A brief analysis reveals the following :--
(a) NEPAL was a Hindu kingdom till the killing of King Gyanendra.HINDUISM was its State religion.
NEPAL is now a SECULAR republic.
(b) Bangla Desh was born a secular country in 1972.
till President Zia-ur-Rehman arrived on the scene.in 1976.
BANGLA DESH. follows ISLAM as its State religion..
(c )PAKISTAN, AFGHANISTAN and the MALDIVES are ISLAMIC countries.
(d)BHUTAN kingdom follows Mahayana Buddhism as the state religion
(e) MYANMAR is a multi-religious country. There is NO official state religion, but the government shows preference for Theravada Buddhism, the majority religion.
(f) SRILANKA ,though secular, follows BUDHISM as State religion.
-(g) CHINA follows CONFUSIONISM, as its religion
Points for consideration
( 1) It is noteworthy that India and Nepal are the two Hindu majority countries who have declared themselves as SECULAR republics.
(2)Is there any message for the multi-religeous societies?
(3)A state with an official religion, while not secular, is not necessarily a theocracy.. Do you agree with this hypothesis?
(4) Role of religions of neighbouring countries in foreign policy formulation ?
Don't forget we live in an inter-dependent global economy.