On February 20, Rs 8000 will be transferred to bank accounts of 35 lakh women in Assam, the chief minister of the state has announced on X. The 2026 Assam assembly elections are quite likely to be held in March or April according to election watchers. A similar ploy on eve of recent assembly elections in Bihar succeeded in attracting the massive vote bank of women and giving the incumbent government a sweeping victory over their rivals. Women, a vote bank long courted by the ruling party supremo Nitish Kumar, had shown their gratitude for being singled out for Sarkari largesse repeatedly ever since he distributed bicycles for female students way back in 2007. Such largesse from the government in power no longer comes in shape of cycles or colour TVs, but hard cash directly transferred to individual bank accounts.The creator of the monetary gift template was the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, currently a minister in the Union cabinet. “Naryastu yatra poojayante ramante tatra Devta (Gods reside where women are worshipped),” he said repeatedly quoting the Manusmriti, after announcing a ‘Ladli Bahina’ scheme that helped his party harvest a rich bounty of female votes.Illustration: Pariplab ChakrabortyThe past and holy scriptures, as we know, must not be played with. But who can resist using holy quotes as a tool if rich political dividends can be gleaned by using it selectively. So by 2026 we face a politics firmly moored into a political version of India’s scriptures and philosophy. On the face of it, there is nothing alarming about politics committed to certain ancient Dharma as principles that uphold the universe. There is nothing objectionable either about values such as venerating women, adhering to non violence and a peaceful co existence.But if realpolitik begins using philosophical jargon selectively and randomly to support prosecution of religious minorities and segregating women as deities to whom offerings may be made instead of guaranteeing them their constitutional rights, you smell a rat. When certain religious adages from Manusmriti or the Shastras are given a spin to justify crimes like domestic abuse, marital rape, property rights and dowry and empowerment becomes a dole instead of a journey to gain power, democracy begins to lurch.Fact is Manu, while advocating deification of women was largely dismissive of giving them free agency, education or the right to question male control over their lives. Several Manusmriti dictated values in the name of Sanatan Dharma, are now being inserted into texts and law that will make many marginal farmers and women dole dependent. And social hierarchies and caste based segregation that curtail democratic freedoms in the name of Dharma to many are being justified as strengtheners of national security in the long run.This attitude has a direct relationship with environmental degradation caused by development projects sanctioned only because they guarantee big money inflow. Currently all of north India is suffering due to the serious environmental degradation. Cities are choking. People are dying of water contaminated by chemicals and untreated faecal matter from mega towns and water tables are receding because of construction activity and use of chemical fertilisers. Yet farmers and environment activists are being denied a voice and a space to protest. Raj Dharma taking a precedence over Dharma leads to a situation where protesting against environmental degradation is deemed as blocking India’s path to becoming world’s third largest economy.Since the torrential monsoons last year, environment protection movement is making the entire Himalayan area restless. As the poor hill folk sit on dharnas or take out marches, talk is diverted with parallel versions of Dharma and Satyagraha and there is a shrill dismissal of Gandhi and his tactics for public movements in certain quarters. The anger against Gandhi is rooted deeper than a dislike for his secular views. Gandhi’s insistence that the Satyagrahis must retain the right to speak truth to power at all times, if need be, even by risking their personal lives and freedom is being interpreted as potentially seditious.Also read: Maithili Thakur, Feminism and the Politics of Being a Young BJP LeaderAs soon as there is a large sit-in by students or farmers, tribals, workers or any section of a civil society, barricades go up. The interaction between the general public and the government is mostly limited to organised photo opportunities staged to bolster the image of the government in power. This has created a band of extremely arrogant political leaders. In a recent incident in Madhya Pradesh when supply of contaminated water killed ten and put another hundred in hospital, the minister in charge lost his shirt at being asked why in one of his cities declared the cleanest in India, this had happened ? Who was responsible for the oversight ? Don’t ask me useless (fokut) questions, he bellowed at the TV journalist, using a pejorative for the media. As it was captured on live TV he apologised later but having done the mandatory rounds of hospital and hugged families of the dead, he visited a temple to Lord Mahakal and said he prayed for the well being of his people and divine blessings for the suffering souls.Way back in the 50s Nehru foresaw that a genuine willingness to sit down with the deemed ‘enemy’ and discuss things like mature thinking adults is necessary to keep our relationship with our neighbours civil. It was, he said, both a potential reality and an ethical necessity. Even then after the gory Partition there was a negligible respect for Pakistan. But fact is neither Pakistan nor Bangladesh can be eliminated. And the world’s second largest group of Muslims in India will not vanish simply because some hot heads want them to. So curse Nehru as many may, his relevance remains. Even those who worship Shibboleths like ‘surgical strike’, ‘master stroke’, police encounters or bulldozing of homes, need to look at and think about the orphaned families, maimed children and young adults beaten to a pulp.Also read: As Crimes Against Women Rise, Delhi’s Women’s Commission Stays ClosedThe Internet was meant to provide a level playing field to free minds from pre-packaged histories, a magical virtual democracy where we could meet, chat, exchange views freely across countries, across generations. But then monopolies happened and began providing governments fresh tools for behaviour modification.But it is interesting that new tech is providing new windows for new labour movement like that of the gig workers who struck work on new year’s eve and won. There is another small window through which people can get to see a leader occasionally hoist by his own Algo petard so to speak. A vital autocue machine can stall amid thunderous posturing, leaving the great leader literally dumbstruck. As the Walrus said, the time has come to talk of many things.Mrinal Pande is a writer and veteran journalist.Saakhi is a Sunday column from Mrinal Pande, in which she writes of what she sees and also participates in. That has been her burden to bear ever since she embarked on a life as a journalist, writer, editor, author and as chairperson of Prasar Bharti. Her journey of being a witness-participant continues.