BHUBANESWAR: Leaders cutting across political divide and scholars on Saturday expressed concern over the growing use of religion in politics and said Dharma belongs to people and not politicians.
Participating in a panel discussion on “Why does religion matter so much ?” at the seventh edition of the Odisha Literary Festival organised by The New Indian Express here, former Union minister and senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said religion in the narrow sense is becoming important because of politics of numbers and power. “If we improve democracy in the country from numbers to percentages or from numbers to something like proportional representation, it is quite possible that the role of narrow religion may be reduced,” he said.
Stating that Dharma is a totality and other things are aberrations, Khurshid said if Dharma would have prevailed in its purest form, people would have been happy and there should have been no problem. The former union minister said Bhakti and Sufi movements were the finest expression of Dharma and added that it is secure.
Rajya Sabha member and scholar Rakesh Sinha said there is a distinction between religion and Dharma. Post colonial era, the distinction ended because of colonial pressure, he said and added that they imposed their own definition of religion on Indian society. Stating that in the contemporary India, discussion are always on transitory things and not on important issues, Sinha said lynchings and other such violent incidents are law and order issues.
Stating that in the Hindu way life one has the right of contestation, Sinha said in Hindu ethos, divinity can be achieved through many ways. “If reform is from within it is harmonious which leads to transformation,” he said and added, “But reforms from outside leads to confrontation.”There is no compelling necessity in Hindu religion, he said and added,” Religion is our tradition, culture, legacy and guarantee of secularism.”
Former Rajya Sabha member Chandan Mitra said religion was never a private matter. He, however, said there is a difference between spirituality and religion. Spirituality is an individual matter and meditation cannot be done publicly, Mitra said and added religion has some other aspects which goes beyond the private sphere. Pointing out how religion has become exhibitionist now-a-days, the former RS member referred to Shiv Ka Yatra which turns violent at times. Stating that there is a massive rise of religiosity in recent decade, he said people have become more religious and devout. He, however, maintained that there is intermingling of religion and politics now-a-days. He said, “We should go to root of why spirituality is going away from us and finding expression in violence.”Journalist and columnist Ashutosh, who moderated the session, said religion is always important. “Religion is there since time immemorial,” he said.