Tavleen Singh writes: The political landscape is so bereft of heroes now that people seek them elsewhere

Inside Wankhede Stadium, there were thousands more people who had waited all day for the privilege of seeing the team take their victory lap. It was as if they believed it was their duty to be there for them because for one moment, they had proved that Indians can be the champions of the world. No political leader, in all the years that I have covered politics, has received the sort of welcome that was accorded the Indian cricket team. Not just in Mumbai but everywhere they went. Could it be because we all know that our political leaders have in some fundamental way failed us and India? They are elected to govern on our behalf and governance appears to be the one thing that they are bad at, as became evident in Hathras last week.

What happened would never have happened if there was minimal governance and minimal administrative competence. After more than 120 people, mostly women, were stampeded to death, questions have begun to be asked about how a gathering of this size was allowed at all. Where were the police when the fake messiah fled in his convoy as soon as the stampede began? Where were the arrangements for the medical treatment of the injured? When the questions began, the police arrested six people who worked for Bhole Baba or Suraj Pal, as he was called before he started pretending to be a messenger of God. But when the police filed charges, they did not mention the name of this fraud who had convinced those of blind faith that there were healing properties in the dirt left behind by his cavalcade.

The messenger of God had vanished till the time of writing this. The police claim that they have searched his many, many palatial ashrams and there is no sign of him. But from his unknown hideout, he sent a message saying that the stampede had been caused as part of a conspiracy against him. His lawyer told TV reporters that he was in touch with Bhole Baba and had been informed that if he was needed for questioning, he would make himself available. Then this lawyer launched into a tirade about how the stampede was an attempt to discredit the Sanatan Dharma. Why do people not speak of the number of pilgrims who died in Mecca?

This was so stupid a remark that I would ignore it if similar conspiracy theories had not become the norm ever since Hindutva became an essential ingredient of Indian politics. Religiosity has become so deeply entangled with politics today that supposedly ‘secular’ politicians go out of their way to display how devout they are. What used to be private visits to temples and other places of worship are now public events with TV cameras nearly always present when our political leaders say their prayers.

The danger of this kind of religiosity becomes evident only when there is a tragedy like the one in Hathras. Bhole Baba appears to be a man with powerful political connections. Most religious preachers have political connections, and most politicians have a deep fascination with preachers. There used to be a Baba who blessed his followers by kicking them on the head and I remember that many political leaders flocked to him for this blessing. So, who can blame desperately poor, illiterate women from putting their faith in a man like Bhole Baba?

It is not false prophets we need to worry about, but political leaders who have brought such religiosity into their politics that it is often hard to tell whether they want to be preachers or politicians. In doing this, they have harmed not just the country but themselves because they have lost the trust of ordinary Indians who long to see heroes in their leaders. The political landscape is so bereft of heroes now that people seek them elsewhere and end up in the toils of fake gurus.

The Indian cricket team more than deserves the euphoric welcome they got in Mumbai last week. They are shining stars in a bleak and difficult time. And it was wonderful to witness thousands of people come out that rainy evening to show them adulation and love.