Sunday Reading

New Delhi, 21 October 2009

Idol Emersion

THE DARK SIDE OF RELIGIOSITY

By Proloy Bagchi

 Soon after the recent festive season several parts of the nation’s Capital, Delhi, faced severe water shortage. Thousands of idols that were immersed in the River Yamuna after the Navaratra festival choked the Delhi Jal Board (Water Board) pumps with their paints, plastic flowers and other particulates. Despite there being eight pumps water needed for treatment could not be lifted. The shortage was, therefore, the natural consequence.

Every year the numbers of idols installed in the urban and rural areas, particularly in the upcountry, have been on the rise. The ardour and devotion of the people during this “silly” season disrupt normal life, upset the working schedule, cause traffic bottle-necks and, later, also pollute the very water that sustains the community. This is a new phenomenon, which is becoming increasingly evident every year after the two stretched out festivals of Ganesh Chaturthi and Navaratra. The clay idols of Ganesh and Durga, lovingly made with piety and passion, finished with plaster of Paris and toxic enamel paints, embellished by faux ornaments and decked up in colourful synthetic clothes, are installed for worship in regular or make-shift temples. Later these are (un)ceremonially immersed in the nearest water bodies only to pollute them.

A couple of decades ago these festivities used to be on a much lower scale and were not so disruptive or polluting. Lately, however, with a strong revival of religious traditions and an unprecedented surge in religious fervour, things are increasingly getting out of hand. The kind of eminently avoidable mishap that happened in Delhi had to happen sooner or later.  Clearly, the festivals have now started hurting the community. Whether it is the River Hoogly in West Bengal, the Arabian Sea near Mumbai or other inland rivers or water bodies, all have been experiencing the malign after-effects of these festivities.

Although, post-immersions, the idols are crudely stripped of all valuables, yet what remains of them adds to the pollution of the waters that are already dirty with urban and industrial effluents. The Hindu community is, strangely, unable to appreciate the threats that it is posing to the country at large with its progressively amplifying religiosity. It seems to be killing the very environment that sustains the larger Indian community. Whether it is land, water or air, the piety that is flaunted all over the country is polluting them all, though the Hindu religious tradition has always been worshipers of nature.

Take the periodical Kumbh Melas, for instance, which, in fact, are extended pilgrimages of massive proportions demanding detailed planning and comprehensive logistics, forcing the governments of respective states to step into the operations that essentially are religious. What happens to the ecosystems of Ganga or Kahipra or the Godavari rivers, howsoever “holy” they are considered, when pilgrims in millions take their ritualised daily baths have not so far been matters of concern for those who organise the pilgrimages, conduct the holy baths and others who facilitate the entire jamboree.

Likewise, the annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave in the Himalayas has been the cause of damage to the delicate Himalayan ecosystems. Earlier, a pilgrimage of roughly a week with participation of a few thousands, it has now assumed enormous proportions, now running for around two months joined, by the last count, by almost 500,000 pilgrims. Countless diesel-run buses ferrying hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have adversely impacted the Himalayan ecology on the Pahalgam route, polluting even the fast-flowing Lidder River. And, to take the pressure off it, the once-beautiful Baltal valley was sacrificed for opening up an alternative route.

Things are not much different with the annual trudge of millions to the Sabarimala temple through dense forests of Kerala. Billed as the world’s second-biggest pilgrimage, its progressively expanding infrastructure has been encroaching on the nearby forests, increasingly interfering with the ecosystems of the rare tropical forests. With pickings of around a billion rupees, the Kerala government is not quite averse to it.

There could be any number of reasons for this gush of religiosity. It could be because of a more pro-active role played by organisations connected with the Hindu religion; it could also be because of a reaction against frequent Islamic terrorist attacks in the heartland of the country. Even the political power captured by the Bharatiya Janata Party in several States, coupled with the post-liberalisation rise in the levels of disposable incomes among the Hindu middle classes may have been factors in fuelling the heightened religious zeal.

The electronic media, particularly, the TV with its outreach deep into the urban slums and rural homes telecasting gold foil-wrapped Hindu traditions, too, may have given a fillip to the rising tempo. Governmental and/or non-governmental organisations, sniffing a killing too, may be hyping up the festivities.

Whatever may be the reason(s), the whole thing, viewed objectively, appears to be sheer madness. Self-regulation and self-restraint being conspicuous by their absence, every passing year a new vigour, seemingly, is injected into the festivals. Religion and its practices being matters of very sensitive nature, no government would come out and cry a halt. Besides, there is that ‘small’ matter of votes. No political party would ever dream of alienating such a large community and losing such a sizable chunk of votes. Hindu religiosity, thus, would seem to be spiralling out of control with consequences that may, sooner than later, prove to be catastrophic for its pious and the devout.

Nonetheless, one can see a ray of hope. For the first time ever, Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh, has put a cap on the number of tourists travelling to Himachal Pradesh. Though inordinately delayed, it is a very wise step and needs replication elsewhere. World over natural assets are subjected to sensitive treatment, limiting the intrusions by humans in order to ensure their sustainability. The cap that the minister has imposed is surely based on a well-researched carrying capacity of the region.

Similar caps need to be imposed for other natural assets, too, which happen to be tourism hotspots, including those which are increasingly becoming victims of uncontrolled religious tourism. These will be unexceptionable measures as they would be aimed at protecting the natural assets of the country and their vital ecosystems – measures that will be for the country’s larger good. The Minister, nonetheless, may come under heavy flak and would certainly need the courage and the conviction to do the right by the country!—INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)