Why am I drawn to the Secularist?

Growing up in Lucknow, having studied in Varanasi, Mumbai and Cardiff, I saw the deprivation, locally, nationally, and globally, of one value I deeply hold dear – Secularism.

Secularism, as I understand, is the freedom to pursue a faith of one’s choice – or none at all- without the interference of the State, and the assurance that public institutions and shared spaces remain neutral, so that no citizen is privileged or disadvantaged on the basis of belief. This also ensures the protection of the plural identities of a person. These identities can be many and often intersect with each other – gender, sexuality, religion, caste, class, nationality, etc., especially in a country as diverse as India.

When I started my higher studies as an undergraduate student of English Literature, as an ambitious 17-year-old, I was ready to step into the real world and make a difference through my work. But the ‘real world’ was, as they say, stranger (and perhaps harsher) than fiction.

Reading Indian literature such as Mulk Raj Anand’s Untouchable or Mahasweta Devi’s Dopdi threw light on the hard-hitting realities of India. I became increasingly aware of my identity as a woman when even the ‘safe’ interiors of my residential university campus were not fully accessible to me. At the same time, in 2017, a political upheaval was taking place in my home state- Uttar Pradesh, this time deeply tinted in religious saffron tones. The government, with its Hindu religious majoritarianism, wreaked havoc on minorities and displayed dirty communal politics. It continues to do so.

For my Master’s program, I chose Media and Cultural Studies to study and use media as a tool to amplify underrepresented voices. My work with Feminism in India, Youth Ki Awaaz, EcoPotlight, and PRADAN helped me engage in meaningful discussions around intersectional feminism in India, climate change and sustainability, and success stories of women farmers in Odisha..

My journalistic work in Cardiff, the UK, was more grounded in community journalism. From telling stories of protest for a clean river in Wye or the protection of farming laws in Wales, to stories of enhancing ways for sustainable living in the UK and interviewing council members and policymakers, the focus of my journalism was based on everyday struggles. The highlight of my time in the UK was doing an investigative story on exploring poverty in one of the most deprived wards of Wales. Results revealed how immigrants are blamed for ‘taking away the jobs’ which never existed in the first place! This revealed how systemic failures are often (mis)attributed to minorities.

Throughout my education and work so far, I have increasingly come to realise that an identity is shaped by intersectional factors. These experiences shaped my worldview, quite literally, and developed a deeper sense of journalistic and academic rigour in me. The words of Sabika Abbas Naqvi, an Indian resistance poet, “Go back to your roots, not to glorify them, but to question them,” have had a lasting impression on me.

In societies driven by majoritarian power-thirsty States, minorities have to bear the burden. This is why I strongly believe that secular values are not just for rigorous academia or flowery literature, but should inform our lifestyle, choices and everyday conversations. 

“There is no room for bigots in the modern world,” Nehru once wrote, but the reality is far from it. Bigots around the world have given rise to organised religions, which have maimed the world politically and culturally. It is these structural power regimes that the Secularist aims to hold accountable.

So to answer: Why was I drawn to The Secularist? I borrow the words of Maya Angelou:

Because “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

Here I have the platform to engage in ethical journalism that promotes secular values, human rights, and social justice, draws upon the ideas of great thinkers from history and the present, reflects on current events, and has the privilege of encouraging critical and compassionate thinking among readers. 

I hope to contribute to bringing forwardpertinent stories highlighting structural inequalities, amplify underrepresented voices, encourage critical engagement with institutions of power, and help shape a more secular world, one story at a time.