Religious Frenzy In Maharashtra - Religion Is A Curse And A Scourge Of Mankind

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 3 October 2023 The recently concluded Ganeshotsav, a yearly 10-day nightmare for all sane people living in Maharashtra, ended with unprecedented noise that crossed all permissible limits. It caused uneasiness, vomiting, blood vomiting at that, haemorrhage, dizziness and even death. Absolute ruckus overwhelmed Maharashtra, esp. Poona, Bombay, Satara and western part of the state. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde at Lucknow airport en route to the Ayodhya Ram Temple | File ----- This Ganeshotsav was blatantly used for the promotion of Ram, the new national deity of Hindu India. On the last day; id est, on the day of immersion, blaring songs and Bhajans glorifying Ram were played non-stop for more than 30 hours. Inebriated devotees of Ganesh were dancing and singing, nay braying, like zombies. Some extremely reprehensible political songs like, "Sri Ram Janaki Baithe Hain Mere Seene Mein" and "Bharat Ka Baccha-Baccha Jai Sri Ram Bolega" were played ad nauseam. Completely unemployable and lowly Hindu youths were indulging in all sorts of Tamasha, prompting one to think that religion is indeed meant for the riffraff and scum of the earth. Veteran journalist and columnist Janardan Thakur once wrote in now-defunct Patna-based daily 'Searchlight’, "Religion provides temporary financial sustenance to unemployed youths of India. In a way, religion, stripped of its religiosity, divinity or godliness, is a potential source of income for the people who're good for nothing". Very correct observation, one must say. In West Bengal and Maharashtra, unmitigated wastrels and vagabonds indulge in, what they call, Pooja activities: Ganesh Pooja, Durga Pooja, Kali Pooja and all that Pooja. These waifs and waste products terrorise and threaten simple folks and shopkeepers and extort money from them in the name of Pooja decoration and other things. They pocket that money and splurge on drinking and debauching. In other words, religion is used or abused for all dubious purposes. This is the reason, religion is a curse and a scourge of mankind. Now this anathema is poised to swallow the entire world. Muslims are killing Muslims and Kafir in the name of their draconian Allah and Islam. Hindus are also following suit. Why should they (Hindus) lag behind in the department of fanaticism and morbid religiosity? Alas, there seems to be no place for the sane, godless and rank irreligious people like yours truly. ------ 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/current-affairs/religious-frenzy-maharashtra-curse-mankind/d/130809 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