Does all this sound obvious to you? It sounds obvious to me. But the obvious needs to be stated sometimes. Because some very intelligent people sometimes can’t see the obvious even when it jumps and bites them on the nose.

Responding to the controversy over the ASI’s affidavit, some very intelligent people said and will say there was nothing wrong in submitting that there’s no substantial historical proof for the existence of Ram. That’s the ASI’s job, to look at archaeological evidence of claims, the argument went.

In governance and politics, sometimes not being stupid is the most important thing, as the Congress finally understood. The ASI, as our editorial argued yesterday, need not have dwelt on the question of Ram’s existence at all. Simply proving that the “Ram Setu” was a natural formation would have been enough.

Those extra sentences in the withdrawn ASI affidavit actually represented a project India is simply not ready for: putting religious faith to the same test of evidence and inquiry that we reserve for many this-worldly faiths.

I have faith in economic reforms. You can test that faith any time by looking at data or arguing against liberal economic principles. You have faith in God X. I can’t test your faith any time by demanding historical evidence or arguing against your religion’s principles. Or I can, but I will get into serious trouble. You will get into no trouble at all if you deride my faith in liberal economics. This difference can’t simply be explained by saying economic policy is a public issue whereas religion is a private affair. The same rule applies when religious observance is publicly demonstrative, when religion demonstratively becomes a public affair.

... contd.