from the times when our constitutional office bearers have been cautioned from taking part in religious events, as it would cast aspersions on our credentials as a secular state.

Now, we have come to a point in time when the inauguration of a religious place of worship in the country is being celebrated as a State event. Most of us have been invited to participate in the rituals, by the trust in charge of it. As those who have pledged to preserve and protect our constitution, let us reaffirm our commitment to its secular character, by declining to participate in the event, upholding our constitutional responsibilities.

Let this serve as an opportunity to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities. May India prosper further by developing scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform.