AS LONG AS RELIGION IS PRACTICED AT HOME, DEMOCRACY IS NOT POSSIBLE

We are told that democracy is the rule of the people.

We are also told that faith is a private matter.

But in most homes — especially in India — faith is the very first inheritance.

Before a child learns to walk or speak, he is told:

Who “our people” are

Which god “we worship”

What “we don’t eat”

Who is “clean” and who is “impure”

What must never be questioned

And then, 18 years later, that child is handed a voting card.

You cannot create a free-thinking voter from a household of unexamined beliefs.

---

SECTION 1: THE INHERITANCE OF IDENTITY

Religion at home is not about God — it's about Group

Most families don’t raise children to explore truth.

They raise them to protect identity.

It becomes the root of statements like:

“We don’t marry outside our caste.”

“Our gods are real, theirs are false.”

“Our rituals must be preserved.”

When religion is practiced this way — silently, daily, and without choice —

you’re not raising a citizen.

You’re training a soldier of a tribe.

---

SECTION 2: VOTING BECOMES A RITUAL

Ask most people in villages and cities alike: “Why did you vote for this party?”

You’ll hear:

“Because they protect our religion.”

“Because our guru told us.”

“Because they did the temple renovation.”

“Because the other side favors that community.”

This is not democracy.

This is religion wearing the mask of choice.

---

REAL EXAMPLES: INDIA’S TRUTH

1. Karnataka Temple Votes

In many regions of Karnataka, candidates are chosen not for their policies —

but for whether they built temples, held pujas, or wore the "right" color shawl.

Villagers are mobilized not by manifestos, but by mutt heads, priests, and religious leaders.

---

2. The Ayodhya Card

One promise to build a Ram Mandir influenced votes for over 30 years.

While education, healthcare, and jobs collapsed —

devotion was enough to win elections.

The temple was not just a structure.

It was a vote generator.

---

3. Caste-Consolidated Voting

In UP and Bihar, many people ask “Which caste is the candidate?”

Not “What has he done?”

The caste is often linked with religious duties, rituals, and stories.

So voting becomes "Protect your gods by voting your caste."

---

SECTION 3: RELIGION TRAINING OBEDIENCE, NOT REASON

A child raised with:

“Don’t question God”

“Fate decides everything”

“Respect elders, no matter what they say”

Will grow into a voter who:

Doesn’t question manifestos

Accepts corruption as karma

Thinks voting is duty, not power

How can such a mind sustain democracy?

---

SECTION 4: RELIGIOUS HOMES CREATE FEARFUL VOTERS

Democracy needs freedom from fear.

But religion practiced at home injects:

Fear of punishment

Fear of sin

Fear of gods

Fear of change

Fear of outsiders

So when an ad says “The other party will destroy your religion,”

it doesn’t invoke logic.

It activates trauma built since childhood.

---

SECTION 5: THE INVISIBLE INSTITUTION

Even if religion is not practiced politically outside,

as long as it is deeply rooted in every household…

A child never truly grows into a free citizen.

Every election becomes a ritual, not a revolution.

Every law is filtered through “Does it support our community?”

Every reform is feared as “an attack on our tradition.”

And that’s how democracy fails before it even begins.

---

SECTION 6: SECULARISM IS A MYTH WHERE HOMES ARE SACRED WAR ZONES

Politicians don’t need to build armies.

They just need to activate homegrown beliefs.

If your home taught you to fear Muslims,

no speech on equality will break it.

If your home taught you that Brahmins are superior,

no Constitution can make you unlearn it.

The real battleground is not Parliament.

It is the dinner table.

It is the prayer room.

It is the bedtime story.

---

SECTION 7: AND THE WINNER IS… NEVER THE PEOPLE

In a country where:

Religion is daily conditioning

Schools reinforce community pride

TV shows depict myth as truth

Social media rewards blind devotion

…the vote was cast long before election day.

The winner isn’t chosen based on reason.

He is chosen by default.

---

CONCLUSION: THERE WAS NEVER A DEMOCRACY

You cannot create a thinking society

if every child is taught what to believe —

before he is taught how to think.

Democracy requires:

Critical thinking

Rational debate

Individual freedom

Equality of all beliefs

But if every home raises soldiers of faith, caste, and identity —

then democracy is only a televised ritual.

Not a reality.

---

So yes, as long as religion is practiced at home —

not as personal inquiry, but as inherited command —

democracy is not only impossible…

it is already dead.

---