A major controversy erupted when Rahul Gandhi’s name was found in the Non-Hindu Registry at Somnath Temple. Nehru-Gandhi dynasty has always been ambiguous about their religious preferences; therefore, it was natural for Indians to ask Rahul Gandhi which faith he practices after it was revealed that he signed as a Non-Hindu.

Traditionally Indian politicians have escaped such personal scrutiny. Unlike United States of America where Barack Obama had to publicly declare on multiple platforms that he is a Christian, before he could even ask for votes, in India religion of politicians has been a private affair.

However, the problem arises when politicians start milking religion for their selfish ends. Rahul Gandhi has been visiting multiple Hindu temples in Gujarat during his campaign there and even declared that he was a Shiva devotee. Now that his name was found in non-Hindu category he cannot escape questioning.

In a liberal secular democracy should it matter what religion is followed by representatives of people. The flip side of the argument is that people have a right to know the religion of the person they are voting for like they should know their health and educational qualifications. Privacy and secrecy are two different things. While politicians have a right to privacy no one who is in public life can be secretive about these things.

Moreover the perversity that is followed in the name of secularism also demands that we know if the visits to Hindu temples were merely for attracting votes.

Whether Rahul Gandhi is a hindu or not may not matter to anybody but using religion to shop for votes is demeaning to the democracy we live in.