Name Nikul Joshi / Email nikul_joshi@yahoo.

com / Mumbai, India

Dependency of Politics and Religion in India

With more than 1 billion people, Indian politics cannot remain disintegrated with and
uninfluential from religion. In India, politics is the prey of religion, and religion has lately
become an indisputable ally of politics. Politics involves the conduct of governing multiple
communities, different religions, and all socio-economic classes of people, through equitable
distribution of available resources, and upholding a consistent drive to reduce all kinds of
inequality. This includes inequalities in religion.

Contemporary events like the societal unrest on issue of freedom of speech, beef
consumption, temple worship, religious rights, equal rights in educational and working
institutions based on religion, are events that mires Indian politics, despite its resistance and
aversion to politicize anything that includes religion. Beef eating is considered unholy and a
sin by the Hindus who worship cow as a holy animal, while other religions, including Islam,
do not budge from consuming and selling beef. The issue is about animal cruelty, violation of
laws concerning animal slaughter that are apparently breached, but religious supremacists
radically associate the issue with religion and its underlying morality. Hence, the unrest and
disagreement among religious communities. Such events speak one thing for sure, and that is
this: religion deems itself as a supreme and an unquestioned authority, it overpowers politics,
considers itself beyond reason, and assume its inevitable power to arm-twist politics to bring
in self-favourable laws. The Supreme Courts decision of baring the use of religion in
political campaigns is almost an oxymoron. Is the court of the view that politics possess only
verbal ways of using religion to seek votes? Despite its enforcement, religion is the bedrock
of all political campaigns, recently seen in Maharashtra in wooing the Marathi Manoos, the
Muslim votes in UP, and just about in every state in India in its own innovative way of
appealing the illiterate and the literate. Bottom-line remains collecting votes, cost it may even
a fractured identity to political parties.

In every Indian newspaper, there is never an article which remains devoid of religion and
politics intercepting each other. Religion finds itself in all kinds of political dialogue
concerning development, regulations, legalization, enforcement of law, and discussion of all
efforts toward a singular society. Though politics in its ethical-moral sense must refrain from
meddling with anything that is religious or has any influence on societys free exercise of
religion, Indian politics is repetitively muddled in the well of religion. One of many
underlying reason is the use of religion as weaponry to gain power. Religion too, is
opportunistic for politics, though immoral in theory. A community of one religion likely to
elect a leader of the same religion is a very high probability in India. In the process, the
dream of a singular society, that politics promises and is mandated to achieve, is lost in vain.
Religion survives, development either stagnates or is short-sighted, and politics with all its
attempts manages to save face.

In the ethical-moral analysis, religion must remain confined to personal choice and its
practice, such that it does not, in any manner, deprive others of their rights and entitlements.
Likewise, politics must refrain from using religion to enhance its own interest, be it collective
or individual.

Politics is the shrewdest tool to unify all religions when it turns its focus on the realization of
a unified society, and away from all demands of division based on religion. Politics and
religion must remain distant friends, if a prolonged period of progressive order is to remain
established. India has multiple laws meant for different religions, primarily for Hindu and

Nikul Joshi. Mumbai. India.

Name Nikul Joshi / Email nikul_joshi@yahoo.com / Mumbai, India

Islam, but they contradict each other in their extreme implementation. Political parties use
these laws, and consistently demand introduction of new ones to influence a specific religion,
mostly to gain power. When promises are made to a religion about fulfilling their latent
demands, the very opportunity politics inheres for balancing national needs, is compromised.

Minority religions use mimetic marginalisation to politicise issues, often using human rights
and equality as indisputable weapons to make their demands vocal. Thus, politics, meant to
build a singular society, gives in to religions meddling, though it must ever remain separate
for flawless governance. In the process, immense energy and intellectual wealth goes
dormant to fix these scrupulous demands. Religion making itself a priority renders politics to
be misaligned with its prime intent of unifying diversity. This makes politics a tool rather
than a saviour, a weapon of perception conversion instead of a natural ally.

Religion must be restricted to individual and community practices, must decide its own
domain within which it thrives undiluted, so as to give politics a free hand in enforcing laws
that are humanely ethical and does not contain a tinge of religion in its governance. When
religion moves out of the house and occupies mainstream politics, it forcefully distracts
politics from its prime motive. India is a repository of multiple religion, all remains
individual choice, but staunch proponents of some religions notoriously exercise their liberal
right of freedom of expression to influence politics, and through politics the larger society.

The boundaries of politics are large, often global, but domestically they deal with religion and
its unhindered welfare and sustenance. Religious leaders, therefore, must not intervene in
political struggles, but encourage all followers to build a singular society on the foundations
of shared prosperity. Only when politics is freed from the liability of religion-originated
problems, which must, however, be resolved without politics, will India move ahead on its
path of inclusive growth for all, irrespective and regardless.

Nikul Joshi. Mumbai. India.