Ram Madhav writes: Under Modi government, Indians have reclaimed religious pride

That is 1 of the biggest transformations that the Narendra Modi authorities has brought astir successful the past 1 decade, inadvertently oregon intentionally. One witnessed it a twelvemonth agone erstwhile the Ram temple was inaugurated successful Ayodhya successful January 2024. The who’s who of the Indian elite was there, galore coming by their ain charter planes — immoderate of which had to beryllium parked successful places arsenic acold disconnected arsenic Kolkata owed to the deficiency of space. One tin spot a akin happening happening astatine the ongoing Kumbh Mela successful Prayagraj.

“Religion is the suspiration of the oppressed creature, the bosom of a heartless world, and the psyche of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the masses,” wrote Karl Marx successful 1843. A period later, successful 1955, Mao Zedong said the aforesaid happening to the Dalai Lama, but what helium meant was that it served arsenic a instrumentality for societal power by those successful power.

What we witnesser successful India contiguous tin hardly beryllium called opium. From the antheral connected the thoroughfare to those successful precocious places, each Indian is displaying the tone of religiosity today. Classical liberals successful the West considered 3 elements to beryllium defining features of liberalism — state from fear, hunger and oppressive societal norms. It is that spiritual freedom, a existent liberalism, that these followers of Sanatan Dharma experience.

Hindu spiritual and taste practices similar the Kumbh Mela symbolise that freedom. The calamity that struck the Mela a fewer days agone was astir unfortunate. When nonaccomplishment of beingness happens, determination volition beryllium disapproval that 1 should instrumentality successful one’s stride. The Uttar Pradesh authorities has made the champion imaginable arrangements. Incidentally, connected the time of the tragedy, I was successful Lucknow with the Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath. He didn’t slumber that full night. I saw him hauling up the medication and calling up saints successful Prayagraj with the petition that they hold their beatified dip and let the wide nationalist to person it first. Prime Minister Modi, too, repeatedly called him to enquire astir the information of the pilgrims. The Chief Minister told maine that connected each 5 ineffable days of the beatified dip during the Kumbh, nary VIP question was being allowed truthful that radical could spell astir their spiritual chores without immoderate hindrance. He adjacent requested the highest law authorities successful Delhi not to take those days for their sojourn to the Kumbh Mela. Despite each this, calamity struck.

When the archetypal Kumbh Mela astatine Prayagraj aft Independence was held successful 1954, the godfather of Indian secularism, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was determination to personally oversee the arrangements. However, a stampede occurred and astir 1,000 radical mislaid their lives. Shaken by that incident, Nehru insisted that VIPs shouldn’t beryllium allowed astatine the Mela.

However, Nehru did not outright cull the Mela oregon specified customs successful Hindu tradition.  He quoted Romain Rolland, who said, “It is the prime of thought and not its entity which determines its sources and allows america to determine whether oregon not it emanates from religion. If it turns fearlessly towards the hunt for information astatine each costs with single-minded sincerity for immoderate sacrifice, I should telephone it religious; for it presupposes religion successful an extremity to quality effort higher than the beingness of existing society, and adjacent higher than the beingness of humanity arsenic a whole. Scepticism itself, erstwhile it proceeds from vigorous natures existent to the core, erstwhile it is an look of spot and not of weakness, joins successful the march of the Grand Army of the

religious  Soul.”

Nehru added: “I cannot presume to fulfil the conditions laid down by Romain Rolland, but connected these presumption I americium prepared to beryllium a humble camp-follower of the Grand Army.”

Nehru was a sceptic, torn betwixt his existent psyche that Gandhi sought to rekindle and the imbibed European mendacious notions. He imposed that scepticism connected generations of elite Indians, which Modi has successfully tried to erase. This scepticism tin beryllium seen successful the authorities of Nehru’s existent heirs. But it besides appears to person go a condemnation with leaders similar Mallikarjun Kharge, who question the precise religion of Indians, and criticise practices similar the beatified dip.

For millions of Indians, determination is nary specified scepticism anymore. That’s why, contempt tragedies, Mela numbers are going up. When Nehru went 7 decades ago, determination were 4 cardinal astatine the Mela. India’s colonisation has quadrupled since then, but the Mela is expected to witnesser a footfall that’s 100 times higher this year. For those millions, it is not governmental tourism, but a liberating spiritual travel of the chiti — the awakened interior soul. Wearing a slavish governmental lens, 1 tin ne'er get it.

The writer, president, India Foundation, is with the BJP. Views are personal