NEW DELHI: Indians find it easier to reach god than have
access to a school or hospital. India has more public places of worship - of
its multiple faiths - than schools, colleges, hospitals and dispensaries put
together.
And there is at least one place of religious worship at every kilometre of the
country's road network of 2.4 million kilometres.
According to a wide-ranging survey by the Census of India, there are some 2.4
million places of worship in the country, as against 1.5 million schools and
colleges and a mere 600,000 hospitals and dispensaries.
So if religion is the opium of the masses, millions of Indians are inhaling
deeply.
Ranging from little painted stones in tree-shades to palatial complexes, these
shrines dot the Indian landscape at regular intervals, commanding the devotion
of countless worshippers.
The basic coloured stone idol, stained profusely with turmeric and vermilion,
is a familiar sight while driving down Indian roads.
Hundreds of thousands of mosques, churches and gurdwaras, or Sikh shrines -
small and big - also dot the Indian landscape.
Religion is a way of life for many Indians, but religious shrines appear to be
now dominating governance, taking precedence over socio-development and
economic issues.
To many it is no wonder that successive governments have been grappling over
the Ayodhya temple-mosque dispute that has preoccupied Parliament sessions,
elections and political discourse.
"This highlights the shortcoming in our social planning and
structure," economist Pradeep Srivastava told IANS.
Srivastava, a senior consultant with the National Council of Applied Economic
Research (NCAER), said it was important to think about development policies and
achievements, which were "sadly inadequate".
"The fact is that an illiterate person is happy to put whatever money he
has in a temple. Indeed, there are many more temples than the Census has
identified, as many people have temples in their own homes."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is pushing for support to legislation to build
a temple where the 16th-century Babri mosque stood before a Hindu mob razed it
in 1992 claiming the site to be the birthplace of Lord Ram.
Former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi remarked this week that there
was hardly a need for a temple in Ayodhya since there were "hundreds of
temples for Ram throughout India and in Ayodhya too".
It was time, he added, to address many burning issues.
According to political analyst V B Singh, many villages have more than one
religious shrine but the government had not been able to provide one school per
village.
"Temples and mosques do not require so many permits," said Singh, who
is with the Centre for study of Developing Societies. "People are free to
create places of worship. This is their easiest penance as most people are
god-fearing".
But a lot of land grabbing also goes in the name of religious places, pointed
out eminent lawyer Rajeev Dhawan.
"The problem is not religiosity but greed and political obsession,"
said Dhawan, citing the example of the Ayodhya tangle.
"Under the garb of religion, people indulge in property grabbing, injury
and violence to people. These are the people who push communal hatred for
political purposes."
Chaitri Dua, a call centre professional, voiced the sentiments of many wearied
citizens as she suggested that the Ayodhya spot along the Saryu river should be
given to neither Hindus nor Muslims.
"It should be handed over for a hospital or a school - that would be an
example for thousands of other hospitals as donors would think twice before
investing in religious buildings," said Dua.
Not everyone agrees, especially the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) that prides
itself as the patron of the Ayodhya temple movement.
"The Ayodhya temple is not to be counted with others - it is a symbol of
national pride, a shrine for a national hero," VHP leader Vireshwar
Dwivedi told IANS with some irritation.
Dwivedi did not think it strange that India should have more religious
institutions than all others put together.
"Why not? India is a religious country; people get satisfaction from
worshiping god. For our well-being we have to have such shrines. Of course,
there is nothing wrong with having some more schools and hospitals," said
the VHP leader.