Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2017
POLITICAL parties and other outfits that are based on
the cult of personality and divorced from a political programme pose a
threat to democracy. Despite being recently sentenced to 20 years
imprisonment for a rape case reported in 2002, the head of the Dera
Sucha Sauda, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, still commands an enormous
following.
What concerns the workings of democracy is
how he could evoke such fierce loyalties. He could not have amassed
millions and acquired the power and influence he did but for political
help. Once he acquired some following, leaders of political parties
flocked to his doorstep to seek his support during elections. He
variedly offered help to BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress. His help
to BJP in 2014 reflected shrewd political judgement.
Gurmeet
Singh exploited the people’s poverty, the state’s neglect of the poor,
underprivileged and the wronged — and on their susceptibility to
religious appeals and claims to faith healing. He provided food,
subsidised ration and money to the poor. He also fostered a feeling of
equality among the Dalits by asking followers to adopt the title of
‘Insaan’ and forsake their surnames, which reveal a person’s caste
identity. Dera Sucha Sauda appealed to women particularly with its
strong stand against liquor and drug abuse, which had played havoc with
families. People found equality and dignity in its ranks denied to them
elsewhere. Free medical aid was supplemented with faith healing; the
Baba’s blessings or healing touch. His success provides proof of the
state’s failure to do its duty — in crime detection, poverty
alleviation, provision of medical and other services and, not least, in
wiping out rampant caste discrimination.
India’s religious right exploits faith.
A far more instructive parallel is the Shiv Sena in
Maharashtra. Set up in 1966 by a cartoonist, Bal Thackeray, it sought to
arouse and exploit a feeling of discrimination among the
Marathi-speaking people of the state. They felt insulted at the delay in
conceding their just demand for the inclusion of Mumbai in Maharashtra.
It began as a movement against South Indians, accusing them of
monopolising jobs in the city; moved against Gujaratis gingerly; and
settled on the more promising plank of Hindutva against Muslims.
Thackeray’s resort to violence remained unchecked. He was also courted
by some industrialists and businessmen to curb communist influence in
trade unions, as well as by prominent Bollywood figures and politicians.
Shiv Sena is in coalition with BJP in Maharashtra.
Censures of an inquiry commission on the killings during the Mumbai
riots after the demolition of Babri Masjid did not affect Shiv Sena or
its leader — nor did the Central Bureau of Investigation’s citation of
Thackeray as an accused in the demolition case. For years, successive
Congress state governments have turned a blind eye to Shiv Sena’s
recourse to violence and its politics of intimidation.
One
of the most insightful studies of this outfit is by German scholar
Julia Eckert in her book, The Charisma of Direct Action. Eckert writes
of how electoral results reveal that “the Shiv Sena has been stagnating
at a certain percentage of votes for several years, these turning into
victories or into defeat depending on its opponents’ strategies”. These
opponents hardly oppose. Its technique is to work in three spheres — the
political realm, the street and homes. “Direct action replaces
parliamentary politics and is considered to be superior in efficiency
and moral rectitude.”
Shiv Sena set up an ambulance
service in 1968. Many shakhas (branches) have their own ambulance and
use it for various purposes. Shiv Sena activists organised ‘cleanup’
drives and medical camps; put pressure on the municipality on behalf of
the wards for water connections and other civic amenities. “The shakhas
organise leisure activities and training in vocational skills for young
people. Rooms have been made available for school studies and
preparation for examinations.” They offer assistance with job
applications, school admissions, and other formalities which require
recommendations. They also step in with advice and support when there
are illnesses, births, deaths, or marriages. “Sometimes funds are
collected to meet emergency situations in a family.” Women activists
help to resolve “cases of marital unrest, dowry quarrels, wife-beating,
alimony and other issues”.
Issues resolved range from
quarrels about the rights to a specific location of a hawker’s stall,
disputes over garbage sites, noise pollution, petty crime and cheating,
to litigations over loans and property, to real estate disputes.
Like
Dera Sucha Sauda, Shiv Sena steps in where the state has failed. Its
work is translated into votes. Democracy suffers by the activities of
such bodies and the failure of the democratic state to do its duty by
the people. The political process is fouled. Politics cease to revolve
around issues of public policy.
The writer is an author and lawyer based in Mumbai.
