Religion can’t disturb public peace
motor-cycles at night, waving flags and intimidating other road users by their unruly driving.
The tragic aspect of this rowdy behaviour is that it robs such functions of all vestiges of sobriety. Arguably Hindu community pujas such as Ganesh Utsav and Durga Puja have always been noisy, loud music being their integral part. But it is often counter-argued that the muezzin’s call to prayer at the crack of dawn each morning is no less of an invasion of others’ privacy and right to sound sleep. The shabad relayed over loud speakers fron Sikh gurdwaras also causes disturbance in the neighbourhood.
Sociologists may attribute such behaviour to India’s warm climate wherein late nights and early mornings are most conducive for observing religious ceremonies. When India was almost entirely a rural society, such activities were not just tolerated but had complete community sanction. Ironically, in those times, kanwars never played raucous music, nor did they travel on motorbikes carrying baseball bats.
Is there no way to roll back the progressive degeneration of public behaviour associated with religious functions? Politicians are loath to act for fear of offending voters, and ignore the vast majority of the electorate that is profoundly inconvenienced by such rowdy outbursts of purported devotion. It is for religious leaders of all faiths, particularly those in the pravachan industry, to counsel their vast number of followers to return observances like kanwar yatra to their pristine, individualised purity.