India’s Godmen Cast A Shadow On Society – Analysis

By Balachander Palanisamy

In July 2024, 121 people were killed in a stampede in Hathras in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The stampede occurred during a religious congregation led by self-styled godman Narayan Sakar Hari, also known as ‘Bhole Baba’. It was triggered when his followers rushed to touch his feet and collect the coloured powder he had walked on. 

Aside from administrative failures and crowd-control measures, blame should also be directed at politicians who exploit the godmen’s followers for political gain and the vestiges of the caste system hidden in Hindu society. 

The political connections of godmen such as Bhole Baba are crucial when they face trouble. After the 2024 stampede, organisers and volunteers were named in the initial police report and several arrests were made, including Bhole Baba’s close aide Dev Prakash Madhukar. Yet despite intense public scrutiny, Bhole Baba was not charged. 

Gurus have historically made personal financial gains from their quid pro quo relationship with politicians. One such guru with national popularity — Baba Ramdev — has received financial inducements for his controversial company Patanjali. The company has received more than an estimated $US46 million in discounts for land acquisitions in states controlled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). BJP leaders have also given tacit endorsement to the company, which has seemingly driven the guru’s billion dollar consumer products business.

Godmen’s influence over their followers ensures politicians seek their support, hoping to consolidate their votes and use them as mouthpieces for their policies. Politicians across party lines, from the BJP’s Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to the Indian National Congress (INC)’s Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly member Kamal Nath, count themselves among the followers of the self-styled guru Baba Bageshwar. In August 2023, the Indian National Congress even invited Baba Bageshwar — despite his views being contrary to the party’s — to an event during the state’s election season.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also courted popular godmen such as Ravi Shankar, Baba Ramdev and Sadhguru. A deep dive into the Prime Minister’s website, which contains archives of press releases and meetings with these self-styled gurus, reveals that Modi seems to favour Ravi Shankar who is mentioned more than 35 times, compared to Baba Ramdev’s 20 and Sadhguru’s 9 mentions. Both Ravi Shankar and Baba Ramdev had vocally supported Modi’s demonetisation plan, a widely unpopular scheme aimed at rooting out corruption.

These cults persist in Indian society because Hindu nationalist groups like the BJP openly support them, as their practices are similar to Hinduism. The godmen often perceive themselves as incarnations of Hindu gods — for example, Bhole Baba has been construed as the Hindu god Shiva and Krishna. The BJP’s governance galvanises existing groups and emboldens new ones to emerge. Some godmen offer their followers a more disciplined and productive path, which appeals to successive governments as they ensure social order.

Godmen cults have given their largely lower-caste followers a sense of worth and belonging. Hinduism offers no equality between upper and lower castes, instead practising discrimination against Dalits — members of the lowest caste. The majority of Bhole Baba’s devotees are poor, landless, illiterate, lower caste Jatavs and Dalits deemed outcastes by the social stratification (varna) system of Hinduism. Bhole Baba himself is from the Dalit community. Over time, he became a religious preacher and established a religious retreat (ashram) in his native village. 

Bhole Baba’s popularity reflects the eagerness of Dalits to claim an alternative religiosity for social and economic mobility. Charismatic godmen, especially from lower caste communities in Punjab and Haryana, hold religious congregations (deras) and have millions of followers. They offer economic opportunities denied by the rigid caste system to the downtrodden — thousands of Dalits earn their living working at deras and their properties, while thousands more receive indirect employment through contracts and general upkeep. 

Followers become economically and spiritually dependent on the gurus, so when a guru is arrested, their lives are completely upended and they are left with very little alternative but to rally around their leader. In August 2017, more than 30 people died in the riots that followed the conviction and 20-year prison sentence of self-styled guru Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh for rape.

Although there are laws protecting Dalits and affirmative action programs, few manage to escape the vicious cycle of poverty and caste. The major political parties — BJP and INC — remain more occupied with political manoeuvring rather than proposing equitable policies. They frequently accuse each other of being ‘anti-Dalit’ while prioritising the interests of the upper castes. Discussions around reservation quotas and upward mobility peak during pre-election season and fade afterwards. 

The recent incident in Hathras shows that the underclasses in India still lack caste equality, social justice and sufficient economic opportunities. It is little wonder that the void left by the government and politicians is being filled by charismatic gurus offering chances at a better life. There is no doubt whom the oppressed will choose to follow.

• About the author: Balachander Palanisamy is an independent researcher and intelligence analyst.
• Source: This article was published at East Asia Forum