Three cheers to game-changing verdicts

Phew! Three momentous judgments in a short week! All game changers will have rippling effects for times to come. One, the practice of triple talaq was struck down as “void and illegal” by Supreme Court because it was against the basic tenets of Quran. Two, it upheld privacy as a Fundamental Right and last but not least, a CBI court convicted a Godman for rape. Three cheers for the judiciary!

Undoubtedly, the 3:2 verdict declaring talaq-e-bidat as “unconstitutional” by a Bench headed by Chief Justice Kehar will unshackle 21st Century Muslim women trapped in archaic medieval Personal Laws. Indeed path-breaking was the unanimous nine-judge Bench 547-page ruling upholding the right to privacy as a Fundamental Right overruling its earlier judgments of 1954 and 1962.

The Court observed that privacy is intrinsic to freedom of life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. Recall 92-year-old ex Justice KS Puttaswamy had challenged the Centre’s move to make Aadhaar mandatory to benefit from social and welfare schemes.

Undeniably, this judgment will have bearing in matters relating to decriminalization of homosexuality, a person’s choice to practice religion, eat, how to dress, whom to associate with in their personal, social or political life as also right to dissent, criticize and tolerance. The Government could place limited restrictions on grounds of national security, sovereignty and public order.

But it is the third verdict which has brought three States to a grinding halt. A CBI special trial court in Panchkula held Dera Sacha Sauda Chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim guilty of raping two female followers in 2002. And all hell broke loose with thousands of followers turning violent, creating mayhem leaving over 30 dead.

Notably, the Dera Chief is no regular Godman. This ‘Baba of Bling’ is a curious amalgam of reel and real God and superstar and has starred in two movies, Messenger of God (MSG) and its sequel, MSG2.

This art of performing chamatkars has propelled the Baba business to an endemic cultic industry flourishing across villages, towns and metros wherein radio and TV channels are paid to telecast their sermons and assemblies.

Millions are in thrall of these smooth-talking "Godmen" who have built vast empires preying on their gullibility. Alas, despite his arrest and fall from grace the 50-year old Dera Chief is not the first to be embroiled in a rape case. His compatriot Asaram Bapu who has 425 ashrams and over 50 gurukuls languishes in Jodhpur jai for raping a minor girl in 2013.

Sant Rampal a rags-to-riches junior engineer who owns a fleet of luxury cars, wealth and a private militia outfit is followed by over 25 lakhs in the Hindu heartland. Even post his arrest for sedition in 2014 his Facebook and You Tube page is overflowing.

Remember how self-styled Guru Swami Nityanand’s got caught in a sexual escapade with an actress. Ditto cases of Bhubaneshwar’s Sarthi Baba and Nirmal Baba arrested for fraud, cheating and blackmailing young women with their nude photos taken from hidden cameras in their ashram.

Then there is controversial Godman-tantric Chandraswami who was an influential powerbroker during ex-Prime Minister Narasimha Rao rein and the “spiritual Guru” of former British Premier Margaret Thatcher, Elizabeth Taylor and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

‘Bhagwan’, Sathya Sai Baba was revered by many Presidents, Prime Ministers and powerful in his long list of devotees. Of course, Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar are the current hot favourites of the ruling BJP dispensation and Opposition alike. An example: Modi’s anti-corruption crusade drew in Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, both played influential roles.

As the Dera Chief incident underscores the chickens have come home to roost for our leaders. Scandalously, he was provided with Z+ security. Why? And both the Punjab and Haryana Administration looked the other way his devotees continued to flock. Recall, prior to the 2014 elections even Prime Minister Modi and his ardent Sangh followers made a beeline to Sirsa to solicit is blessings and votes. Worse, three Ministers of the Khattar Government have donated Rs 51 laks each from their discretionary funds.

What next? Clearly this social malaise must be identified and addressed. True, swamidom is clearly a massive emotional, spiritual lever and vote leveler. Our netas must desist from succumbing to them which makes entire Governments beholden and vulnerable to such exploiters emboldening them to think they are above the law.

It is doubtful whether the ubiquitous Guru will scale down his influence and step off the elevator to Heaven which everyone is scrambling to get on. People need to realize that they are worshipping false gods who are as vulnerable and fallible as anyone. (INFA)

By Poonam I Kaushish