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 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism