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As the 18th Lok Sabha election hovers around in the sweltering summer of 2024, 97 million voters are out to vote for their leaders in the world’s largest festival of democracy. But in the everyday run of life and with the heavy rhetoric outside, what is actually shaping the narrative today? The dominance of religion taking centre stage has been a regular feature of discussion in recent years, but how deeply has it been rooted now? For a country that is looked up to as one of the growth engines of the world and one whose decade they claim has arrived, what future are we setting up for ourselves? What kind of society are we living in that is going to define our near future, the ‘Amrit Kaal’ as they call it? The change—the polarisation that is already there—is revealing, but there are more changes taking place, with the state actively putting its weight behind it. The ruling party’s narrative or perception of them is largely based on infrastructure development, their rhetoric on reclaiming our lost culture, the uniformity of laws, and a nationalism that dictates selectively. Infrastructure development in roads, railways, and tourism is there to be seen, but they are all planned, designed, and executed to project a particular political tone. The definition of building new cities is being rewritten, with new cities being centred around temples. The airports coming up, railway station upgrades, million-dollar investments in resorts, and ayurvedic hubs are all adding to this design. The new jobs that are centred around these cities are only as relevant as the practices around the temple located there. As the rich investors in that city try to change the culture in terms of food, dressing, and practices, the downtrodden struggle with age-old practices and businesses as they cannot lay down the rules there. They sell whatever is cheap and small at a very poor price to earn something for the day. When the rich, influential people with the help of millionaire business chains who have invested there get through the long queues and security checks, the poor people under the sun, hungry for hours, stay away from work to get darshan of their deity and donate their hard-earned money, praying for better days. Some do not even make it to another day in their lives. The modernisation of temples, filling the interiors of public places with old scriptures, the food habits introduced, and the change in attire confuse the poor, who have very little to spend but are made to spend for different reasons. The rich define the rules of culture these days to attain more legitimacy among the middle and lower classes and to be more relatable. The recent guest list for the Ram Temple inauguration and Ambani’s grand wedding celebrations filled screens all over the country, not just for publicity. The influencers would argue that they are showcasing India to the world, but how small is that India, then? The new highly expensive, high-speed trains of Vande Bharat connect religious sites among other places and have been the priority of the railways and the government. Yes, the affluent are spending money on tickets on such trains, but at what cost? The poor migrant workers still struggle with ordinary trains, which are running with people hanging on the doors and resting in the toilets, with trains running as late as possible to make sure the Vande Bharats run on time. The new highways collect mammoth toll fees; barring lighter vehicles and rickshaws, the new high-speed metros are expensive, making them unviable for the poorer classes. There is no entry for informal workers in metros who travel with their local produce, citing security. The recent consumer expenditure survey indicates that people are saving from their food expenses for their travel expenses. These people are ready to come out and find better-paid jobs, but the state is not helping bridge the distance, nor is it providing them with good formal jobs anywhere else. As it did become harder in the last few years for people to pay for their travel, as recent reports show, they went back to self-employment in agriculture near their home, where they are often unpaid. Economists see bright spots in religious tourism and infrastructure related to it, but are there enough opportunities for the poor to upgrade their employment, or even a level playing field for small-time street dwellers, for them to raise their quality of life, or at least for them to travel better in an affordable way? For the basic need of citizenship, the newly framed laws of CAA allow religious spiritual heads to approve religion for those who do not have papers, only signalling the growing power of godmen and their influence over poor people this time, with active state support. In a country where the constitution struggles to safeguard the poor from caste discrimination and gender discrimination, this is a new low. The much-proposed Uniform Civil Code tries to impose uniform rules on every community without even bothering to confront existing differences and take them into confidence in the name of unity and nationalism. The rapid expansion of yet-to-be scientifically proven ayurvedic products from a particular godman’s company was unchallenged until the Supreme Court recently pulled it up on its false claims that their medicines cure the COVID virus. Adding a religious tone to each and every economic activity is taking place in broad daylight, and those who resist it are labelled woke or ‘anti-dharmik’. The attacks, lynchings, and murders are all justified by the few who claim they are the guardians of ‘dharma’. The rich and celebrities are all flaunting their ‘cultural connect’, singing and dancing bhajans and posting photographs of their visits to temples and poojas to stay relevant and to earn more acceptance. They connect their success to these activities to showcase humility. This is a win-win for both influencers and ideologists in the political party. Politicians are running back and forth, arranging special trains for darshan to temples for people in their constituency. They are claiming their legitimacy through these activities, and the head of government has already acquired the aura of a god-like figure leading the country. Much-discussed nationalism has never been inclusive, though the state wishes to be the leader of the subcontinent. This mix of religious propaganda, policies, and priorities based on religious interests and party ideology can be infectious, as it shows, but it is not a long-term trend that can take people along on a large scale. This development and growth can only further the divide, as it makes the poor stick to low-earning, low-productive jobs. The fear mongering on the basis of religion and the lack of a scientific environment away from the mainstream leave people in a hopeless mood as the country tries to tap into its demographic advantage. A society tied around religious politics and a governing policy that prioritises ideological interests will only help grow a country inward. For the political party, these actions deeply imprint its ideology on society, but is it a nation’s priority? The world is not yet expecting to handle a theocratic India where one religion drives forward human rights and policies, and they cannot do business with such an India. India is not yet a complete free market in economic terms, and a free-thinking society is a must in this journey, along with reforms from the state. And it is far easier to reform if there is much less injection of religious fervour in everything. The nation is changing; the foundations are being relaid; it is no longer another election; it is an inflection point.
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