While the protagonists of the so-called Hindu Rashtra celebrate their victory in West Bengal with gusto, liberals have sunk into mourning at the collapse of Bengal’s half-century-long record of electing governments diametrically opposed to the one ruling Delhi and the larger Hindi heartland.The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had conquered Uttar Pradesh – the karmabhoomi of Socialist patriarch Ram Manohar Lohia and Dalit icon Kanshi Ram, once a bastion of backward-class consolidation, Dalit resurgence and Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb – long ago. Ahead of the West Bengal polls, the saffron party installed its own chief minister in Bihar too, replacing Nitish Kumar, who traced his political lineage to Jayaprakash Narayan’s historic anti-Congress movement of the 1970s.Even after losing Uttar Pradesh and much of the Hindi heartland to the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duopoly, particularly after 2014, liberals still hoped Mamata Banerjee’s unusual fighting spirit would halt the BJP juggernaut in West Bengal. But this state, too, eventually crumbled on May 4, casting a pall of gloom over adherents of syncretism, pluralism and the broader secular-democratic vision of the Indian constitution.There is little denying that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) – a legally dubious, computer-driven exercise – identified and deleted lakhs of Muslim and other voters, helping the BJP stage a coup d’état in West Bengal. To the astonishment of constitutional experts, if not the apex court, the Election Commission invented novel categories like “unmapped voters”, “under adjudication” and “logical discrepancies”, as Jawahar Sircar pointed out in The Indian Express on May 9, 2026, disenfranchising nearly 27 lakh genuine voters while adding six lakh unknown ones. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar carried out Hindutva’s “operation” with clinical precision. The unnoticed demise of Lalon and Gorakhnath’s traditionsThe fall of West Bengal at the hands of Hindutva was merely the climax of a much longer drama. Climaxes naturally attract greater attention from common people, scholars and analysts alike, particularly in the age of instant messaging and AI tools.Yet even after acknowledging the dubious role of the Election Commission, one fact remains undeniable: statistics clearly show that nearly seven out of ten Bengali Hindus – including youth and women – voted for the BJP. They voted fully aware that their Muslim friends, neighbours and relatives, with whom they had lived cheek by jowl for centuries, were at the receiving end of an aggressive majoritarian politics. They knew they were voting for a party whose core doctrine rests on the segregation of minorities. Muslims constitute nearly 27 per cent of Bengal’s population.Did this happen overnight? Should Bengali Hindus alone be blamed for Bengal’s political transformation in a state historically antithetical to the RSS-BJP slogan of “Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan”? Exploring these questions leads to a deeper social and cultural shift unfolding in Bengal’s hinterlands.The actual heroes who once shaped society through brilliance, sacrifice, selflessness and love have vanished. So have their ideals. Among the most significant was Lalon Shah Fakir (1774–1890).Also read: Beyond ‘Machh Chor’: How Songs Shaped the Bengal ElectionsLalon Shah – philosopher, mystic and social reformer – was the most iconic figure of the Baul tradition centred in undivided West Bengal. Born into a society fractured by caste and sectarian divisions, Lalon renounced formal religious identities after surviving smallpox and being rescued by a Muslim weaver family. He later established an ashram at Cheuria in Kushtia and composed thousands of songs advocating Manab Dharma – the religion of humanity.His philosophy revolved around the Achin Pakhi (the unknown bird) and the Moner Manush (the person of the heart), suggesting that the divine resides not in temples or mosques but within the human body itself. By rejecting the outward markers of creed and caste, Lalon became a living embodiment of syncretism, nurturing a cultural unity that transcended rigid communal boundaries.Lalon’s cultural contribution lay in his remarkable ability to blend esoteric Sufi ideas with Vaishnava Sahajiya traditions, creating a folk vernacular that was intellectually profound yet accessible to ordinary people. Rabindranath Tagore was deeply influenced by Lalon’s songs, helping publish and popularise them while later incorporating Baul rhythms and the idea of the “Universal Man” into his own works. Kazi Nazrul Islam and Allen Ginsberg, too, drew inspiration from his rejection of institutional dogma.Lalon Geeti became one of the cornerstones of Bengali identity, sustaining a culture of tolerance and spiritual seeking through the haunting melody of the ektara.Previously, a video of singer Shreya Ghoshal tearing up as a young girl sang a Lalon Geeti on Indian Idol went viral. Yet it was merely a spectacle on a mobile-phone screen, creating an illusion about West Bengal’s present social reality. Till the 1970s and 1980s, Baul singers were ubiquitous in West Bengal villages. They lived among ordinary people, entertaining them with songs of love, devotion and unity in the pre-internet era. They were local heroes who profoundly shaped the social milieu. The internet age, however, often creates an illusion of cultural continuity even as the social fabric quietly fractures beneath it.Similar fractures have unfolded across Bihar and the larger Hindi heartland. Consider the example of Saint Gorakhnath, the founder of the Nath monastic order, after whom both the city of Gorakhpur and the Gorakhnath temple are named.The legacy of Gorakhnath rested on a profound spiritual syncretism that bridged ancient yogic traditions and the evolving socio-religious landscape of medieval India. As the founder of the Nath Sampradaya, he emphasised an inward spiritual discipline through Hatha Yoga that rejected rigid caste hierarchies and the ritualism of both orthodox Hinduism and Islam.This “soil-to-soul” philosophy resonated deeply across the Indo-Gangetic plain and later influenced the Nirguna Bhakti tradition. Gorakhnath’s teachings shaped figures such as Guru Nanak and Kabir, while his influence also echoes in the works of Raskhan and Wajid. The Nath tradition’s embrace of diverse narratives – from Heer-Ranjha to Sorathi-Brijbhar – reflected a world where the pastoral and the divine remained inseparable.Now look at Adityanath, the current Uttar Pradesh chief minister. He represents a striking antithesis to this legacy. While the historical Gorakhnath maintained a learned distance from institutional dogma and attracted large numbers of Muslim followers known as Jogis, Adityanath’s leadership reflects a transition towards structured, identity-driven Hindutva politics.Yet he remains accepted as Mahant because the Math has evolved into a centre of temporal and political power. The institution now functions as a site of social mobilisation where the folkloric realism of the saint has gradually been replaced by the administrative and political authority of the Mahant.Illusion versus realityTill the 1970s and 1980s, villages in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were home to myriad saffron-clad yogis singing Heer-Ranjha and Sorathi-Brijbhar ballads, playing the sarangi, seeking alms and performing magic tricks. Villages echoed with Alha-Udal ballads, Kabir’s nirgun songs, Tulsidas’s dohas and the hymns of Raskhan. Folk artists – Hindu and Muslim alike – played Rama, Hanuman and Ravana in Ramleelas and performed in nautch parties that entertained entire communities.Today, one sees Manoj Tiwari, Pawan Singh or Maithili Thakur singing on mobile-phone screens, their videos going viral. But finding actual folk singers, Ramleela artists or singers of Alha-Udal and Rani Saranga-Sadabrij in the rural hinterlands of Purvanchal is now as difficult as finding a horned horse. They survive on screens but have vanished from the ground, much like millets such as madua, kodo, saeen, saathi and tangun have disappeared from farm fields. The vacuumThe Sangh Parivar has exploited the vacuum created by the disappearance of songs of love, syncretism and social harmony. While its political opponents paid lip service to the traditions of Lalon Shah Fakir, Rabindranath Tagore, Gorakhnath, Kabir and Raskhan, the fading of their songs hollowed out society from within. The void synchronised with mass unemployment, corruption, institutional decay and widespread uncertainty among youth about their future and survival.Their forefathers entertained themselves collectively through the songs of Lalon, Kabir and Gorakhnath. Today, sections of the same society dance around mosques, invade minority settlements and glorify leaders like Adityanath for spewing venom against figures such as Babar and Akbar. Adityanath, Himanta Biswa Sarma and Suvendu Adhikari have replaced cultural heroes at the ground level.For now, the climate remains salubrious for the rise and expansion of the Sangh Parivar – from the Hindi heartland to Bengal and the Northeast. At this stage, it is difficult to foresee the future of society in this part of the country.Nalin Verma is a journalist, author and folklorist. His latest books include Lores of Love and Saint Gorakhnath and Sacred Unions and Other Stories: Tales from Purvanchal.