Rajiv Gandhiís vision of India was firmly rooted in secularism. He believed that only a secular India could survive.He went a step further and declared, 'perhaps an India that is not secular does not deserve to survive!'

There has been much debate on what exactly secularism is. Is it merely the worldly as opposed to the sacred. Is it a way of life divorced from religion or the church?

Rajiv did not consider secularism as something anti-religion, or irreligious.'We have a deep abiding appreciation of the rich vein of spirituality that runs through our culture, that runs through every religion in India. It runs through our history, it runs through every person that is Indian.'

Rajiv's views on secularism take on an added urgency because of the rise of communal forces in India over the past decade. Communalism, which breeds separatism has gradually become respectable, and this does not augur well for India.

Rajiv Gandhi insightfully pointed out: 'Not withstanding thousands of years of secularism, the forces of communalism have not been vanquished. The history of India is a kind of dialectic between the forces of secularism, tolerance and compassion versus the forces of communalism, fundamentalism and famatiasm. In the long run, secularism will always triumph. But the never-ceasing running battle with the opposing forces of communalism continues, which we must fight.'

Though the secular state has no religion, the state respects all religions equally. The state is above religion but it is not anti-religious. Thus, Rajiv's secularism did not exclude God or religion from man's life, as did communism. Communism is godless, secularism respects all religions.

Rajiv believed that religion has "high value"but it must remain limited to a manís private and personal life. 'It has no role to play in the politics of the country,'said Rajiv. He was strongly opposed to injecting religion into politics. He felt mixing religion with politics is against the traditions of our civilization, the spirit of our constitutions and the survival of our state.