True Secularism?

Today, many nations in the world are secular countries.

Secularism
[source: Secularism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

Essentially it means that religion should not interfere with any of the government affairs. Yet, I question, are countries really secular in the true sense of the word today - especially in countries that follow the reservation system?

In India, there is a controversy going on, when the Government wants to enforce reservation for a particular sect of people - the SC/ST [Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe] and OBCs [Other Backward Castes].

50% of the total seats in prestigious educational institutions have to be reserved for people coming under this category - demands the Government. Caste/religion should not play any part in judging if people deserve seats in these premium institutions, or for that matter, any educational institutions. The single most important factor should be MERIT! It's not the fault of anyone to be born into a higher caste/lower caste, a major religion or a minority!

For a country that has adopted secularism, any practice still based on religion/caste, isn't it against the very tenet that they have adopted?

It's not just India's case here. There has been many criticisms against other countries that still have ties to the Church. [Read the article on Secularism @ Wikipedia].