Government patronage of godmen is worrying
By some uncanny coincidence, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh government’s decision to confer minister of state (MOS) status on five godmen, one of whom goes by the name, ‘Computer Baba’, comes days after Netflix began streaming Wild Wild Country, the true story of the misadventures of ‘Bhagwan’ Rajneesh in Oregon, USA. Nearly three decades after Rajneesh’s death, India’s fascination with godmen continues.
From the Rasputins of past regimes -Dhirendra Bhramachari for Indira Gandhi, Chandra Swami for Narasimha Rao – to the dodgy – Asaram, currently in jail on rape charges and Baba Ram Rahim, also in jail after a rape conviction – we have a range of godmen that includes those who’ve built business empires (Baba Ramdev) and have social solutions to current problems (Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who advocates that Muslims give up their claim to Ayodhya).
Chouhan’s decision to confer MOS status on five unelected godmen in an election year is perhaps unprecedented. And worrying for two immediate reasons.
The first is the ethical breach. It has been reported that these godmen had planned to launch a Narmada Ghotala Yatra to highlight a slew of ills of the Chouhan government. That planned agitation has now miraculously vanished.
The entitlements the famous five will receive are yet to be spelt out, but MOS are generally entitled to government vehicles, house rent, and a monthly salary. The second reason is more worrying, and that is the far-reaching implications of the appointment on the secular character of our Constitution. Even though the word was brought into the Constitution only with the 42nd Amendment, there is still ambiguity about what constitutes secularism and what it means. Can, for instance, a truly secular state allow different religions to hold different personal laws? Should religion be a purely personal matter, removed from issues of governance? What are the implications on majoritarian rule when Hindu godmen receive official benediction?
At a time when sickular is used to denigrate a liberal mindset, what does this promotion of sadhus and sants mean to the social fabric of this country? Our Constitution does not mandate separation of state from religion, leading to this sort of ambiguity. Moreover, some ministers along with members of the BJP’S parent body, the RSS have made no secret about their desire to change the Constitution. In December, a junior minister Anantkumar Hegde declared: “We are here to change the Constitution” – a statement that the ruling government sought to distance itself from.
After Yogi Adityanath was appointed Uttar Pradesh chief minister, eminent jurist Fali Nariman asked if it was the ‘beginning of a Hindu state’. The question is no longer merely rhetorical.
If state governments can confer ministerial status onto godmen, how long before we have an official priestly council directing governance? How long before the word ‘secular’ is junked?