Daan, Darshan Aur Daulat
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Daan, Darshan Aur Daulat
Krishya Nema
FY BSc (2024-28)
Reading time – 5 minutes
An Introduction
Festival season means festive sales! Get your tickets to the pearly gates starting at just
Rs. 9,99,999.99! (EMI options available, terms and conditions may apply.) In today’s day and age, if it exists, you can put a price on it. In the Indian context this can be seen with the commoditisation of religion, i.e. God listens best when your Black Amex Card talks.
The claim presented is not related to a matter of personal faith, but rather the dichotomy of how people’s relation and access to religion is influenced by their purchasing power. To clarify, it is assumed here that there stands to be a difference between religion and faith. The belief that a supernatural entity exists, does not always tie into the social and cultural practices that stem from identifying certain gods and practising laid out customs in and as a society. Religion here is an institution/organisation that pools together thought and acts as a system to govern individuals.
Daulat
As per an NSSO Survey the temple economy in India stands at $40 billion or Rs. 3.02 lakh crore. This economy includes various services such as flowers, oils, essence, images and idols, religious attire, sweets, etc. This sector is largely sustained by the informal workforce in the country. Post 2014, the development of the religious tourism sector in India has been heavily backed by the government. In 2014-15 the Swadesh Darshan Scheme laid out various religious circuits such as Ramanaya, Buddhist and Tirthankar and developed plans to improve the infrastructure along these circuits promising increased tourism and employment. Due to the informal nature of the industry, it is hard to estimate how many workers are supported by it, yet there have been claims that investment in the religious tourism sector can create over 2 lakh jobs in the next 4-5 years.
In 2022-23 a mere six temples collected Rs 24,000 Crore in cash alone. Their sources of revenue can be divided into 7 streams and they are classified as follows; donations, deposit interests, asset cash-flow, product sale, auctions, ticket sales and, religious functions.
Most of these streams of revenue can be earned directly from devotees. The big three are donations, product sales, and ticket sales. As per a report published by the NSSO the average expenses on religious travel amount to Rs 2,717 per day/person. Out of this the more affluent are able to provide themselves with a “peaceful, hassle free” visit to god. They have the upper hand in all scenarios, whether it’s better hotel accommodations at closer proximity, better quality of food, better quality of donations “daan”, easier transportation, VIP passes or private sessions. Putting a price on elements of faith and places of worship creates an economy where the only way to feel a decent and peaceful “connection” to god is by stimulating consumers to buy their travel package, premium passes or exclusive relics. This turns religion into a commodity where the privilege of being able to access it is not only intertwined with notions of caste but also disposable income.
Religion and religious services have never been separate from money-making institutions, however with the increase in purchasing power, the ability to commoditize niche aspects of human existence has become easier. People are now made to believe that expending a certain amount of money on religious experiences is not only necessary but expected of them, and that they shall be better off for it.
Most temples do not keep a ledger or cashbook to record their transactions, so while a certain portion of revenue is set aside to cover expenses, most of it remains untraced and this is where the issue of transparency arises. Since religious trust laws do not necessitate the monitoring of donations, the nature of anonymous donations can always be called into question. Furthermore the main expenditures of a temple include items such as salary and purchases of raw materials, these expenditures can easily be inflated in the books of accounts making the whole system even sketchier.
Another thing to note is that temples outright do not pay a “tax,” there is a certain amount of money that is transferred for government and social welfare but it is not a “tax” in the way citizens pay it. Instead, when the constitution of India stated that no government could interfere in religious establishments, they found a loophole via the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act 22 of 1959 which went on to be adopted on a state-to-state basis. This Act gives state governments the power to control temples, i.e. the money they generate. By accessing yet another stream of revenue government bodies now influence donations and their uses, which should’ve been made public but of course, there’s no fun until “daal mein kuch kaala ho” if you know what I mean.
The Revelation
Karl Marx stated that religion acts as a blanket over the people. In “A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right” Marx goes on to present the belief that religion was created to mirror the struggles of people, a reflection of their oppression. It further acts as a tool of oppression because it is instrumental in making workers complacent in their living conditions. A simple example of this can be seen in the way churches, temples and other religious institutions wield power in society and politics. Those in distress turn to religion, thus turning human desperation and faith into a monetary asset, and further, into power. The temple economy feeds off the pockets of the poor, but listens only to those in power.
The role of religion in the lives of the poor is notably distinct from its impact on the wealthy. This is said with respect to matters of education, literacy and comfortable living conditions. How the very presence of these things is related to a person’s economic status in society. I bring up this point to demonstrate that the attempt to make religion in India easily accessible to the poor, is done because religion caters to the suffering. The quality of “religion” (religious services) received by the poor is subpar and can never compare to that which is presented to those willing to pay for it. If this weren’t the case VIP passes and “exclusive” darshan offerings would lose all value. Religion simultaneously excludes those that can’t afford to pay the price of temple donations, visits and services while also catering to the same masses in order to drive traffic. If they cannot convince you that these “customs” can bring you closer to a god that will ease your suffering, they cannot extract the notes in your pocket.