As a citizen of my country, I also can work towards promoting the ideal of Secularism in the following ways:
(i) Respecting the faith of people following a religion different from mine.
(ii) Not offending the things held sacred by the followers of a certain religion.
(iii) Helping people of a religion different from mine celebrate their festivals by giving them holiday from work/school etc.

In our society, people belonging to different religions live together in harmony. We not only celebrate the festivals of our religion but participate wholeheartedly in the religious festivals of other religions too.
In happy occasions as well as difficult times, the whole society comes together. We have unity in diversity.

There is one significant way in which Indian Secularism differs from others. Unlike the strict separation between religion and the State in other countries like United State of America in the Indian type of Secularism, the State can intervene in religious affairs.
The Indian Constitution permits the State to intervene in religious matters like the practice of untouchability and inheritance laws to establish the Fundamental Right of equality.

The government will intervene if some religious group says that their religion allows them to practise infanticide. It is a crime to practise infanticide and the government will not allow it even if some religion endorses it. The Constitution provides Right to Freedom in addition to the Right to Freedom of Religion. The infant's right to life will be violated if infanticide is practised. Therefore the government will not allow it.

Following is a list of the different types of religious practices followed in my neighbourhood:
Religious Practice     Religion
(i) Jagran/SatsanglKirtan/Yajna - Hinduism (singing of religious songs, chanting of hymns)
(ii) Ajan/Namaj (call to the faithful for prayers) - Islam
(iii) Holy Mass/Carols (singing - Christian religious songs in honour of Christ)
It does indicate that different religious communities do enjoy the freedom of religious practice.

Peace is a long-cherished goal of all citizens. It is a basic human need as it helps maintain harmony, security and lets people live with dignity.
But peace does not come on its own. We have to work towards upholding peace by being tolerant of each other, respecting our differences and focus on achieving the larger common interest. It is a never-ending process. Being tolerant should become a part of our nature. Only then can we truly achieve unity in diversity.

The countries of Israel and Saudi Arabia have a non-secular type of State. The States of Israel and Saudi Arabia profess and promote the Jewish and Islamic religion respectively in their programmes and policies.
Israel and Saudi Arabia are completely different from India in the sense that India is a secular State where all religions are treated equally. Unlike India, the position of religious minorities is very bad in Israel and Saudi Arabia. Minorities are not free to follow their religion freely nor can they assemble in public spaces for prayer, religious gatherings etc. In Saudi Arabia, the followers of other religions cannot set-up their places of worship. The people of minority religions live in constant fear and are even killed and persecuted as is the case in Israel.

The nature of Secularism in India is unique in the sense that the State follows the policy of distancing as well as intervention in matters of religion.
(i) Distancing The Indian State distances itself from all religions. It gives equal respect to all religions yet does not officially promote any one particular religion on its own. This is to maintain neutrality.
(ii) Intervention Though the Indian State follows the policy of keeping away from religious matters, it may intervene in exceptional cases. This happens when the State feels that some citizen's/citizens' Fundamental Rights have been violated by religion.

Fora country to function democratically, it is important to separate religion from the State.Because
(i) Almost all countries of the world have more than one religious group and within these, there is at least one religious group in majority. If a majority religious group has access to State power, it could use this power and financial resources to discriminate against other religious groups.
This could result in tyranny of the majority.
Separation of religion from the State will make invalid any such excess.
(ii) It is important to protect the freedom of individuals to embrace or exit from any religion and interpret its thoughts and beliefs differently.