Is unauthorised construction in the name of God real faith?

I remember watching a roadside pavement next to my house in Chennai becoming an unwilling host to a Krishna temple overnight a couple years ago. Within a matter of days, this lone idol erected in a street corner usually used by pedestrians, was surrounded by its own structure of roofs, walls and a convenient little hundi. As whispers spread of a district official trying to take action against this blatant illegal encroachment of public space, members from the ruling and opposition parties, ward councillors in the area visited the temple on the same day. By weekend, money was quickly mobilised to conduct a grand opening festival and this public hindrance was cemented as a permanent part of the locality.     

We are not new to seeing roads, pavements, railway stations, bus stops, parks and various other public places cluttered with deities belonging to the dominant religious group in the area. We have religious constructions illegally and dangerously standing in the middle of roads, forcing road engineers to figure out ways to streamline traffic flow around it. On paper, the act of removing illegally constructed religious structures should not pose a bigger challenge than anything else. But history shows us that these officials often face immense pressure from higher ups and society in general to just ignore the whole thing.  

Chennai has prominent temples in the middle of major arterial roads like the one in Ashok Nagar that is a notable traffic hazard. Kolkata has a history of being unable to expand their airport over an Islamic shrine. A religious structure in New Ashok Nagar, Delhi, has been standing in the way of Metro train service expansion there. Baroda saw six people getting killed in the communally charged aftermath of the removal of an illegally constructed wall of a Muslim mausoleum.  

In September 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that no unauthorised construction shall be permitted in the name of temple, church, mosque or gurdwara on public streets, public parks or places. The court asked the government to take action on unauthorised constructions that had occurred prior to the date on a case to case basis. The same court reiterated the order again in 2011 restraining state governments from granting permission to install statues or erect any structure on public utility places.  

This is not confined to mere constructions. Temples and mosques all over India violate the rules on use of cone speakers and blare religious content every single day from their places of worship much to the agony of people with total impunity.  

The infamous series of accusations of sexual abuse levelled against Sathya Sai Baba were met with instant outrage by his supporters. Any thoughts of investigating this was quickly dropped when the accusations were widely condemned by various heads including the then Prime Minister of India, multiple former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, the Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission of India at that point of time effectively declaring that such accusations were outrageous against a globally revered character.

Last year, Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Art Of Living’s World Culture Festival left behind severe ecological damage on the plains of Yamuna and the organisation reluctantly paid the stipulated fine after trying to wiggle out of it several times. And this year, Isha foundation’s construction of the 112 feet statue has been declared to have been built without permission in a response filed by the DTCP, Government of Tamil Nadu, to the Madras High Court.   

Despite the existence of a lock and seal notice served on the Isha Center in 2012 by the DTCP, the government has failed to enforce it. And after a grand opening of this statue and AOL’s festival with the presence of the heads of states, the country and governors, it makes it harder for officials to take action against erring groups fearing pressure from the public and the government at large.

With people and leaders selectively permitting illegal activities to occur, it sets a dangerous precedent. The collusion of faith and power only results in the benefits for the powerful. The powerless are made to believe that getting such preferential treatment proves their might.

THE RULING

In September 2009, the Supreme Court ruled that no unauthorised construction shall be permitted in the name of temple, church, mosque or gurdwara on public streets, public parks or places. The court asked the government to take action on such constructions. The same court reiterated the order in 2011 restraining state governments from granting permission to erect any structure on public utility places.

(The writer is an admin of Nirmukta — an organisation which promotes scientific temper and critical thinking. Send in your feedback to soorya@nirmukta.com)