'GODMEN' talk even when they're quiet. Sometimes, they don't even need to talk-they sing, they dance, they perform. Sometimes, they just sit and gold dust falls. Babas are not just the new gods; they're the new heroes, directors, choreographers: dancing themselves and making others dance.
A few decades ago, such figures usually wore saffron robes, but now they're more specific, as if fulfilling both a Job Designation (JD) and creating their own brands. Compare this group to the superheroes in The Avengers universe whose 'JDs'-and costumes-make them unique. Or, like cartel members' tattoos, godmen's clothes-sometimes names-signify their essence and sharpen their identities.
Consider Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan, whose Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) attracted many Dalits to the organisation. They joined it believing a non-Hindu organisation would liberate them from the tyranny of the caste system. And if they still harboured any doubt, then the word "Insan" resolved it all: a place for anyone and everyone. So, when it comes to babas, if the question is 'what's in a name?', then the answer is another question: How about everything?
Colour psychology, too, plays a crucial role. If filmmakers deploy it to elicit emotional responses-most notably evident in Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colours trilogy-then marketing professionals use it to distinguish brands and influence consumers. The spiritual screenwriters, babas, rely on it for similar ends: establishing personas, conveying messages, selling products. They also sell faith, or hope, in a country devoid of a sustained welfare state. When the government receded, creating a void, the babas stepped in, functioning as a protector, therapist, father, doctor, rehab, God. This space is as competitive as ever, compelling godmen to adopt creative means to stand out and build their brands.
Denne historien er fra August 01, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 01, 2024-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Criminal Amnesia
The focus may have now shifted to the Kolkata gang rape case, but questions about the sexual violence in Manipur since May 2023 remain unanswered
To Rape A Wife
Survivors of marital rape face twin hurdles: a lack of legal framework to deal with these cases and the social stigma that comes with reporting them
A City Violated
Public outburst of anger over the rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata has left the Mamata Banerjee government puzzled, worried
The Forest of Loss
From a legal perspective, justice appears to have been served in the 2017 Gudiya rape and murder case at Kotkhai, Himachal Pradesh. But several questions persist
Here, Nobody Speaks of the Wounds
Muhammad Iqbal Shah's 14-year-old cousin was gang-raped and murdered at Handwara town, Kupwara, in 2007. The family is still trudging along the long road to justice
She Must Have Been Afraid
The 2012 Delhi gang rape is reflective of a systematic failure to cleanse the societal malaise
The Burning Woman
UP has the highest rate of crimes against women, and the district of Unnao has seen some of the State's most gruesome cases
Naked (vs.) Justice
On March 14, 2006, Latabai and her son, six, were paraded naked in a village in Solapur. Less than six months later, four members of a Dalit family were paraded naked; mother & daughter were allegedly gang-raped
Songlines of Chambal
How do the residents of Sheikhpur Gudha, Phoolan Devi's village in Uttar Pradesh, remember her: as a survivor, a rebel, a leader?
Don't You Remember My Story?
A child gang rape survivor's 12-year long ordeal in Sikar, Rajasthan shows how calls for punishment of perpetrators don't always mean empathy for the victim