Hyderabad: Religious rhetoric in polls beyond ambit of research

Hyderabad: Are making statements like "Rama Lakshmana, Janaki, Jai Bolo Hanumanu Ki" and "Insha'allah," and the like can be termed offensive in the process of electioneering?

Why are politicians invoking certain religious connotations to woo the voters? To what extent can the police and election authorities claim such statements as being offensive or stoking communal passions to crate disturbances?

The issue is becoming intriguing for academicians from Law, Political Science, Public Administration, Philosophy and Religious Studies and allied fields. But, lack of funding is what, the academicians say, is deterring them from carrying out research projects on such trends in the process of elections.

Some faculty members consider that such issues are important for the study. On the other hand, students claim that they don't have proper guidance and eco-system to pursue such areas of studies.

When asked whether being students, they are not failing to take up such projects, SFI state president and secretary R L Murthy pointed out lack of resources and guidance is hitting hard the creativity of students community from pursuing such course. Similarly, an ABVP leader admits there is a failure on the part of students and researchers in their primary responsibility to conduct studies and research and to reflect upon such trends and identify and suggest solutions in dealing with them.

A senior faculty member from Journalism from a reputed state university pointed out. that, "first, the students should have the drive to come up with research proposals to study. Secondly, if any faculty member has to ask their students to work as research investigators, then, they should have minimum resource backup to pay to carry out such activity."

But, there is a lack of funding from successive governments resulting in the creative academic activity taking a back seat. Even doctoral admissions have not taken place in the universities, said another faculty member from the Osmania University.

Another issue that comes to the fore is the way the police and the enforcement authorities and the election authorities are airing their views on elections, law and order and religion.

When asked whether such perceptions are not an outdated and colonial interpretation of religion in India and if looking at everything in terms of law and order the only solution can be tenable, a senior faculty member from the Post Graduate Law College pointed out that every political party is playing the religious card. Not just in the GHMC elections. Earlier, "We have even seen the same in the Bhainsa elections and elsewhere in the State and the country, and now in GHMC elections," he pointed out.

Such trends form important and relevant issues to the policing, election process and enforcement, etc. But, "neither the police academies nor the Election Commission is ready to launch projects nor are they ready to fund such projects for the universities to take up such issues for research."

When asked about such trends, Prof G B Reddy, a senior faculty in Constitutional Law from Osmania University clarified that the issue at hand could be studied as an inter-disciplinary area. The stakeholders in dealing with such issues need to re-look and have a different approach to such issues, he added.