Religious Politics

• Religious politics refers to the relationship between religion and politics and involves concepts like culture, traditions, modernity, nation, human relations, the self, and the other.

• It concerns the role of religion in mobilization during national movements and in comparing different types of national movements.

• Religion has been a significant factor, along with other factors like caste, language, gender, and region, impacting politics and human life.

• The concept of religious politics has gained heightened significance in contemporary India.

• Though religion and politics are often seen as distinct, they have historically had a synthetic existence in traditional society and continue to influence each other in modern society.

• Together, religion and politics have the potential to make a profound impact on each other.

• Religion plays a crucial role in shaping the social process and influencing human life and mass mobilizations during national movements and transitions to modernity.

• In a democratic state like India, religion remains central to traditional society and continues to influence the mass psyche.

• Under the influence of religion, people form opinions about their social, cultural, and religious identity, history, and differences between religions.

• The close connection between people and religion has led to social disharmony and discord, often causing clashes between different communities.

• Religious organizations interact with political groups to maximize their support bases and claim authority over sections of the population.

• This dynamic is not unique to India; it occurs in various countries.

• The support of religious groups often determines the strength of political regimes.

• The unit explores the meaning and significance of religious politics, including the evolution of Hindu revivalism and the Islamic perspective on religious politics.

Meaning and Significance of Religious Politics

• Politics is not just about party politics and elections; it is a broader phenomenon involving the definition of selfhood, formation of nation, mobilization in national movements, anti-colonial movements, and representation.

• Religious politics concerns how religion impacts these aspects of politics and vice-versa.

• Since the 1990s, literature on the intellectual and cultural traditions of India, including religious revivalism, has been prominent.

• Thinkers have explored and interpreted concepts like self, nation, and religious texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata, and the notion of democracy through religious texts.

• Religious politics can be understood in two ways:

  • First, religion itself becomes the basis of political articulation and defines the purpose of politics. This can involve the reinterpretation of religious traditions to define nationalism or create a political program.

  • Second, religion is used as the foundation for political mobilization, where religious institutions, festivals, or practices are used to make political appeals. Examples include the use of temples, mosques, or religious festivals like Ganesh Puja for political mobilization.

• Both forms of religious politics have been common in India for over a century and have recently become mainstream.

• The concept of religion and politics also addresses the relationship between religion and politics, involving the question of secularism.

• Secularism deals with the type of relationship that should exist between religion and politics.

• There are two views on secularism: one advocates for a separation between religion and politics, while the other argues that they cannot be separated.

• Thinkers and leaders in religious politics reflect on how to navigate this relationship.

• If secularism is accepted, as in the case of India’s national movement, the question arises of how to keep politics autonomous from religion. This also involves developing a version of secularism suitable for each society, like India’s multi-religious context.

• The relationship between religion and politics varies across societies and historical contexts.

• In India, for the first 30 years post-Independence, religion had marginal importance for politics, and politics was free from religion.

• From the mid-1980s, the relationship drastically changed, and Hindutva as an ideology became a dominant force in both society and politics, influencing the government since 1998.

• This shift has changed how religion and politics are viewed in terms of constitutional ideals and how issues like secularism, civil rights, citizenship, and democracy are perceived by Hindutva.

• The distinction between religion and politics has collapsed in the form of nationalism and political appeals using religious symbols.

• Religious politics now dominates in India, as the influence of religion in political life has grown significantly.

Religious Politics: Divergent Views

• Religious politics defines the substance and agenda of politics, determining the place of an individual within a religious community, the relationships between different religious communities, and the status of women’s rights within religious communities.

• It implies that the content of politics is shaped by one or another religion or religious community.

• Religious politics can appeal only to followers of that particular religion and cannot simultaneously be the politics of Hindus, Muslims, and Christians.

• Religious politics defending Muslim identity or creating a new Hindu identity, such as Hindutva, cannot appeal to other communities, even when framed as nationalism or “cultural nationalism.”

• From one perspective, religious politics is seen as communal politics, a view applicable not just in India but in countries like Pakistan with groups like Muttheda Quami Mahaz.

• A mere appeal to religion does not automatically lead to religious politics. The specific interpretation or version of religion one follows determines the nature of politics.

• Different thinkers have different notions of religious politics, the relationships between religions, and the relation of religion to politics.

• For instance, Gandhi and Savarkar both believed religion should inform politics, but their versions of Hinduism differed greatly, leading to distinct political ideologies.

• Gandhi’s view was that spiritual values should influence politics; otherwise, politics would become impoverished. He took an inclusive view of both religion and politics.

• Gandhi drew moral authority from traditional sources, including Hinduism, but also considered Christianity, Islam, and bhakti norms as valid sources.

• For Gandhi, politics was a coalition of emancipatory faiths, and he never used religious festivals or dogma for political mobilization.

• Savarkar, in contrast, believed race, ancestry, history, and the sacredness of the land (Punya Bhoomi) should form the basis of Hindu politics, rather than spiritual values.

• Savarkar argued that only those whose religion originated in India could adhere to this view of politics, excluding Muslims and Christians from pledging allegiance to India or treating it as their Punya Bhoomi.

• Savarkar’s vision of Hindu politics is encapsulated in his concept of Hindutva, with all his main points available in his book of the same name.

• This is one version of religious politics that contrasts sharply with Gandhi’s inclusive approach.

Evolution of Religious Politics

• Religious politics in India has a long history and a rich pedigree, being both exclusive and inclusive depending on the situation.

• Some great religious thinkers with broad visions contributed to religious politics, although they were not solely advocates of such politics.

• The history of religious revivalism, which is crucial to the formation of religious politics, dates back over a hundred years.

• In the late 19th century, revivalism-based politics gained prominence, especially in Bengal and Maharashtra, areas that were previously central to social reform movements.

• During the 19th century, nationalist awakening was driven by social and cultural movements, initiated by enlightened individuals who shaped political thoughts on religion, democracy, individual rights, and nationalism.

• These movements generated mass awakening and sought to reform certain Hindu practices such as child marriages, enforced widowhood, and denial of women’s education.

• Many proposed reforms were centered around improving the fate of women and making their lives more bearable.

• Revivalism began to overshadow the reform movement, as evidenced by Bal Gangadhar Tilak‘s actions against the National Social Conference, which was an umbrella organization for social reform movements.

• At the 1885 Indian National Congress session in Poona, Tilak banned the National Social Conference meetings, opposing the social reforms and shifting to a Hindu nationalist position, using the Ganesh Puja for mass mobilization against colonialism.

• A significant instance of religious defense was the campaign against the Age of Consent Bill, which aimed to raise the marriage age for girls from 10 to 12.

• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and others vocally opposed this bill, arguing that British interference in Hindu customs was unjust, but they did not clarify whether infant marriage was a religious or social custom.

• In contrast, Gandhi supported legislative measures against practices like untouchability, arguing that such measures should not be opposed on religious grounds.

• The Hindu orthodox groups, gaining influence, opposed reforms solely in the name of Hindu religious sentiments without consistent criteria for opposing legislative measures.

• Bengali intellectuals linked nationalism to the classical antiquity of India, supporting Hindu revivalism, with Vivekananda being a key figure.

• Vivekananda, popular after his speech at the World Religious Parliament, was critical of social hierarchy and economic inequalities in India.

• He emphasized individual morality, social change, and the belief that a nation’s greatness stems from the greatness of its people, which is shaped by religion.

• Vivekananda argued that spiritual awakening and a cultural revolution could restore India’s former glory, encouraging youth to join the national movement against British rule.

• He opposed reform in favor of growth, stating that India’s national path should not be dictated but allowed to evolve naturally.

• Vivekananda considered social reform movements as elitist and alien to Indian tradition, and supported a nationalist vision rooted in Hindu customs.

• Thinkers like Bankim Chandra Chatterjee and Tilak contributed to shaping a new vision of Indian nationalism by emphasizing religious and cultural traditions.

• The rise of religious politics in India was rooted in different regions, opposing earlier reformist politics, particularly the views of Rammohan Roy, who sought to revitalize society by eradicating entrenched Hindu practices through legislation.

• Religious politics appeals to the past glory and values of Indian tradition, replacing earlier reform movements with an emphasis on Hindu customs and Indian tradition.

Hindu Revivalism

• Hindu revivalism seeks the glorification of the spiritual superiority of Indian traditions.

• Thinkers and leaders associated with Hindu revivalism trace the glory of Indian culture in Hindu symbols, the Vedas, and the spiritual superiority of India.

• They emphasize the significance of these factors in explaining nationalism, inter-religious, and inter-community relations.

• There is no uniform content to Hindu revivalism; it varies from person to person and region to region.

• Hindu revivalists equate nationalist assertion with Hindu revivalism, signifying a vision of Hindu unity and equality.

• They argue that the plurality of sects, the dilution of doctrine, and the metaphysics of non-violence made Hindus weak and vulnerable to foreign invasions.

• To face foreign aggression, they aimed to make Hinduism a homogeneous entity, free from non-violence or weak emotions.

• Bengal, Maharashtra, and Northern India were three regions where Hindu revivalism was particularly pronounced.

• In Bengal, Hindu revivalism took an intellectualized form, focusing on debates among intellectuals and literati.

• The language of Hindu revivalism in Bengal had limited appeal to the common people.

• Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was a prominent thinker of Hindu revivalism in Bengal.

• Hindu revivalism in Bengal had three major features: glorifying immemorial traditions, the concept of who is a true Indian, and the superiority of Lord Krishna over Jesus Christ.

• Bankim Chandra’s novel Ananda Math spread the message of patriotism, and the song Vande Mataram, intrinsic to the novel, became India’s national song.

• In Maharashtra, religious revivalism mobilized the masses through the activation of religious symbols and festivals in the public sphere, most notably the Ganesh Utsav, turning Ganesh Puja into a public event.

• In Northern India, intellectual debates became issues of popular contention, closely tied to popular beliefs and practices.

• In the Indo-Gangetic plains, issues like cow-slaughter and Hindi in Devanagari script were central to Hindu revivalism.

• Gyan Pandey showed how the cow slaughter issue, especially during Bakr-Id, caused a divide between Hindus and Muslims and was used to mobilize against cow slaughter.

• Similarly, the issue of Hindi in Devanagari script versus Urdu in Persian script became a matter of Hindu-Muslim dispute.

• In northwestern India (Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh), Swami Dayanand‘s Arya Samaj movement became influential in Hindu revivalism.

• The Arya Samaj was both a protestant movement and a sharp attack on non-Vedic practices like polytheism, idolatry, and the caste system.

• Swami Dayanand was a social reformer who popularized the teachings of the Vedas and critiqued non-Vedic religions like Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism.

• His followers engaged in polemics with Sikhs and Muslims and promoted inter-caste and widow remarriage.

• The Arya Samaj inspired significant conversions, particularly among the Khatri community in Punjab.

• Lala Lajpat Rai, Lala Hans Raj, Lala Munshi Ram, and Swami Shraddhanand were prominent figures in the Arya Samaj movement.

• The Arya Samaj focused on opening Anglo-Vedic schools and Shuddi (reconversion) campaigns to bring people back to Hinduism.

• The Shuddi movement, along with the Tanzeem and Tableeg movements among Muslims, played a key role in changing relations between religious communities in India.

Rise of Political Unrest

• The emerging political temper based on religious revivalism and cultural nationalism received strong intellectual reinforcement from thinkers like Vivekananda and Aurobindo.

• Both thinkers had a vast scope of work, focusing on large-scale concerns and spreading the idea that India had a mission for the world.

• Their mission was to offer the spiritual resources of India to the materially oriented West, enriching their impoverished civilization.

• In this vision, they invoked the glories of ancient India, the immemorialness of Indian religion and philosophy, the superiority of Vedanta, and the tolerance inherent in Indian culture.

• Vivekananda, in particular, was known for comparing the Hindu-Vedantic tradition with other religions.

• He frequently compared Hindu tolerance with Muslim intolerance, equating Muhammadenism with slaughter around the world.

• Vivekananda also considered the prophet of Islam to have done more harm than good in the world.

• Similar interpretative changes occurred within the Muslim community, though of a different nature.

• The Muslim religious traditions underwent interventions and reworkings by both neo-orthodoxy and the modernists, each trying to steer the community away from national developments for different reasons.

• These interventions ultimately led to a divide within the Muslim community.