Politics in mind, religion in veins

Every time we discuss about secularism in India, we refer to one of the most idealistic lines ever written, ‘We, the people of India, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign socialist secular democratic republic’.

Yes, the very first line of our preamble guarantees us a free and secular state and assures every citizen liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship.

But every time we come across someone who is non Hindu, we carry a look of fascination in our eyes. Unbelievable, but even the educated fraction of Indian population at times carries that fascinated look in their eyes. And if we compare the situation with respect to the uneducated or rural population of the nation, this look of fascination turns into a look of disgust in no time.

To cut short, the influence of religion in our day to day life can never be undermined till the time we continue to hold on to that look of fascination or disgust in our eyes. So how can politics be kept aside from the domino of religion.

Since the inception of the theory of politics in India, it was always been primarily governed by two factors, namely caste and religion. So deep is the connection of these two factors is that even today, caste and religious vote banks play the deciding factor in a political victory.

There was an era which witnessed rigours upsurge in the religious autocracies in India. From the demolition of Babri Mazid in the year 1992 to the 2002 Gujarat Riots, what happened with the Muslim community in this much quoted multi-ethnic state of India, is something which still determines the politics of the nation. Such is the impact of religion in the nation.

Today we have a potential Prime Minister, Modi, who’s only hindrance to the chair of the PM has been his alleged involvement in communal riots in Gujarat, while his fellow party man, L K Advani had to give up his dream of being working head of the Indian Union because he was present during the demolition of the epitome of religious sentiment, the Babri Mazid.

There are speeches made specifically appalling and targeting various minority religious groups in the nation. No election goes away without the adulteration of religious sentiments of the Indian public.

And even we have our weak spot. Religion is something that we have kept so closely associated with us. We have set our preferences such a way that no matter what unfolds; religion has to have that upper say every time.  

And with a fact established that the next thing other to cricket which Indians like to associated themselves has to be political parties. And since in place of blood, religion run down our veins and with politics in our mind; the relation between both can never be undermined.