Tuesday, October 1, 2013

People, Religion and Politics: Negotiating the temple space

Abstract Temples are seen as an abode of gods, a place of worship, a depository of offerings, a stage to perform rituals and a place to redistribute goods. Behind all these functions performed by the temples, lies its place of importance in the political arena. Over the years, the temples and festivals have undergone functional changes with change in the political structure, the rise of westernisation, liberalism and urbanisation. They are also perceived as spaces which ensure identity to individuals and hence receive enormous support with the rise of instability and anonymity in the society. Because Hinduism is very different from Christianity, Buddhism or Islam which can be said to be more homogeneous, the multiplicity in the structure, nature and purpose of the temples is quite evident. This paper focuses on the historic importance of temples and festivals and gives a brief on their changing nature. It also analyses the spatial spread of temples and the different masks that it wears according to the needs of the community and the political economic situation of that place. And thus invents survival strategies by negotiating the space around it.

Historic importance of temples 

Religious institutions lend themselves for multiple interpretations (Lisa J. Lucero, 2007). They serve as a place of exchange, alliance building, finding marriage partners, social interaction and other activities. Hence the domain of influence is not only the spiritual and religious field but it spreads to other areas of social and physical being. The presence of temples as a focal point of a city in the historic times brings forth the fact that temples have had an important place in the functioning and the layout of a city. Scholars tend to identify the temples as a fixed point around which the flux of power relations moved (Rohan Bastin, 2005). Temples are typically located next to other important buildings. For example, in Mesoamerica, the temples were situated in the core areas near important administrative buildings, palaces, plazas and near significant natural and sacred features. Kings and monarchs were considered as close to god and thus monarchs conducted royal ceremonies to highlight their having the ‘mandate to heaven’ (Lisa J. Lucero, 2007). They worshipped gods in order to supplicate them and hence in times of drought, war or flooding, the people used to judge rulers by their capacity to supplicate the gods. The rulers promised the farmers water in exchange of material support. This developed a sense of competition among the different rulers. In the event of the death of the king and several candidates vying for the royal position, the temple provided arena to attract supporters. Temples being a place of power, competition, status and prestige were attacked by enemies and burnt down to show their victory over the other. In post Mesoamerica, the Aztec visitors often signalled their triumph by destroying or burning the foes temples (Lisa J. Lucero, 2007). Temples have been critical to the nature and extend of political and economic complexities in the merchantile and agricultural state formation. Colonialism was symbolized by the pillage and proselytization of temples in South Asia and Srilanka. These actions served to fracture the role of temples as political centres (Rohan Bastin, 2005). Central to the Hindu temple was the social division – division of labour based on sex, kinship, caste and marriage. These temples have now and then interpreted and re-interpreted society on their own terms and set up norms which exist in today’s so called modern world too.
  
People and Religion: Searching identity

Globalization is a new phenomenon, but it has bought real changes in terms of speed, scale and cognition. In terms of speed, there is an increased compression of time and space. In terms of scale, the number of economic political and social linkages between different societies is more and in terms of cognition, the globe is perceived to be a smaller place because of the increased connectivity. The events occurring elsewhere have a consequence on our everyday lives. The state role has decreased to a large extent with the spate of privatisation. This vacuum of authority created due to the absence of state has led to creation of many other groups in response to individual demands for security and welfare. The spread of democratic values has led to social dislocation in many parts. The traditional societies which were based on set norms of hierarchy have become democratized. Old ways of doing things get eliminated, which brings in more uncertainty and the social structure which keeps the community bonded is also demolished, which has a disintegrative effect (Catarina Kinnvall, 2004). The abstractness of the modern life initiates people to search for their identities and they attempt to bring back a sense of security. One way of doing this is getting associated with any collective that is perceived as being able to reduce insecurity and existential anxiety. Collectives based on religion turn out to be a very attractive mode of ensuring security. For the followers of Hinduism, the temple has become a place with which people get associated in search of identity and emotional security. The urban areas which have characteristics of individualism, alienation and insecurity have triggered the formation of many temples, which give a feeling of rootedness and togetherness. This can be related to the theory of ‘Topophilia’ which is a strong sense of place which often becomes mixed with the senses of cultural identity among certain people. This strong sense of a place called ‘temple’ comes from various facets of urbanism as a way of life. (Louis Wirth, 1938). The competition that an urban life fosters brings in much insecurity in the professional life, the heterogeneity and social fragmentation within a community germinates a feeling of alienation and there is a loss of the sense of belonging. Migrated inhabitants feel more strongly for their community and religion as compared to the people back in their natives, as they face a high level of ‘unrootedness’. All these factors carve a path for people to find solace in network based identity formation through religious institutions. The reasons for coming or taking membership of any religious institution may vary with age, ideologies and personal background. For example, a study done by Reiko Itoh and Leonardo Poltnicov (1999) of the Saturday morning informal service of the Reform Jewish congregation in Pittsburg shows how this collective gives the Jews in Pittsburg a sense of place i.e. it clarifies or lends meaning to their identity and lives. The meaning of membership is different for different individuals. The young couples take membership to raise their children in a Jewish way, for some it is a way of socializing with other Jews and for some it is just a habit, and for the old, who are more tradition minded, come for offering prayers in Hebrew. So the place takes a form of a community centre with recreational activities, education, fun and informal interaction apart from being a purely religious institution (Reiko Itoh and Leonard Plotnicov, 1999). This is a micro level analysis of an individual’s strategies to ensure that he/she succeeds in reconstructing an identity of self and community. This individual strategies act as a feeder to the larger political economic scenario of temples. They support the temple as an institution and hence indirectly or directly support the politics behind the building or unbuilding of temples. 

Religion and Politics

In India, separation of religion and politics was as a result of colonial intervention. But has it really been achieved? Can we say that the state and religious institutions are mutually distinct sets? The secularization in modern societies implies that first, the decline in religious beliefs and practices, second, the privatisation of religion where religion becomes part of the private sphere and is highly subjectivized and third, the separation of secular state, economy and science from religion, whereby the religious sphere stops its intervention and dominance over these spheres. But in reality, the separation of the state from religion is a one way process and in fact it has reshaped religious practices and subjectivity. Bhargava (2007) quotes, “There is no erect wall between state and religion. There are boundaries, of course, but they are porous. This allows the state to intervene in religions, to help or hinder them without the impulse to control or destroy them. This involves multiple roles: granting aid to educational institutions of religious communities on a non-preferential basis; or interfering in socio-religious institutions that deny equal dignity and status to members of their own religion and to those of others (for example, the ban on untouchability and the obligation to allow everyone, irrespective of their caste, to enter Hindu temples, whilst potentially correcting gender inequalities), on the basis of a more sensible understanding of equal concern and respect for all individuals and groups.” (Bhargava, 2007, cited by Mariella Sica, 2012 ) The festival of Ganeshotsav is a very good example of the interference of religion and politics. During the freedom struggle, Lokmanya Tilak took an excellent strategic decision of celebrating the Ganapati festival to promote anti- British sentiments among the populace. Religion was outside the colonial jurisdiction and hence British chose not to interfere in that space. Taking this as an opportunity, the Ganeshotsav was used as a tool for propagation of politics. The ganesha murti and the demon (symbolising the colonial power) were used as a means to provoke the masses. The politics cloaked within the mantle of the religious festival was initially overlooked by the British and if they expressed concern they acted against the activities by using charges of sedition, criminality or civil disobedience. Later in 1896, stricter rules were set regarding licenses of melas, censorship of songs and rules for processions. ‘Mordern festivals’ like the Republic Day and the Independence day are not much part of the family and community life like the Ganapati festival in Maharashtra. Ganesh festival involves more organic connectivity and hence state governments and oppositional political parties appropriate Ganeshotsav mandals and sponsor celebrations as a means to get closer to the public in Maharashtra. Not only the governments, but also the under-world contribution to the festival is enormous. The festival on one hand had a formidable potential to instigate feelings of nationalism but on the other hand it cannot be denied that there was inherent instability attached to it because of its exclusionary nature. The festival majorly saw participation of the lower Hindu class and not the upper class, as they preferred celebrating it within their private domain. The critiques saw the festival as a means to strengthen the Hindutva ideology and hence called it ‘psuedo secular in nature’. After the riots of 1992-93, following the destruction of Babri Masjid, the festival added to the communal feelings and hence created a highly volatile environment (Raminder Kaur, 2005). The Ganeshotsav that we celebrate today is very different from the past. Even today some mandals use the festival as a stage to portray the current issues but with the western ideology of individualism and modernism finding its way into the Indian society, the festival has become more of a private affair within the Indian middle class and is celebrated within confined kinship groups. The rise of the educated middle class ideologies have tagged the festival as a waste of money; money which could have been used for other needs of the society. The rising urbanization and the space crunch has led to distaste for mandals as they encroach roads and further add to the problems of traffic and sound pollution. The fall of BJP’s Hindutva ideology and the rise of congress’s secular ideology itself show us the changing trends. But even today, at a macro level, religion is used as tool to communalise masses and give them a sense of identity. The Rath Yatra by L.K.Advani comprised of geographical movement, military display and provocation. Religious ritual was employed to make political statement about authority. This can very well relate to the royal ceremonies performed by the kings to warn his opponents about his power. (William S. Sax, 2000). Another example is of Modi’s Sambhavana Yatra which was supposedly to capitalize the minority votes. But to simply say that there is a one on one relation between identity politics and vote banks would be very naive. A study of the working of Jama’at­i­Islami in Pakistan and Bangladesh reveals the limitation of the assumption that religious political parties indulge in welfare work as a form of patronage politics where free services are distributed primarily with a view to winning votes, and supports the work of Rosenblum (2003) who argues that the motives for engagement in welfare are much more complex than material opportunism (Rosenblum, 2003 cited by Masooda Bano, 2012). There have been times when the party continued its welfare activities even during the period when it was banned. Moreover the assumption made by the political theory is that beneficiaries of a service will owe allegiance to the party even if the elections are not to take place for the next four years. The case of the Jama’at shows the limitations of these assumptions; where converting beneficiaries into voters is a secondary concern, and the primary motive for engagement in welfare work is to establish the commitment of the party to the implementation of religious precepts (Masooda Bano, 2012). 

Temples of Modern India

The construction of modern India on secularism has not erased her religious sensibility; in fact religion has surfaced in different forms and spheres though negotiations and confrontation. The mushrooming of temples and other religious institutions has put scientists in a dilemma. The contrast between the historic temples and the present day temples is its form, nature and the purpose which they serve. Today we have road side temples, colossal temples and other religious institutions that claim to be secular i.e. without the belief in one single god and tolerant to all religions like the Art of Living Foundation by Sri Sri Ravishankar. In urban India, there has been a rise of road-side temples and these places can be possible places of communal conflict. For example, the demolition of the 200 year old Sufi dargah by the municipal administration of Baroda. The high court ruling out orders in favour of the PIL to demolish all road side temples in Mumbai. In Chennai, Jayalalitha went on a spree of demolition of road side temples during the initial period of her tenure, but later ceased to do so due the fear of loss of vote bank. Ganesha temples have been erected and maintained by auto and taxi stands as Ganesha is believed to be very auspicious for every new beginning. At some places, Ganesha temples are erected at the point of intersection of three ways, as one street perpendicular to the other is considered as inauspicious. It is very interesting to note that modern planning practices favour grid type road patterns but traditional practices see them as evil. In Chennai, there have been cases where the poor working class has erected temples and their livelihood is dependent on the offerings and donations that come to these roadside temples. These temples are built on public spaces and hence are illegal. Similarly, the installation of ganesha idols done by slum youth is uncommon and their connections with the local politicians have helped them stalling any demolition and they also get financial help from the local politicians. At times the government takes authority of the road side temples to check them as money making enterprises. There are surprise visits to the temple and if the donations in the ‘hundi’ are above a certain limit then appropriate actions are taken. Similarly in China, the temples and monasteries which are important sacred spaces for the locals are taken up by the state for purposes of tourism and protection of heritage and this has been opposed by many ethnic groups. The state also intervenes in the functioning of these institutions. It requires the temples, mosques and churches to be economically self supporting; in addition to collecting incense money and rents on property and providing religious services the clergies are expected to take part in productive labour and set up profit making enterprises (Xiaofei Kang, 2009). Road side temples are used for appropriation of public space and then with constant negotiations with the government or local politicians the temples are assured protection and patronage. These road side temples have changed the meaning of secularism with the diverse population that these attract, the patronage of Brahmin families given to temples of folk goddesses and donation from neighbourhood Christian families. Hence they have transcended the boundaries of social hierarchies and minimised the distance between various social positions (U. Kalpagam, 2006). Another form of temple structures is the colossal ones and serves an entirely different purpose. Examples of these can be the Akshardham temple in Delhi, the Art of living Ashram in Bangalore, the ISKON temples and the Tirumala Tirupati temple in Tirupati. These are an outcome of the urban middle class culture and identities. The Akshardham temple in NOIDA was completed in November 2005 by the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). The architecture and design of the temple makes it look like a Disney land, in fact, a group of swamys were sent to Universal Studios and Disneyland to borrow their ideas. The temple uses high end technology for its day to day work. The temporal modernity is interwoven with the ancient one. What makes the need to build such temples? The answer is the new culture of consumption and urban space. So how is urban space perceived today? The Akshardham temple was built after the demolition of 58 JJ (Juggi Jopdi) colonies in 2000 and 2006. This was done as per the current culture of cleaning the cities and creating ‘clean’ urban spaces. The appeal of AT lies in its ability to present the tableaux of consumption which is in continuity with the outside world. The use of technology, efficiency, punctuality, cleanliness go well with the current trends of consumption and consumerism marked by highways, malls, slum clearance drives and creation of spaces of middle class identity. The temple complex becomes a place which is not shelter a feeling of nostalgia of the past but is based on the idea of ‘surplus consumption’. Srivastava (2006) defines surplus consumption as the “strategy of engaging with the intensity of social and cultural changes introduced by [a number] of global forces” (Srivastava, 2006 cited by Srivastava 2009). Surplus consumption unfolds in a number of ways, and is part of the processes of the making of contemporary urban identities. Consumption becomes a part of the experience at such places, right from the five star type entrances to the presence of Mc Donald outlet inside the temple complex. Such an atmosphere where the ‘Indianess’ is packaged with modern middle class consumerism invents a moral middle class, who has control over the process of consumption. The middle class can take part in the process of modernity and at the same time revert back to its tradition. Hence these places create a platform to re-define modernity according to the whims and fancies of the urban middle class. The role of the BAPS across borders is very different. It represents an identity of the Indians settled abroad. Critiques have accused the Swaminarayan community for supporting the Hindu nationalist agenda. The origination of the community in Gujarat and Gujarat being a socially conservative and non-liberal in its present state of affairs has led to the criticism of the community too. The portrayal of Hinduism from the perspective of the BAPS community is done through the Exhibitions (which is like a museum and part of the temple complex) in London and other places. Hinduism is potrayed as one homogeneous religion when the fact is that there are number of variations that exist within Hinduism. Hence the BAPS community is not seen as a representative of the Hindu community back in the homeland. Bhatt (2000) quotes that owing to the financial strength and the Gujarati community, the BAPS is attempting to “hegemonize the space of Hindu representation in the UK” (Bhatt, 2000 cited by Hanna Kim, 2009). The response given to this critique by the Swaminarayan community is that the purpose of these exhibitions is to explain the non- Hindus Hinduism and thus religion has become a means by which it can engage with its dominantly non-Hindu publics while sustaining its own devotional traditions and teachings. The BAPS with its forty year long association with the West has not remained unaffected by the dominant ideals and secularized Christian assumptions about religion (Hanna Kim, 2009). The result has been a ‘Swaminarayan religion’ that fits some but not all expectations of the West. 

Conclusion

The importance of temples in the political arena is not something new, but with modernism and the rise of urbanisation, temples have negotiated the social space and in the process have undergone changes. The form, both physical and functional, of temples is varied and each caters to a different kind of population. They are also used as a strategy to appropriate space and lay claims over it through a nexus with the political society. Even though the state claims to be separate from religion, but at the same time religion is used as a tool to form a government. And hence politics can never be free from religious fundamentalism.

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