The BJP-led NDA and the opposition bloc of INDIA are gearing up for general elections in 2024. One of the important factors both alliances will emphasise is economic growth. Even though NDA-I was considered by many to be a failure on the economic front, NDA-II won with an even greater majority, raising questions about whether the government’s economic performance is still relevant for voting choices.
However, as the BJP continues to win elections in many parts of the country despite economic mishaps, one must concede that there is more than meets the eye. Several arguments have been presented by scholars to decipher religious, caste and cultural angles that the BJP has used to garner votes – along with help from the “Godi Media” and a dedicated IT team, blended with the model of crony capitalism.
But there is one aspect that has been ignored: the day-to-day culture of the masses that enables political ideologies such as the Sangh parivar to thrive and reap benefits. In India, this culture includes a strong belief in hierarchy, inequality, gender difference, notions of purity and pollution, stereotypes about ‘others’ and unscientific beliefs such as the evil eye and black magic. They are a normalised part of culture, which allows the continuation of these belief systems and practices.
Speaking the political language of the masses
When the Congress party protested against the rising inflation and unemployment in India by wearing black clothes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rebuked them by saying that people would not fall for this ‘black magic‘. This is not merely an analogy but a deliberate attempt to tap into the deep-rooted social beliefs of the masses.
The National Crime Records Bureau’s annual Crimes in India reports showed that between 2014-2021, 819 murders were committed where the victims were accused of witchcraft. These are only reported cases, so the actual number may be higher. Most often, the victims of this violence are women and people from marginalised communities.
The trio of jealousy, evil eye and black magic has to be understood in tandem to make sense of this particular aspect of the belief system. Jealousy is mild and common and often individualistic or personal. It is accepted that people are generally jealous of each other. However, women are stereotyped as being more jealous than men. It is a common belief that one’s own relatives and neighbours will be jealous if one does well.
Extreme jealousy leads to the belief in an evil eye, which is considered at times involuntary and at other times a deliberate act. The evil eye can also cause disturbances to others and is considered dangerous. The ultimate stage of jealousy is black magic, a voluntary action intending to cause damage to others. Apart from jealousy and black magic, the evil eye is so common in our practices it looks like we can’t escape from this belief system and determines our daily actions.
Evil eye
Evil eye, called Drishti or Nara Drishti, is a belief that someone else’s jealousy-induced gaze or bad intentions could bring misfortune. If one is at the receiving end of the evil eye, a person (mostly children) may get a stomach ache or indigestion; a newly married couple may quarrel; and the beautiful bride may get a headache. People in a beautiful house might face problems. A business may not prosper. A for-hire vehicle might not find business.
Interestingly, this belief is found across all the religions and regions of Indian society; and the poorer the region, the stronger the belief seems to be.
Naturally, there are countermeasures to tackle the impact of the evil eye or wade off the evil eye.
- Babies are smeared with kohl (katuka in Telugu, mai in Tamil and kajal in Hindi) on their cheeks, eyes, forehead, palms and feet. An armlet made of black beads is also tied.
- A portrait with a black face, horns, and a big moustache with its tongue out is placed in front of new and old houses. A large pumpkin, with the same face painted on it, is tied in front of a house. A white stone or a conch shell wrapped in a black thread may also be used.
- A newly married couple or children who are doing well in life are welcomed into the house by making them go through the ritual of wading off the evil eye with the help of red liquid (aalam in Tamil).
- The places of businesses make it a habit to wade off the evil eye, especially on the day of no moon, with the help of coconuts, lemons or pumpkins.
- On the backs of vehicles, phrases like ‘Bura nazar wala tera mu kala’ (Blacken the face of those with an evil eye) or ‘Nannu choosi edavaku ra’ (Do not look at me and weep it) or ‘Nee edupe na edugudhala’ (The more you cry, the more I will prosper). Or a lemon with a few green mirchis is tied to the bonnet.
- Rituals with rock salt, eggs, red mirchi, an old broomstick and burning an old oil-dipped cloth are also conducted.
Various charms that are supposed to ward off the evil eye. Photo: thaths/Flickr CC BY NC 2.0
Social implications
Scholars of structural functionalism in anthropology believe that every cultural trait and institution has some significance within a community. Otherwise, they either wither away or transform into another cultural aspect. Similarly, the concept of the evil eye also has social implications.
One could argue that the concept of evil eye can have some positive effects, like keeping a check on people who like to show off their wealth and success. From childhood, we are trained not to boast about anything but to be humble – to not attract any evil eyes. That is why we never say, “We are doing extremely well” in our life. Rather, we say ‘Aap ki dua’ (Your blessings) or ‘Chal raha hain‘ (It is going alright). Never be arrogant, show public affection, and never boast about your wealth, beauty, health or success. However, these beliefs are prevalent only among the poor and middle class. The neo-rich, fuelled by neoliberalism, do not hesitate to flaunt their wealth and privilege.
However, there are also downsides to this belief.
- Sowing animosity: It develops distrust and animosity against one’s neighbours and relatives. Often, a woman in the neighbourhood is believed to have the power to place an evil eye on others.
- Against scientific temper: Belief in the evil eye is contrary to the scientific temper that independent India’s founding leaders aspired to inculcate in the masses. Unfortunately, the normalisation of the belief and widespread practices to wade off the evil eye may see the continuation of the practice for many generations.
- Escaping responsibility: We are culturally trained to dodge responsibility of our life events and instead base them on various cosmic (planets, stars and time) and non-cosmic (cats, sneezing, evil eye and omens) entities.
- Good for religious business: The widespread belief in the evil eye acts helps the thriving business of modern-day godmen and babas, who suggest parihar poojas and remedies to protect oneself.
The widespread belief in the evil eye resonates with the binaries that are socialised in culture. Though many Hindu religious scholars argue that Hinduism is beyond the binaries, we tend to inherently categorise our worldview in binaries. There is good and bad within all of us; similarly, there are good and bad people around us. Deities can protect us but also harm us when angered. Tapping into the sentiments of binaries, the prime minister portrayed himself as a saviour of the masses from the “black magic” of the Congress.
It is interesting to note that the BJP and its politics share similarities with the downsides of the evil eye mentioned above. The party too seeks votes by sowing animosity between various groups. It has created and sustains a discourse against those who are rational, critical and believers in science. The BJP has not once owned the responsibility for its mishandling of state affairs and believes it is always right and others are wrong. Its politics has a symbiotic relationship with religion, which it immensely benefits from.
Most importantly, both the belief in the evil eye and the BJP’s conception of an ‘enemy’ that could cause harm stem deeply from belief and manifest into their construct. All those who believe in the evil eye and the BJP consider the enemy real and act accordingly. Funnily enough, those who believe in the evil eye and BJP, do not consider themselves as the source of bad things but strongly believe that ‘others’ are placing the evil eye or harming the country.
Riding the wave
Historically, the world and Indian politics have witnessed two kinds of leaders. The first rides the wave by speaking the political language that caters to the satisfaction of the primordial sentiments and beliefs of the masses. The second tells the masses that they were wrong (if they were) and intends to bring change in society.
Hitler found it easy to kindle and sustain hatred by fueling stereotypes against Jews, rose to power and oversaw the Holocaust. On the contrary, we have Nelson Mandela, who, after becoming the president of post-apartheid South Africa, requested all his countrymen to work together to make their country a rainbow nation.
In India, we have the example of Gandhi, who spoke against the practice of untouchability (but not against the caste system) and preached religious harmony when two communities were baying for each other’s blood. Tagore went toured Japan and the US, where he said their conception of ‘nationalism’ at the time of World War II was wrong.
The BJP seems to have made the easy choice of riding the wave. It will do so until the tides are in its favour.
Sipoy Sarveswar teaches anthropology at Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. He tweets at @SSarveswar.