India: Roadside temples appear connected to exclusivist idea of Hinduism or Gujaratiness and BJP in Gujarat

The Times of India

Roadside temples define politics of yatra, book says
Chitra Unnithan, TNN | Mar 23, 2014, 12.37 AM IST

AHMEDABAD: Roadside temples have gathered increasing importance in Ahmedabad in the past years. A University of London researcher Tommaso Bobbio sees the roadside temples as an element that consolidates the relation between the spread of a culture based on an ethno-religious, exclusivist idea of Hinduism or Gujaratiness and BJP, "which aims at representing the interests of those who identify with this culture."

Bobbio, in the book 'Globalization, Diaspora and Belonging', has written that the increasing number of illegal temples is testimony to the importance that religiosity acquired in defining spaces of sociability in the new areas of the city. The book has been edited by Sharmina Mawani and Anjoom Mukadam, lecturers of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, London.

Forms of devotion associated with roadside temples appear as an affirmation of the 'politics of yatra'; people visit the temple as a way of iterating their affiliation to a community, to show that they belong to a well-defined group - one defined through the distorted lenses of Hindutva.

The book cites the example of the small Hanuman temple located on one side of IIM-A Crossroads. "The temple rises literally on the road, in one of the most congested junctions of western Ahmedabad and receives thousands of visitors every day. It is always packed with visitors and the sound of the temple bells mixes with the noise from the traffic. The atmosphere during the evenings at IIM-A Crossroads is far from religious," says the book.

Constructions of this kind are usually illegal and arise on roads or junctions with an intense transit of vehicles and people throughout the day. They start as small idols placed on a stone or on a tree alongside the road; then a small altar is constructed around the idol, where people can start placing offerings during puja. As time passes, the temple 'owner' starts building a semi-permanent structure in collaboration with local municipal or political authorities and gradually the spot is transformed into a temple, says the book.

At the same time, illegal temples contribute to shaping the landscape of the changing city. "Other than being places for displaying devotion, these are private enterprises and 'running' a temple means managing an informal and illegal business," the book adds.