An avoidable controversy regarding some of the religious rituals, etc., relating to the Car Festival of lord Jagannath is influenced by the economic and commercial interests of a section of persons who perform some of the Sevas (services) of the lord during the festival. In the recent past, the unreasonable insistence to permit unrestricted access to climb up the chariots and to touch the deities has led to dislocation in law and order.
The temple administration sought opinion of the Jagadguru Shankaracharya, who is the arbiter on religious matters as per the Record of Rights (RoR) regulating the administration of the temple. This is a matter of religious discipline, which is not meant to be conditioned by any vested interests or any trade unionism. The Constitution of India immunises administration of religious affairs from any interference by the State authorities. This immunity is a facet of the Fundamental Rights enshrined in the Constitution. Non-appreciation of this elementary and basic feature by the authorities of the State has partly encouraged the persons with vested interests to arrogate to themselves functions not falling within their domain.
This unfortunate scenario has projected a non-issue as a big issue. Nothing beyond secular matters can be dealt with by the authorities of the State. The position in this regard has been consistently affirmed by the Supreme Court. As early as 1961, the apex court dealt with this matter relating to the administration of the Shree Jagannath Temple. The discipline of law is the essence of Rule of law.
The attempt of the authorities of the State to interfere with the religious practices, etc., was rightly frowned upon by the High Court of Odisha. The scheme of the Constitution of India was unequivocally reiterated by the High Court, which pithily observed that “Any contrary opinion of the State Government will obviously be inoperative.”
The attempt of the authorities of the State to preside over religious affairs is disturbing, especially when “secularism” is a part of the basic structure of the Constitution of India. Yielding to unauthorised and illegal pressures from any vested interest group itself is a threat to the basic tenets of the Rule of law. The field of religious affairs has its own code of discipline. The arena of “faith” cannot be polluted by commercial and economic interests. It is not becoming to hold out threats relating to the discipline of religious affairs and any utterances of the nature are subversive of the sanctity that is normally attached to such matters.
More disturbing is the attempt of the authorities of the State to overlord the affairs of the lord. On such unfortunate occasions, the judiciary has to intervene in order to restore and maintain the delicate balance of the Constitutional edifice. Any murmurs against the well-settled position of law are indicative of subversion of the Rule of law. When the judiciary reaffirms what has been stated time and again over four decades, the observations and directions of the court must necessarily be obeyed by all concerned. Discipline inheres self-restrain and demands reasonableness to prevail over the cause of vested interests. Irresponsible utterances indicative of subversion of the Rule of law do not behove those to have the privilege and honour of serving the lord. Such aberrations are disturbing and call for self-restraint so that they are not repeated in the interest of one and all. They distort the pristine glory of the Shree Jagannath Culture.
let none of us be liable to be accused of having tarnished our own cultural heritage, which we are entitled to be proud of. There is no room for personal prides and unwarranted egos in the discharge of the service to the lord. The heritage of Shree Jagannath is the most valuable wealth we have cherished over generations and none of us should, even remotely, appear to be tarnishing it in any manner. let it not be said to our shame that there was harmony and glory in the “Dham” till we came. And this definitely concerns us.
(The writer, a Senior Advocate, is a former All India Service officer, a former diplomat, a former editor and a former Advocate General of Odisha. jayantdas@hotmail.com)