Political Diary

New Delhi,, 11 November 2025

Religious Gush

ALL IN NAME OF FAITH

By Poonam I Kaushish 

As the last vote is in ballot box in Bihar wherein beside caste, it was a battle royale between the Gods as our political undatas busily churned the political cauldron underscoring communication is all about rabble rousing, spreading hatred and widening the communal divide on religious lines.

Unfortunately, instead of asking rivals what they brought to the table and their vision about the State’s future all fell prey to poll exigencies. Why do we revel in creating dissonance and divisiveness? And masquerade interests as principles? And why do we love churning the Ram-Rahim wheel a full circle in the electoral arena?

Turn North, South, East or West the story is the same. Religion in politics is turning out to being a vote spinner.  An issue which is close to our leaders’ heart and on their permanent radar to woo voters with.  Who cares if it is destructive, stokes communal violence, sows seeds of rabid communalism and ghettosiation of religion unleashing a Frankenstein?

All to sway sentiments before elections in all religions whereby every Party is stoking the fire, hoping it would gain dividends underscoring the games politicians play at the altar of political expediency. To keep their gullible vote-banks emotionally charged so that their own ulterior motives are well-served.

In Bihar India Bloc Parties were busy wooing Muslims by giving tickets to candidates from the community. With more than two crore population, Muslims comprise nearly 17.7% of the State’s population as BJP tried to consolidate its Hindu vote bank.

In adjoining UP police is busy removing 1400 loudspeakers at religious spaces after complaints of widespread violations of prescribed voice limits. Enough to ignite a rabid volley of Hindu-Muslim tu-tu-mein-mein.

Yesterday a video surfaced of Muslims offering namaz at Bengaluru  airport and as always a slanging match between BJP-Congress with the former asking if permission had been granted to offer prayers at a public space and demanded accountability, despite a prayer room within the terminal. Asking why State Government continued to restrict RSS activities, Patha Sanchalana after obtaining due permission?

With the State set for polls next year, countered Chief Minister Siddaramiah, “The order regulates activities of private organisations on Government properties and RSS is not in the order. Sic. 

Amid the cacophony the Chief Minister instructed Chief Secretary to study measures taken by Tamil Nadu Government to restrict  RSS’s activities. Though there are no specific “rules” there to curb RSS activities, rather, the Dravidian, anti-Brahmin movement has historically made it hard for RSS to penetrate the State. This, in turn, has made it easier for Government to impose restrictions, despite a constant push back. All resulting in centrifugal bickerings.

Questionably, what do acrimonious allegations achieve? Zilch. Only the aam aadmi became targets. Forgetting, creating controversy and a divide doesn’t achieve anything and neither does insult of a creed.

Alas, our netas have made religion the tour de force of politics wherein the electoral incentive to use religion is too strong as it has salience and appeal. Thus, in a milieu of competitive democracy which blots pledges of development, if politics based on religion ensures convergence of electoral booty, increase popularity and has better chances of polarising voters, so be it.

Congress accuses BJP for engineering Hindu majoritarian communal style of politics by using tactics like attempting to electorally marginalise Muslims to patronising communal violence. Opposition despite taking its opponent to task over its anti-minority plank and opposing aggressive Hindutva consolidation, doesn’t want to be labeled “pro-Muslim.” Reading the ‘Muslim mind’ as an anti-BJP phenomenon on which they base their political strategy.

Undeniably, BJP’s new Hindutva rajneeti of polarization is attempting to make inroads into regions with little or no significant minority presence as it revolves around Sab Ka Saaath, Sab Ka Vikas which reads: There is no need to treat Muslims as a separate social entity. Yet it realizes the ‘Muslim mind’ is problematic and slams its rival as ‘Muslim Party’ part of “tukde-tukde gang” which protects terrorists, “working on Pakistan’s agenda” and belongs there.

True, religion is clearly a massive emotional, spiritual and vote leveler. Given our netas use religion to increase their vote-banks, pitting Hindus against Muslims for political nirvana.  Who cares if it creates fissiparous tendencies resulting in a communal divide?

India’s misfortune is that Hindu, Muslim and Christian fundamentalism is growing thanks to political and intellectual double-speak. Whereby, secularism has degenerated from its lofty ideal of equal respect for all religions to a cheap and diabolical strategy for creating captive religious vote-banks. With our netagan refusing to acknowledge they are culprits. 

Clearly, in a milieu of competitive democracy, if caste politics ensures convergence of electoral booty, politics based on religion has better chance of polarising voters via vicious poison tongued speeches inducing raw emotions of hostility and hate.

Sadly, politics has meandered into narrow confines of polarisation and appeasement rhetoric not only spreading hatred but also widened the communal divide pitting Hindus, Muslims and Christians. There is no desire to uphold equal respect for various faiths. Instead, unashamedly use religion to with voters.

Undoubtedly, this ping-pong over warped religious nationalism spun by our netagan, Parties, self-styled religious-political authorities and their cheerleaders is dangerous. When selfish vote-banks politics dictate our polity’s political ideology, attitude and stance is fashioned according to the electorate’s diktat then all stand tarred by the same brush.

Time Parties realize the collateral damage it causes will be permanent. Both are destroyers of the State, which has no religious entity except Constitution. Thus, our moral angst cannot be selective but should be just an honourable.

In the present political scenario if our leaders could segregate religion from politics, the problem of communal violence would end. To combat this will require iron political will, a compact between all Parties on no use of religion for vote-bank politics. Unfortunately, India’s current fragmented political arena holds out little hope for such an eventuality.

In the ultimate our petty-power-at-all-cost polity needs to think beyond vote-bank politics and desist from playing the religious card for vote-bank gains, abstain from using creed as a pedestal to stand on to be seen and look beyond the perilous implications of their decisions wherein the country is being pushed towards brazen communalism and delink religion from politics.

Their Constitutional office calls for sagacity and restraint. They need to do a cost-benefit analysis and realize a nation is primarily a fusion of minds and hearts and secondarily a geographical entity. All must desist from succumbing and using religion for converting religious gush into political slush!

The aim should be to raise the bar on governance and equality, not lower it any more. Parties need to realize the collateral damage it causes will be permanent. Remember, wounds do not heal for ages. They need to desist using religion as an elevator to power and Heaven which all are scrambling to get on. As, neither Lord Ram nor Allah will forgive them for playing havoc in its name. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)