Religion And Politics: A Concoction No Less Than A Dynamite
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
30 March
2023
At The Same Time, The Enigmatic Silence On Hate
Speech Underlines The State's Complicity. In Fact, The Ruling Political Party
Is Fanning Such Incidents And Encouraging These Elements.
----
The SC
rightly observed on Wednesday that the hate speech will end the moment
politicians stop using religion.
Such worst
characters abound in the current political dispensation. A number of Maharaj
and Sadhvis in politics have nothing else to do except for abusing Muslims and
Christians.
At the same
time, the enigmatic silence on hate speech underlines the State's complicity.
In fact, the ruling political party is fanning such incidents and encouraging
these elements. UP banned the sale and consumption of meat for nine days
because of Chaitra Navratri. Some politicians in Delhi had browbeaten the
owners of meat shops. Don't Hindus eat meat? Do all Hindus refrain from non-veg
during their festivals? And what about the fate of the people whose livelihood
depends upon selling meat?
Religion is
being given too much importance in recent times. Something which should have
been limited to the confines of four walls is coming out in public and creating
nuisance, thanks to the new breed of vicious politicians.
Agreed,
politicians are always responsible for brewing religious tensions and
bad-blood, but people are also to be blamed.
Recently, a
British professor of Psychology, Elvin Reed, opined in Indian context that when
the people of a country get swayed by religious rhetoric and start acting in an
overzealous manner, fanaticism and lawlessness are bound to prevail.
So very true. Have a cursory look at the
display pictures of most of the Hindus, even the 'educated' ones. Pictures of
some deities or lines from scriptures will adorn that space. What do these
people want to show is beyond any sensible person's ken.
Most of the posts have religious hues. Mark
Twain observed decades ago that religiously inebriated people are like sheep.
They can be easily shepherded by the cunning politicians. That's happening in
today's India. Religiously intoxicated people, Hindus, Muslims and others, are
allowing themselves to be led by the politicians who know that religion can
always be effectively used to opiate these zombies.
There're
much better things to do. Treat religion as something very private; as private
as your innerwear. When religion and politics are mixed up, the concoction is
no less than a dynamite. Don't allow these politicians to write and regulate
your destiny. Use your brains.
------
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several
languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/religion-politics-concoction-dynamite/d/129442
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