LETTER FROM NEW DELHI
It seems unlikely, in theory, that an Indian prime minister would be invited to a private religious ceremony at the home of the chief justice and president of the Supreme Court given that the Indian Constitution enshrines the separation of powers between the executive and judiciary, along with secularism. Yet, this is exactly what happened on September 11 in New Delhi.
Narendra Modi posted personal videos and photos on social media showing images of his host Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud, with his wife in front of him, bowing respectfully with both hands clasped. The scene plays out with the prime minister performing Hindu rituals for Ganapati puja, a prayer dedicated to Ganesh, the elephant-headed god. What message did the two protagonists wish to convey? Their complicity? Their shared religious devotion?
Modi has long torn down the barriers between politics and religion and has personally presided over many grandiose and much-televised Hindu ceremonies. Proclaiming himself the "Emperor of Hindu hearts" and the most devout of devotees, he has brought Hinduism to the center of power, and dreams of turning India into a saffron nation, in line with the Hindutva ideology (Hinduism or Indianness), supported by India's far right.
In a recent video posted on X, he is seen again in the temple at his official residence at Lok Kalyan Marg, in Delhi, with a calf, which he caresses and kisses, and is shown in the garden holding it in his arms. The cow is a sacred animal in Hinduism and in recent weeks, the violence of vigilante cow protection squads has doubled in some areas where men suspected of eating or trading in beef are being lynched. Hate crimes have become commonplace since the nationalist leader came to power in 2014.
The first case in judicial history
India has become accustomed to seeing images of Modi as a high priest, praying or meditating, but Indira Jaising, a leading lawyer, said that this was the first case in the country's judicial history, "where a sitting chief justice has invited a sitting prime minister to a public display of religiosity, with videographers, and photographers to ensure that the event is made public." She also said that, when appointed, the chief justice and the supreme court judges take an oath of loyalty and allegiance to the constitution, and that she had "lost all confidence in the independence of the chief justice of India."
Her colleague Prashant Bhushan said that it "sends a very bad signal to the judiciary, which is tasked with the responsibility of protecting the fundamental right of citizens from the executive and ensuring that the government acts within bounds of the Constitution. That is why there has to be an arms-length separation between the executive and judiciary."
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