WHETHER good, bad or ugly, the fact is that ‘Ramaisation’ of Indian politics seems to be at its peak. Pran Pratishtha ceremony of Lord Ram’s idol in Ayodhya has completely transformed BJP into a Ram bhakta party. Once considered to be a rational leader, Magsaysay Award winner Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, has officially announced plans to organise the recitation of Sunderkand (A chapter in the Ramayana) at various places in the capital city. Veteran Socialist leader late Biju Patnaik’s son and Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik is considered to be a secular leader as far as his political ideology is concerned. He has announced that his government will construct an ambitious Jagannath Puri temple corridor on January 17 and to begin auspiciously, he suggested that citizens of his state light earthen lamps in their homes and blow conch shells. Constitutionally, governments in India are not supposed to follow a particular religious tradition because we are a secular state. But that doesn’t seem to apply anymore.
This story is from the February 01, 2024 edition of Outlook.
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This story is from the February 01, 2024 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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