An unusual glimpse
Hammer and tongs
ALOKE THAKORE
Sometimes all that is needed is a word to index a problem. What is then necessary is to excavate its nature, its whys and wherefores. The Telegraph reporting about an incident from Jodhpur where a Shiva and Navagraha temple was shut down following protests from VHP supporters mentioned that the idol showed Ravana "offering prayers and water to Shiva, believed to be his favourite deity, in an unusual glimpse of the demon king’s religious side" (Ravan temple shut by Ram supporters, 27 October, 2007). The word that merits our attention is "unusual".
The idea that this idol provides an unusual glimpse to Ravana’s religious side begs the question: to whom does this side offer an "unusual" glimpse. Does it offer an "unusual glimpse" to the thousands, nay thousands of thousands of believers who are conversant with one version or the other of Ramayana? Does it offer an "unusual glimpse" to the writer of this story who is reporting from
One is left with the rather unhappy thought that the basic knowledge that is required of religious narratives is missing among journalists, which would be just swell if they were covering such secular institutions as the stock markets or the money market. Though with muhurat trading round the corner, that too cannot be said with certainty. This is, also, not a problem that can be ascribed to journalists not being interested in matter religious. The problem is an institutional one. Indian media organizations have seldom, if ever, had journalists working on religion as a beat. Usually beats are organized around government offices that serve as a source of information and the operating principle is to have journalists go to these offices and gather information. The evolution of beats around offices, typically government, has also meant that it is the voice of the authority figures who get quoted and relied upon for information rather than those who are either bearing the impact of decisions made there or who have a marginal relation with those in office. What it also means is that journalists cover offices but not issues or forces.
Religion is one such force. It is an actuating force for the vast majority of the Indian population. As either thought or practice it is part of the lived experience of the people. One need not have to buy into any Weberian analysis that stresses how different religions leading to different economic ethics or into any Marxian view that sees it as ideology with pernicious effects to recognize its importance. The least one can aver in a positivistic vein is that it matters and in this country it matters a lot. And religion merits to be covered as a separate beat.
This is not the same as those edit page pieces that are about thoughts of some sage or guru or some aspect of religious/ethical discourse. This is a call for a reporting of religious issues and changes that are happening among different religions in the country. Such a move would require knowledge of religions, understanding of the various texts, engaged appreciation of the rituals; in short, competence in all that encompasses the lived religious experience. One needs to add, also, that someone who is required to do such reporting would have not only an interest, but also respect for and acceptance of religious practice. No beat can be covered without some sympathy towards its actors and institutions.
The question is not whether we need such a beat or reporting duty, but why we have not had people reporting on religion. The answer possibly lies in the fact the despite deeply held individual beliefs that journalists may have, it has not been considered acceptable to acknowledge religion as a valid category to be reported upon except when it comes to events. Haj, Kumbh, and festivals, for example, make for episodic coverage.The quicker we recognize religion as a force, as idea and practice that has societal and political impact, the quicker we will be able to recognize the need for specialised coverage. Unless one posits religion against some notion of hyper-rationality that guides or ought to guide our actions and hence brackets religion as something that has to be tolerated while we get on with the business of increasing our economic indices or hoping that what is within the parentheses will gradually disappear, it might be a salutary idea to have someone who knows her Qutb from her Mansur, knows what separates the Syrian Orthodox from the Malankara, and does not confuse Jayasi with Jayadeva. Or we will continue to get "unusual glimpses" from the media while the rest go about invoking their one or many Lords.