The newspaper headlines were telling. On the front page, in the top corner, was the grim news: “GDP growth slumps to a seven-quarter low of 5.4 per cent.” But on the same front page, a banner headline stretched across the page and overshadowed the news on the economy. This banner headline was about yet another religious conflict: “Sambhal Mosque wars.”
As unemployment rages and massive inflation wreaks havoc on household budgets, the Modi government is happy to keep the pot boiling on religious conflicts and places of worship.
The Modi government’s priorities are chillingly lopsided. Instead of stabilising the economy, Modi and his cohorts are busy spurring religious conflicts to win elections. When the economy should be the priority, the focus is on religious shrines.
Also read: Sambhal mosque row: Is fixing historical injustices becoming a constant source of conflict?
Last week in Parliament I called for a discussion (under the Special Mention rule) on the Sambhal violence. Recently a Sambhal trial court allowed a survey to try and scout for “evidence” whether there was a Hindu temple under the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. Violence erupted during the “survey” and four were killed. My question related to whether the Narendra Modi government intended to be a silent bystander to this gross dilution of the Places of Worship Act 1991, which explicitly states that the religious character of every place of worship as existed on 15 August 1947 must be preserved. The Places of Worship Act specifically bars the conversion of any place of worship of any religious denomination. Is the Modi government going to turn a blind eye to the open flouting of the Places of Worship Act?
My notice on Sambhal was disallowed under Rule 180B (ii) of the Rules of Procedure of the Rajya Sabha, according to which matters that do not relate to the government of India cannot be raised in Parliament. But why does Sambhal not concern the government of India? Why does a grave dilution of the Places of Worship Act, a centrally enacted legislation, not relate to the union government? It is the central government that is responsible for the implementation of all laws passed by Parliament—and the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act was passed unanimously, cutting across parties, on 18 September 1991. How then can the Central government abdicate responsibility?
It’s not just Sambhal. An Ajmer court has now issued notices that there should be a survey of the Ajmer Dargah—the tomb of the renowned 13th-century Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. The world-famous shrine has been the focus of faith for all denominations for centuries and has been visited by a galaxy of VIPs from Jawaharlal Nehru to Barack Obama. Hindu groups now claim that there is a Shiva temple located in the Ajmer Dargah and the Dargah should be renamed as Sankat Mochan Shiva temple.
Similar demands exist for the Bhojshala, a 12th-century building where Hindus and Muslims have traditionally offered prayers. The demand now is that it be handed solely to the Hindus. Another high-profile Hindu demand is over the Gyanvyapi mosque in Varanasi. Last year, the Allahabad High Court permitted the ASI to ascertain if there was a Hindu temple under the mosque. The same court also permitted a survey of the Shahi Idgah mosque in Mathura on the claim that it is a Hindu temple.
The Sangh Parivar is, as usual, speaking in two voices. In 2022, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said there was no need to look for a “shivling under every mosque”. But today the RSS is happy to let local Hindu groups lay claim to a range of new mosques, sanguine in the belief that religious strife will deliver successes at the ballot box.
If there is institutional blame to be assigned here, then mention must be made of the former Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. It is Justice Chandrachud, who in his oral observations during the hearing of the Gyanvyapi mosque case, said that the 1991 Places Of Worship Act did not disallow “ascertaining the religious character” of a structure even though its use could not be changed. Chandrachud’s unwise and self-indulgent comment has done a grave disservice to the larger cause of religious harmony in India. His comment has been taken as a license for numerous Hindu groups to mount growing claims on mosques.
Is this Narendra Modi’s idea of “Viksit Bharat”? A warring, divided India where 13th and 14th-century structures are being fought over by religious groups? Is our modern republic, which is blessed with one of the most progressive and forward-looking Constitutions in the world and a democracy which aims to be a world leader in the 21st century, now to be marked by medieval-era battles over religious shrines?
Is India’s future going to be buried by digging up a centuries-old past? It is morally repugnant to attempt to tear down buildings with the tacit approval of state power simply because a minority religious group uses such a building for prayers. Such actions are a hateful destruction of the constitutional ideal of equality of religions.
Also read: Muslims missed reconciliation route in Ayodhya. Mustn’t repeat that mistake on Kashi, Mathura
Modi is convinced that simply because he has won state elections, sab changa si (all is well). But despite the BJP’s wins, today’s times are marked by the echoing absence of the ‘Feel Good’ factor.
A 20-month civil war continues unabated in Manipur. Sixty thousand people have been displaced from their homes and over 200 lives have been lost. The recent spurt of violence was triggered by the killing of a mother of three. Her death led to cycles of vengeful attacks from rival sides, Meiteis and Kukis.
Vegetable prices are at a 57-month high and inflation has surged. Food prices have risen by 10 per cent and edible oils have risen by 9.5 per cent—the biggest jump in two years. India’s overall retail inflation rose to 6.2 per cent in October.
The government has been unable to quickly start the virtuous cycle of demand and consumption. There has been a humungous slowing down of consumption, particularly in the earlier fast-growing FMCG sector. A report by Marcellus Investment Managers showed that household balance sheets are in their worst shape in half a century. Mounting loans have pushed families into debt, leaving less disposable income in people’s hands.
Post-Covid recovery has come to a halt, corporate earnings are down and middle-class jobs are being replaced by either automation or outsourcing. What is called the “urban middle class’—or a class able to afford urban amenities—is shrinking drastically. Grocery stores and vegetable and food outlets are shutting down.
Like millions of busy working women who run kitchens on salaried incomes, I am appalled daily by the ever-rising prices of tomatoes, onions and garlic, not to mention fuel and petrol.
What is the government’s response? Simply stall all discussions. Perpetrate the myth that in the first week of the winter session, it has been the Opposition that has stalled Parliament. This is not true. The Opposition is simply raising issues that directly concern the people. Why has the business group headed by top Indian industrialist Gautam Adani been indicted by the US Department of Justice and charged with bribery? A central government company, the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), is at the centre of these bribery allegations. Surely the government must inform Parliament on whether an inquiry had started into the alleged actions of a central government undertaking.
Also read: India’s middle class is the forgotten backbone. It needs an advocacy group: Karti Chidambaram
The Opposition has been raising issues from Sambhal to Manipur (Modi has not seen fit to visit Manipur in 20 months of civil war) to rising prices to unemployment. Yet it is the government, acting through the House’s presiding officers, that seems in a tearing hurry to shut down Parliament, literally within minutes of the House convening.
We are seeing an intriguing reversal in the functioning of Parliament—it is not the Opposition which is disrupting the House, it is actually the government. In its refusal to listen to genuine peoples’ issues, the government is rushing to close Parliament as quickly as it can.
Modi seems to be lulled into a cloud of complacency simply because the BJP has won two state elections in Haryana and Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, the BJP’s win was largely a result of the fact that it practically emptied the state’s treasury to hand over Rs 1,500 to over 2 crore women in the Ladki Bahin Yojana scheme. It also promised that if elected it would raise this to Rs 2,100.
But all is not going according to plan. Maharashtra civil servants, all too aware of the catastrophic impact these handouts would have on the state’s finances—and faced with Maharashtra’s total debt of Rs 7.8 lakh crore for FY 2025—are now talking about tweaking the Ladki Bahin scheme and revising the beneficiaries list. A wild promise won the BJP an election, but the hard realities of governance will soon begin to hit.
Irresponsibly emptying government coffers, using every instrument of the state to attack the Opposition and recklessly spurring communal violence through “batenge toh katenge” slogans, all to win elections is Modi’s stock-in-trade. But after winning elections, Modi and his government are refusing to govern. And as a diversion, they’re allowing religious conflicts to take centre stage.
The Opposition will not be deterred. Already the government has been forced to extend the tenure of the parliamentary committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill. And the Waqf Bill, slated for the Winter session 2024, has been postponed to the Budget session of 2025.
The Modi government must clarify whether it is ready to allow brazen dilutions of the Places of Worship Act. Will every mosque now face challenges from Hindu groups?
What does the Modi government intend to do to stabilise the wildfire price rise of food? What does the Modi government intend to do about the fact that, according to CMIE figures, 44 per cent of educated youth between the ages of 20 and 25 are unemployed? The Opposition will keep demanding answers.
The Modi government can’t celebrate “Constitution Day” on one day of the Parliament session and spend all the other days of the session deliberately flouting and diluting the same Constitution.
Sagarika Ghose is a Rajya Sabha MP, All India Trinamool Congress. She tweets @sagarikaghose. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
