Religious politics beckoning

In the past one month the Nepali state has hosted two religious events. One, the Kathmandu summit of a South Korean Christian organization; and two, the com­memorative marriage ceremony of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita in Janakpur, held under the aegis of the Province 2 government, and with the participation of Yogi Adi­tyanath. These events had ‘religious’ significance alright, but they were also harbingers of ‘religious politics’. Constitutionally, the Nepali state should not be linked to any particu­lar religion. Thus the government’s active involvement in religious activ­ities is rather sad. First, let us discuss the summit organized by Moon family’s Univer­sal Peace Federation. The goal of this organization is to bring under its influence the political leaders of various countries who are either marginalized or have time to spare. By catering to their needs, it seeks to maintain a strong influence over the political class so that it gets to freely proselytize. In a farcical devel­opment, during the summit, one of the two senior leaders of the rul­ing party acted in the capacity of the organization’s guardian while another went to receive a religious award from its founders.

If we refuse to learn from our mistake, the problem that has been dogging our southern neighbor for past 70 years may enter Nepal

This event also raised some diplo­matic questions. What message was Nepal sending to the outside world by inviting the likes of Aung San Suu Kyi (universally criticized for her inaction on Rohingya refugees) and Hun Sen (an elected autocrat)? What message was it giving to China by playing host to Pacific island states that recognize Taiwan? And what message was being convened by Nepal government that is seemingly in favor of religion-change to the Indian leadership wedded to Hin­dutwa?

Even from a religious standpoint, there is a room to question the mes­saging to the followers of diverse faiths in Nepal by being seen as sup­porting a particular religion? Inter­estingly, a big chunk of the Christian community in Nepal is miffed with the government for its support of a ‘Christian cult’.

Compared to its neighbors, Nepal has traditionally been liberal and tol­erant. Even though over 80 percent of its people are Hindu the country easily accepted a secular turn. Prin­cipally, this decision of the Constit­uent Assembly to separate state and religion was right. In this light, it is lethal for the state to be involved in self-contradictory religious activi­ties. The government’s proximity to an organization involved in religious conversions has created the ground for another kind of extremism.

Coincidentally, at this time, Yogi Adityanath was in Mithila to take part in a commemorative marriage ceremony between Ram and Sita. As well as the Chief Minister of an Indian state, he is also the head priest of Gorakhnath Maath, a Hindu temple in Gorakhpur. Above all, he wants to be known as Gorak­shak-pithadishwar, mainly because his politics is religion-based. Aditya­nath is considered not just a Hindu hardliner in the BJP, he is thought of as an out-and-out radical. To understand how radical his thoughts are you only need visit his website and evaluate his attitude towards minorities in his own state.

Earlier, the Janaki Temple used to be the main organizer of the mar­riage ceremony. This year, both Province 2 government as well as the federal government are involved. In preceding years, no political figure had headed the ‘marriage proces­sion’; it was celebrated as a purely cultural event. The arrival of Adi­tyanath this year thus gives both political and religious messages.

Adityanath is no stranger to Nepal. The Gorakhnath Maath he heads and the Shah dynasty of Nepal have old ties. Adityanath has even penned a book called Hindu Rastra Nepal: Atit aur Bartaman (‘Hindu state Nepal: Past and Present’), in which he lauds erstwhile Shah monarchs for their promotion of Hindutwa, and argues that Nepal should go back to being a Hindu state. Adityanath used to take part in programs in Kathmandu organized with the same intent. Nowadays, for­mer king Gyanendra himself goes to see Adityanath.

That Hindutwa activists are trying to turn back the political clock in Nepal is no longer a secret. The BJP has its own interests. Its leaders believe that if Nepal can be con­verted to a Hindu state again, the BJP will be politically validated and that it will send a positive message to the Indian electorate.

When the Nepali constitution was being drafted in 2015, there had been a kind of coercion to impose this BJP belief on Nepal. At that time two for­mer prime ministers of Nepal—Sher Bahadur Deuba and Pushpa Kamal Dahal—had even given New Delhi their ‘word’ that Nepal’s Hindu character would be restored. It was partly because Nepal reneged on this ‘promise’ that India imposed the crippling blockade, as former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai has recently revealed.

India wanted to use the Madhesi Uprising to justify the blockade and Madhesi leaders became its instru­ments. But when New Delhi decided to lift the blockade, it used its police­man to chase away the Madhesi protestors blocking the Indo-Nepal border in Birjung. This reality must never be forgotten. Because in pol­itics such experiments tend to be repeated.

Pastors or priests, Nepalis like to welcome guests, not extremists. If the government is seen as sup­porting these religious extremes, it is only a matter of time before there is an accident. That said, it does not seem to be the intent of either the provincial or the federal government to engage in religious politics by inviting Moon’s religious organization or by welcoming the Yogi. Current controversies may be the result of lack of knowledge or situation-specific reasons. If our state actors learn to stay true to the spirit of the constitution—that the state should be neutral on religious matters—these religious controver­sies will die down.

But if we refuse to learn from our mistake, the problem that has been dogging our southern neighbor for past 70 years may enter Nepal as well. If that happens, as former President Ram Baran Yadav cautioned in a recent public event, “We could invite a war in the name of religion”.