Address the social malaise behind him

Address the social malaise behind him

Why give a rape convict such a devout following?

The ability of the Indian state to uphold the rule of law was put to the test on Friday, when masses of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's followers went on a rampage after his conviction for rape of two women in his monastery 15 years ago. The law enforcement agencies of the state could not be said to have come out with flying colours, but they did manage to arrest the godman and whisk him away to jail and are using force, at the time of writing, to control violent mobs who have set fire to trains and other vehicles. It could be argued that Haryana police should have taken proactive measures to prevent Dera followers from congregating in Panchkula, where the court that tried the godman is located. But, in practice, it is not easy to uphold people's right to move freely within the country and selectively prevent the movement of select groups of would-be arsonists.

The larger question is what, in modern India, allows hundreds of thousands of ordinary people to surrender rational thought and considerations of natural justice before blind loyalty to a figure who lives a flamboyant, luxurious lifestyle at the expense of mostly poor followers.

Another godman's followers had created a similar ruckus in Haryana when the law caught up with his misdeeds, more than two years ago. This social malaise must be identified and addressed. It does not help that political parties find it convenient to woo such godmen at the time of elections to win crucial additional votes.This makes entire governments beholden to such exploiters of popular vulnerabilities and embolden them to think they are above the law. When politicians take such shortcuts to power, ordinary people pay the price by way of having their vehicles burned and their lives disrupted by violent protests.

The saving grace is that the law does work, even if at a snail's pace. A man who arrogated to himself divine powers to bed or castrate followers as he chose has been convicted by the temporal institution of the courts. The court is right in ordering attachment of his properties to make good the damage wrought by his supporters. More importantly, society must be rid of the ills that produce such godmen.