<P> In matters of personal law, such as acceptable age of marriage for girls, female circumcision, polygamy, divorce and inheritance, Indian law permits each religious group to implement their religious law if the religion so dictates, otherwise the state laws apply . In terms of religions of India with significant populations, only Islam has religious laws in form of sharia which India allows as Muslim Personal Law . </P> <P> Secularism in India, thus, does not mean separation of religion from state . Instead, secularism in India means a state that is neutral to all religious groups . Religious laws in personal domain, particularly for Muslim Indians, supersede parliamentary laws in India; and currently, in some situations such as religious indoctrination schools the state partially finances certain religious schools . These differences have led a number of scholars to declare that India is not a secular state, as the word secularism is widely understood in the West and elsewhere; rather it is a strategy for political goals in a nation with a complex history, and one that achieves the opposite of its stated intentions . </P> <P> In the West, the word secular implies three things: freedom of religion, equal citizenship to each citizen regardless of his or her religion, and the separation of religion and state . One of the core principles in the constitution of Western democracies has been this separation, with the state asserting its political authority in matters of law, while accepting every individual's right to pursue his or her own religion and the right of religion to shape its own concepts of spirituality . Everyone is equal under law, and subject to the same laws irrespective of his or her religion, in the West . </P> <P> In contrast, in India, the word secular does not imply separation of religion and state . It means equal treatment of all religions . Religion in India continues to assert its political authority in matters of personal law . The applicable personal law differ if an individual's religion is Christianity, or Hindu . The term secularism in India also differs from the French concept for secularity, namely laïcité . While the French concept demands absence of governmental institutions in religion, as well as absence of religion in governmental institutions and schools; the Indian concept, in contrast, provides financial support to religious schools and accepts religious law over governmental institutions . The Indian structure has created incentives for various religious denominations to start and maintain schools, impart religious education, and receive partial but significant financial support from the Indian government . Similarly, Indian government financially supports, regulates and administers the historic Hindu temples, Buddhist monasteries, and certain Christian religious institutions; this direct Indian government involvement in various religions is markedly different from Western secularism . </P>

India is a secular country justify your answer