What explains the 30+ lakhs devotees congregating at the Kumbh during the peak of a pandemic? Are people irrational or plain stupid? Or, is there something else at play?
My hunch is that two things are behind any religious congregation during the pandemic:
1. Rigidity in the concept of dharma
2. Reward for dying in a sacred place- heaven.
- Devotees congregate at Kumbh/Hajj because the social norms of religions are painted as eternal truth. These norms don’t change during any emergency (eg: pandemic) i.e religious norms don’t have emergency provisions!
- Also, people imagine that dying at a sacred place will free them of all their adharma and they will get a place in heaven.
So, this isn’t just virtue signalling. This is akin to Mancur Olson’s conjecture that people congregate to protest when they have the skin in the game :) These devotees are here to die!
I am not sure if this fits the Multi-level Selection Theory framework, but I have observed that potential censure by other members of the group/tribe is the strongest motivator that drives how people act in these situations. It can be argued that in such cases, an individual's attachment to her group identity and her desire to preserve it overrides the benefits that she would have as an individual if she did not comply with the rituals of the group.
Both are right in some ways. Conservatives wont like it but religion or this kind of religious festivals are important for the faith economy. Just like we are allowing people to travel and keep the economy active the faith economy needs to be active as well. But the crucial thing is the sagacity among the authorities to test each and every individual before they enter the kumbh. Don't think they will be doing that. That is a big concern !
The Liberals will probably accuse the govt of being Islamophobic and will claim that the Hindu devotees be treated equally as the Jamatis were. Many liberals will also generalize that religion is the the source of all human woes.
Another concern is other religious groups asking for allowing their gatherings. If the govt. doesn't allow it that will reflect badly.
I disagree with you on this.
My hunch is that two things are behind any religious congregation during the pandemic:
1. Rigidity in the concept of dharma
2. Reward for dying in a sacred place- heaven.
- Devotees congregate at Kumbh/Hajj because the social norms of religions are painted as eternal truth. These norms don’t change during any emergency (eg: pandemic) i.e religious norms don’t have emergency provisions!
- Also, people imagine that dying at a sacred place will free them of all their adharma and they will get a place in heaven.
So, this isn’t just virtue signalling. This is akin to Mancur Olson’s conjecture that people congregate to protest when they have the skin in the game :) These devotees are here to die!
I am not sure if this fits the Multi-level Selection Theory framework, but I have observed that potential censure by other members of the group/tribe is the strongest motivator that drives how people act in these situations. It can be argued that in such cases, an individual's attachment to her group identity and her desire to preserve it overrides the benefits that she would have as an individual if she did not comply with the rituals of the group.
Both are right in some ways. Conservatives wont like it but religion or this kind of religious festivals are important for the faith economy. Just like we are allowing people to travel and keep the economy active the faith economy needs to be active as well. But the crucial thing is the sagacity among the authorities to test each and every individual before they enter the kumbh. Don't think they will be doing that. That is a big concern !
The Liberals will probably accuse the govt of being Islamophobic and will claim that the Hindu devotees be treated equally as the Jamatis were. Many liberals will also generalize that religion is the the source of all human woes.
Another concern is other religious groups asking for allowing their gatherings. If the govt. doesn't allow it that will reflect badly.