Last
Sunday, on 19 March 2017, a man in orange robes and shaven head, the head priest
of a famous Indian temple became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,
India’s largest state with a population of 224 million. Outside of India, only
China, USA and Indonesia have more residents. Uttar Pradesh boasts of the
picturesque Taj Mahal. Lord Vishnu’s two well-known incarnations, Rama and
Krishna were born in this state. Many Indians, including me, were uncomfortable
at the sight of a monk assuming a high political office. This article is a
rambling to figure out why we feel this discomfort.
Double hatted minister
Funnily
enough, this choice should not come as a shock if we look at the original
meaning of the word minister: a member of the clergy, a priest.
In ancient times, superstition - and not science - ruled the world. Priests
were often the most educated lot. They usually achieved that by keeping others away
from education. Kings represented God. When Christianity was formalised,
politics and religion fought for supremacy. Kings wanted Popes to report to
them, but Popes controlled civil matters. In the 16th century, Henry
VIII asked the Pope’s permission to annul his marriage. When the Pope refused, King
Henry VIII along with his kingdom abandoned Catholicism by forming the Church
of England. In England, till today, the Monarch is the supreme governor of that
Church.
The
House of Lords, English parliament’s upper house, has 26 bishops appointed as Spiritual
Lords. They take part in debates and vote just like their peers. One of
them reads the prayer aloud to commence the day of the Legislature.
The
ecclesiastical attire
Those
26 Bishops wear a prescribed sacred uniform. Dress is an important part of our identity.
Where attire is concerned, all religious institutions maximise their efforts to
minimise sexuality. Cassocks and long shapeless skirts are imposed to hide
curves and contours, heads are shaven or covered, Christian clergy wear
collars, Indian monks usually smear their foreheads. Materials and styles
signify a church hierarchy. Colour is very important. Even secular people are
particular about a mourning dress. Possibly for contrast, white people wear
black, and Asians (Indians, Japanese) wear white at funerals.
I
asked myself whether a Chief Minister in orange robes and shaven head had made
me feel uneasy. Muslim men with long beards, women in black Burqas, Jews
wearing Kippot (skull caps), Jain nuns in white sarees make me wonder why they
need such a visual display of their group identity. Is it insecurity of some
sort, or excessive loyalty to their religious beliefs, or a minority
symbol? Well, Yogi Adityanath, the monk politician, doesn’t belong to any
minority community. Though heading the state, he continues to wear the uniform
of a Hindu monk.
That
could be one source of discomfort. Then I remembered India’s previous Prime
Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, wore a turban and a beard, a uniform for Sikh
males, throughout his ten-year tenure. That had never bothered me, so why this reaction
now?
The
American secretaries
Have
you ever wondered about the weird titles in the American cabinet? Hillary
Clinton was the Secretary of State (an Indian friend of mine thought she
was given that job because she was a woman), a title difficult to understand
for non-Americans. As a matter of fact, Secretary of State is the Minister
of Foreign affairs and Secretary of the Treasury is simply the Minister
of Finance. The USA has no ministers and no ministries; they
have secretaries and departments instead.
The
probable reason is the desire of America’s founders to keep throne and altar
separate at any cost. They couldn’t even tolerate words common to religion and
politics. The American Bill of Rights (15 Dec 1791) proudly proclaimed that “Congress
shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof.”
Separation
of State and Religion
Why
should the State and Religion be separated? I can offer three main reasons.
First,
political governance is a geographic concept. A President or a Chief Minister
is elected to govern an area defined by boundaries. Religion transcends such
boundaries. The Catholic Pope goes around the world addressing his religious
followers, and recommending conversions. Muslims anywhere in the world must
face Mecca in Saudi Arabia while saying Namaz. These are clearly examples where
State and Religion are in conflict. Even when a Parish Priest has his
geographical boundaries defined, he serves only those believers in his parish who
belong to his religion, not the entire parish.
Second,
a democratic state aspires to improve the material conditions of its citizens.
This is achieved through scientific progress, business, commerce, by applying
economic laws. Science is based on reason, religion is based on faith.
Scientific method requires questioning and evidence. Religion is allergic to
scientific method. We are expected to believe in and communicate with a variety
of Gods (or a single God) without having seen or met one.
It’s
known that as science advances, religion declines. So, it’s a strategic
imperative for all religions to thwart the progress of science. Catholic
priests oppose abortion and contraception, Imams insist on enforcing 14-centuries-old
Sharia, and Hindu priests term beef-eating as the biggest disaster facing
mankind. (Many Hindus are secretly happy to eat Big Macs abroad). This known
desire of all religions to keep their followers primitive, directly contradicts
the desire of political governance to make progress.
Third,
the difference between the material and spiritual world. State and political
governance are expected to deal with the material world, build bridges and
roads, collect taxes; provide security, housing, water, electricity, issue
identity documents.
Most
priests are asked to renounce the material world. Instead of wearing t-shirts
and Jeans, they wear freak uniforms. They are required to suppress their
natural urges and devote themselves to God. By claiming this hardship as a
sacrifice, they become God’s middlemen. God’s agency is their source of
religious power. Religious power is historical, acquired in medieval times by
making fool of gullible, superstitious masses. Progressive
governments in the 21st century can’t allow religious power to
interfere in political governance.
How
to keep them separate
Render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. [The Bible
(Matthew 22:21), (Mark 12:17)]
The
eligibility to contest elections in democratic societies generally requires two
conditions: a minimum age and length of residence in the candidate’s constituency.
A secular state cannot prevent anyone satisfying those two conditions from
contesting an election. No reasonable grounds to stop a priest from becoming a
political candidate.
Catholicism, probably
the world’s most organised religion, prohibits its priests from taking up a
political office. No Pope can become a President. [(Canon 285.3” Clerics are forbidden to
assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil
power. (Code of Canon law)]
Hinduism
is, like most things in India, disorganised. Hinduism has no founder, no single
divine book, no pope, no congregations and no code of conduct. It’s too much to
expect that Hinduism will ever prohibit temple priests from assuming political
offices.
The
danger called Theocracy
We
saw above that a Temple Head Priest becoming a Chief Minister presents a case
of conflict of interest. Normally, such conflict is resolved by the Chief Minister
giving up his regular job while he occupies the political office. A businessman
or a lawyer can do it, but a priest? On becoming the Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath
should wear shirts and trousers, grow hair, and resign as the head priest. But
God’s men can’t do it. Neither can they leave their religious beliefs behind.
(You may notice I haven’t discussed Yogi Adityanath as a person. His biography
suggests he is not a Hatha-yogi, but a Hate-yogi. But even if he was a good or
civil man, in principle it is wrong to appoint him.)
Some
people are worried about the 20% Muslims in Uttar Pradesh under the rule of a
firebrand Hindu monk. But it’s not only the Muslims. What about the atheists
and agnostics? What about the progressive Hindus, who love to eat beef and hate
moral policing?
A
theocratic state is one where a priest rules in the name of God. The fatwa-fan
Ayatollah Khomeini and his equally worthy successor Ali Khamenei have blessed Iran
with their supreme leadership. Iran is the logical conclusion of any place where
religious and political power is united in the same person.
That
is the gravest danger posed by the appointment of a temple priest. God save Uttar
Pradesh.
Ravi