By
Sushil Kutty
Ayodhya,
Sabarimala, Gurugram, Akbar Fort, Noida, lunatic asylum, pilgrimage centre,
women’s right to pray, Muslims’ right to pray… Since May 26, 2014, ever since
BJP won the rulers’ grubstake, religious issues have acquired a political
colour, which has gotten a deeper shade with general elections 2019 approaching.
The Sangh Parivaar is basically a politico-religious configuration. It mirrors
monotheistic religions, which themselves are not beyond politics. But the name
of the game in India is religious polarization to win elections.
Ex-RBI
Governor Raghuram Rajan says a ‘majoritarian agenda’ divides people. By that
token, mollycoddling the ‘minority’ also divides people. Cut off a large or a
small slice of the cake, both ways there will be division. The Ayyappa Temple
at Sabarimala and the Authority Park in Sector 58, Noida, offer insights. The
two are in the news over the issue of the right to pray. In Sabarimala, it is
the right to pray of women of all ages infringed. In Noida, the right to pray
of Muslims interfered with.
But
the argument splinters two different ways. In Noida, it is ‘how can government
and police interfere?’ In Sabarimala, it is ‘police and government can
interfere.’ In both situations, there is the law to contend with. And there is
violation of the law, too. Like the guy and the gal answer to the question
“are you in any relation?” with: “It’s complicated.” Do
people, including law enforcement, know the law? Is there application of mind
in decisions taken on matters governed by law? Are the laws being followed,
enforced, without fear or favour?
As
it happens, when it comes to religion, laws are often flouted. Also, not
enforced properly. Until all hell breaks loose! July 2018, Puducherry Lt.
Governor Kiran Bedi goes to the Social Welfare Department in the Union
Territory and finds none of the officers in the department has any knowledge of
the laws governing ‘Senior Citizens Welfare’, ‘Juvenile Justice’, ‘Child
Welfare, ‘NGOs’ or ‘Domestic Violence’ – not the ‘Director’, the ‘Deputy
Director’, ‘Assist. Director’ or the ‘Welfare Officers.’ And all of them 20
years in service! Pathetic. ‘Criminal’ is the word.
The
law on Sabarimala changed September 28, 2018. And because of the turmoil that
followed and continues to date, everybody, including children, are aware of the
change. The Noida Police sat on the law governing religious congregations in
public places without being aware of it, till challenged by an emerging law and
order situation. Now, Noida has become a flashpoint and experts on TV cannot
step out of their bias, throwing allegations and counter-allegations of
‘majoritarian bullying’ and ‘minority appeasement’.
There
are lessons to be learned. Why did the Noida companies ask their Muslim
employees to pray ‘outside’ without examining the law? Why did the Noida Police
not notice the congregation grow from 15 to 1,000 and not question for four
plus years, why now? Why the different treatment of ‘Kawaria’ and ‘Namaz’ by
the Yogi government? Are Muslims being stopped from constructing mosques? Is
there a law limiting religious gatherings at public places? Do RSS shakhas and
laughter-therapy sessions in parks translate to congregation, do they breach
the law?
Apparently,
there is a 2009 Supreme Court verdict governing religious congregations at
public places. But what is a public place for religions? The Ayyappa Temple is,
according to the apex court, a public place. A park is also a public place. But
there are reasonable restrictions, including ‘law & order and public
morality issues,’ limiting religious congregation in parks. The Authority Park
in Noida has now become a ‘law and order’ problem with religious overtone.
Politics is seesawing on the religious swing!
Gurugram
witnessed a similar ‘Namaz in the open’ dispute a few months ago. Apparently,
in both Gurugram and Noida, Muslims offering Namaz in the open were mostly
migrant workers from West Bengal. They have no mosques to offer Namaz. That
said, communal tensions are, to an extent, real. Add to that the BJP’s
majoritarian and the opposition parties’ minority agendas and it is important
that both majority and minority hold their horses, and noses. Communal
conflagrations triggered by politics benefit only the lowlife.
That
being said, if dissent is what makes democracy, there are constructive and
creative ways to lodge dissent. Like the ‘Ayyappa Jyothi’ of the Ayyappa
devotees that lit Kerala up Wednesday (December 26) evening, from Kasargode to
the Triveni Sangam in Kanyakumari. Stretched over 790 km, the light traversed
all the Kerala districts, touched over 3,000 religious centres, wound its way
through numerous villages and towns – covered the cities of Kozhikode,
Mallappuram, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Pattanamthitta, Kollam and
Thiruvananthapuram. A total of 15 lakh ‘Ayyappa Jyothi’ lamps lighting up
Kerala from end to end, 6 pm to 6.15 pm!
January
1, 2019, the LDF Government’s ‘Great Wall of Women’ will stretch from Kasargode
to Thiruvananthapuram and it will try to match ‘Ayyappa Jyothi’ – spectacle for
spectacle! Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will have to beat the
slumgullion with slumgullion! The word ‘slumgullion’ was one of the top
look-ups in Webster Merriam dictionary this month. It means both ‘inexpensive
stew’ and ‘insipid drink’! (IPA Service)
The post The Slumgullion To Sway Voters appeared first on Newspack by India Press Agency.
