Interrogating the mechanics of power in security, territory and population, French philosopher Michel Foucault coined the term “governmentality” to explain how governments try to produce citizens who obediently follow policies and practices through which subjects are governed. In the modern day, it translates to the state legitimising its power through the instrumental use of organised religion and a bureaucracy compliant to the political master. There’s an increasing use of religious symbols, rites and practices to consolidate vote banks and evade accountability. We are now at this dangerous crossroads of religious governmentality in modern India.
On December 11, the BJP government amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 in what was one of the darkest days in India’s modern history, representing a direct assault on the country’s multireligious and democratic mosaic. The diverse, pluralistic, and secular fabric that had managed to survive so far is now on life support. The law also poses a grave danger to India’s democracy and exposes the bogus secular credentials of India’s current administration.
