Goondas in guise of godmen

This refers to V Ramu Sarma's column "Godmen in politics, a big reason to worry" (June 8).

Believe it or not, a hefty percentage of our population is rooted firmly to centuries-old religious rituals and unhesitatingly our godmen take advantage of this baffling situation.

Like political tsars, our spiritual mandarins too are inclined for an unassailable hegemony of the country and therefore they never hesitate to maintain an unholy nexus with hypocritical leaders to achieve their goals.

Although, India is a secular democratic republic, surprisingly, many of our policies are brazenly framed to protect religious/casteist interests, even imperilling the genuine interest of the country.

Our unbiased political pundits and apex judicial experts are also aware of such anomalies and yet pooh-poohs such consequential issues, allegedly for vested interests.

Undeniably, our religious panjandrums conspicuously wish and work for a theocratic dominance, even undermining our secular democracy.

Political immaturity, lack of proper education/illiteracy, poverty, deep-rooted superstition and religious beliefs etc are some of the major reasons for the mushrooming of religious gurus in our country.

Thomas K M Kumbalamchuvattil, Muvattupuzha, Kerala