Among the various classes of our society, politicians and film stars are particularly known for their love for and faith in religious rituals. They frequently visit places of worship to seek blessings of the almighty. Perhaps, barring the Communist parties, leaders of all other parties routinely seek divine intervention to further their political cause. And the Congress is no exception. After Independence, the Congress was led by Jawaharlal Nehru. Although he was known as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru but the intention was not to convey that he was a Brahmin.
Pandit means a man of wisdom. Even in the English language, persons of wisdom and intellect are described as Pandit. This word has also been included in English dictionaries. Pandit Nehru was an atheist and a nonbeliever. So, during his leadership, most of the Congress members were not as dependent on gods, as they are now. Although Nehru was an atheist but he was not opposed to religion. He was of the view that religions do play a great role in the development of society. But he was against rituals. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, gave up Nehru’s path and turned religious. It is widely known that she used to wear ‘Rudraksha’ and often consulted astrologers. She also visited temples and other places of pilgrimage.
There is a widely-known episode, when, as the Prime Minister, she not allowed entry into the Jagannath Puri temple because the priests thought that she was not a Hindu in the true sense of the term. It is also a well-known fact that a religious person, Dhirendra Brahmachari was her close aide and adviser. But, it must be said to her credit, that wherever she had to choose between the security and integrity of the nation and religious belief; she did not hesitate to stand by the former. The Operation Blue Star is the most shining example of her loyalty to the nation.
During Operation Blue Star, she allowed army personnel to enter the Golden Temple in their uniform, which also included shoes. Rajiv Gandhi was the third member of Nehru-Gandhi clan to become the Prime Minister. It is not widely known, but it is a fact that he used religion to consolidate his position as Prime Minister. The first step that can be included in this category was his decision to allow the locks on the Ram temple at Ayodhya to be opened, following the judgement of a lower court. The temple was locked during Nehru’s days and could not be opened because the matter was sub-judice.
The opening of the locks gave an opportunity to the RSS and its affiliate organisations to launch an agitation with the slogan ‘Mandir wahi banayegein’ (Ram mandir will be built at the same place i.e. the site of Babri Masjid). The BJP converted Ram Mandir into a nation-wide movement. Party stalwart L. K. Advani launched a Rath Yatra, which got overwhelming response. Advani often said that if the BJP came to power in Delhi Ram Mandir will be built in Ayodhya. Rajiv used his brute majority in Parliament to overturn the Supreme Court decision in Shahbano case. The Supreme Court, in its historic decision, had declared that Muslim divorcee women are entitled to get maintenance almost in the same way as the Hindu women. This was not to the liking of the fundamentalist elements of Muslim community.
In Bhopal, more than a lakh male Muslims took out silent march to protest the SC verdict. Under pressure from the Muslims, Rajiv Gandhi passed a law which rendered Supreme Court’s decision null and void. Both the opening of temple lock and the Shahbano case were classic examples of appeasement of Hindus and Muslims respectively. On the top of that, he allowed Doordarshan to broadcast Ramayana and Mahabharata serials, which became widely popular. Perhaps this act could be termed as another attempt, if not to appease, then to please Hindus. After the massive defeat of the Congress in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress leadership asked A. K. Antony, former Defence Minister to identify and analyse the causes for the party’s defeat.
The Congress could not even get enough seats to give it the position of a recognised opposition party. Antony reached to the conclusion that the people regarded Congress almost as a Muslim party. After this, efforts began for projecting the Congress as a party which also takes care of the interests of the Hindus. In pursuance of this objective, Rahul Gandhi, makes it a point to visit temples in the midst of his hectic election tours. He did so during Gujarat assemble elections and during elections to the Karnataka Vidhan Sabha. He allows Pujaris to assist him in performing Puja. As a part of his election tour, the other day, he performed Puja in Pitambara Peeth at Datia and sought blessings for the Congress. Perhaps to project himself and Congress as a ‘Sarva Dharma’ party, he has started visiting Masjids and Gurudwaras also. He derives pride in being described as Shiv Bhakta.
(LS HERDENIA is a senior journalist)