Raj
I am getting back on this board after a long time.
India is a secular democracy. No doubt!
1) There is no official religion for the country.
However do you call it truly secular like the west, I would say no. Because, there are different set of laws governing different religious groups, esp on personal affairs. Hindus are governed by Hindu Law and Muslims are governed by the Muslim Law. So, in terms of government policies, things are secular, but when justice and law comes into picture it is religious.
Welcome back Victory.
I consider that icing on the cake of Indian secular democracy. But it hurts when even muslims ignore the fact that India is the only country in the world which offer this space to its minorities, ie, allowing them to be governed by their personal laws. I hope this discussion help them remove their misconceptin about secular India.