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വായന

29 August, 2017

Atavistic forces on the rise

BRP Bhaskar
Gulf Today

The violence unleashed by followers of Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, a cult leader who was convicted by a court last week on rape charges, is a rude reminder of the danger posed by atavistic forces that are gaining ground in the country.

Officials put the toll of the violence in Haryana state at 36 dead. Eight men in uniform, five women and one child were among the dead.

Cult figures, dubbed godmen or godwomen, have risen from time to time and attracted large numbers of people, rich and poor. Several of them have been accused of involvement in crimes like murder, rape and land grab. However, formal complaints against them are rare and serious investigation even rarer. 

Some godmen have thrived on their proximity to those in power. Dhirendra Brahmchari, who was active in Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s time, was characterised by a section of the media as Indian Rasputin. The judicial commission which probed Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam pointed to the possible involvement of Chandraswami, who was close to Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, in the crime. 

When the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh founded the Jana Sangh, predecessor of the Bharatiya Janata Party, it also set up an organisation of sanyasins, named Ram Rajya Parishad, to create a role for Hindu holy men in politics. Since the RRP did not make headway it was merged in the Jana Sangh.

Sanyasins played a big part in the RSS-affiliate Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s campaign to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid. Uma Bharti, a woman in saffron robes who participated in that campaign, is now Minister for Water Resources in Narendra Modi’s government. Another participant, Yogi Adityanath, high priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt, is Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the largest state.

The Hindu Yuva Vahini, a volunteer force founded by Adityanath, is alleged to have been involved in several communal incidents. The lynching incidents and other acts of violence in the name of cow protection in several states are a direct consequence of the rise of atavistic forces under religious auspices.

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, head of the Dera Sachha Sauda (meaning True Deal Camp) is a new generation spiritual leader who sings, dances and produces and acts in movies. Charges of rape, murder and castration did not prevent him from raising the cult’s following to 50 million and building scores of Dera centres in India and other countries including the USA.

Political parties sought his support at election time and plied him with money. A long-time backer of the Congress party, he switched support to the BJP in 2014 and is credited with having helped it to come to power in Haryana for the first time.

Gurmeet Singh’s flamboyant ways hid the atavistic character of his cult. One of the two women who admitted to the investigators that he had raped her claimed that in doing so he had purified her.

The case against him arose from an anonymous letter a rape survivor wrote to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee 15 years ago. The government did not act on it.

Ranjit Singh, a follower who had fallen out with Gurmeet Singh, also levelled similar changes. Ram Chander Chattrapati, a journalist, wrote in a local publication about the complaints. Both of them were shot dead.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, acting suo motu, ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the charges against Gurmeet Singh.

Devotees began gathering at the Dera headquarters days ahead of the date set by the CBI court for pronouncing its verdict. The violence that followed his conviction could have been averted if only the Central and state governments had prevented the assembly of a large crowd ignoring prohibitory orders.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, reacting sharply to the authorities’ failure to act in time for political reasons, reminded them that the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister were holders of constitutional offices, and not party functionaries.

The admonition had a salutary effect. Ahead of the sentencing of Gurmeet Singh on Monday the authorities took strong measures to prevent rioting, including orders to shoot at sight. To avoid recurrence of violence the High Court issued instructions to the trial court to conduct its proceedings in the jail where the convict was lodged. -- Gulf Today, Sharjah, August 29, 2017.

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