Author: Aditya Nanduvinamani, KLE Law College, Bengaluru
Abstract
Bhagat Singh’s “Why I Am an Atheist” is a revolutionary piece of writing that aims at obliterating the existence of divine creator and exposes religion as a tool to instill fear in humans. Written in 1931 during the timeline of his execution, it serves as a challenge to theistic dogma and resonate in today’s India, where Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist regime is saffronising the nation’s secular fabric. This article delves into Singh’s radical atheism, his critique of religion, and his rejection of fear-based control, while dissecting Modi’s Hindutva agenda, from discriminatory laws to cultural dominance.
Introduction
In 1931, Bhagat Singh, a 23-year-old revolutionary, penned Why I Am an Atheist from a Lahore jail. His essay dismantles the myth of God, arguing that belief is a coward’s refuge, propped up by fear and manipulation. Singh’s atheism was no mere intellectual exercise, it was a rebellion against colonial tyranny and the religious dogma. In modern India, Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is waging a saffron siege, turning a pluralistic democracy into a Hindu Rashtra. From rewriting history to targeting minorities, Modi’s regime mirrors the oppressive structures Singh despised.
Bhagat Singh’s Radical Atheism
Bhagat Singh’s atheism was a writing aimed at the heart of religious dogma. In Why I Am an Atheist, he wrote, “I had to study the origin of the idea of God… I came to the conclusion that God is a creation of man’s imagination.” For Singh, belief in God stemmed from humanity’s fear of death, suffering, and the unknown, exploited by priests and rulers to maintain control. He rejected the notion of a divine overseer, calling it “a disease born of fear” that stifles critical thought. Quoting Bertrand Russell, Singh noted religion’s role in “fixing the calendar” but dismissed its moral claims as tools of subjugation. His atheism is influenced by Marx and Lenin, who saw religion as the “opium of the people,” numbing the masses to class oppression. Singh’s refusal to seek clemency, unlike Hindutva icon Savarkar, who pleaded with the British, underscored his commitment to principle over fear. He wrote, “Let us see how steadfast I am… I shall never pray.” Singh’s atheism wasn’t just disbelief, it was a call to dismantle the systems that weaponize faith, a stance that resonates in an India where Modi’s saffron agenda exploits religion for power.
The Spectrum of Belief
Humanity’s relationship with divinity spans a fractured spectrum:
Theists, kneel before gods, driven by fear of eternal punishment or social exile. In India, millions throng temples, mosques, and churches, seeking divine relief in a nation where Modi’s policies deepen inequality.
Atheists, like Singh, spit in the face of divinity, embracing reason over superstition. Singh’s atheism, forged in the crucible of colonial and caste oppression, was a direct challenge to both British rule and Hindu orthodoxy.
Agnostics behave like they too timid to take a stand. Their intellectual indecision lacks the revolutionary fire Singh embodied, dodging the fight against theocratic thugs like Modi’s BJP.
Deists cling to a distant creator, a concept Singh scoffed at as a weak compromise, still chained to supernatural nonsense.
Singh’s atheism was a battle cry. In an India where Modi’s Hindutva mobs lynch minorities over beef consumption, only atheists dare to expose the saffron emperor’s agenda.
Modi’s Saffronisation: A Theocratic State
Narendra Modi’s BJP, backed by the fascist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), is transforming India into a Hindu state, betraying its secular Constitution. The 2024 Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya, built on the rubble of the Babri Masjid, was a brazen act of Hindu triumphalism, with Modi as the saffron high priest. The Gyanvapi Mosque dispute, where Hindutva groups claim a mosque hides a temple, is the next chapter in this demolition saga. Education is under siege too. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) rewrites textbooks to erase Mughal contributions and peddles ancient Hindu plastic surgery. This is saffronisation, a deliberate erasure of India’s pluralistic heritage, cloaked in divine sanction, proving Singh’s warning that religion justifies “usurped power, riches, and superiority.”
Modi’s Interactions with Muslim Students: Hindutva Coercion on Display
In December 2023, at the Grand Finale of the Smart India Hackathon, Modi’s interaction with a Muslim student sparked outrage. After the student was introduced by their Muslim name, Modi repeatedly chanted “Jai Jagannath,” a Hindu invocation tied to Odisha’s Lord Jagannath, urging the student to echo it. The moment, seen by many as coercive, forced a Muslim student to participate in a Hindu ritual on a public stage, raising questions about religious imposition in a secular setting. Critics argued it was a deliberate power play, with Modi leveraging the event’s proximity to Odisha’s 2024 elections to pander to Hindu voters. The official PM Modi YouTube channel cropped the announcer’s introduction, fueling accusations of a cover-up to mask the targeting of a Muslim student. Similarly, in a separate incident, Modi was seen pressuring a Muslim student to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” a slogan synonymous with Hindutva aggression, during a public event. This act, dripping with saffron, wasn’t cultural unity, it was a public shaming, signaling that Muslim identities must bend to Hindu dominance. Singh, who rejected all religious rituals as tools of control, would have seen these incidents as textbook examples of faith being weaponized for political gain, a betrayal of India’s secular promise.
Use of Legal Jargon
For decades, religious belief systems have been used to silence dissent. In India today, this strategy continues, only now it’s dressed in legal jargon and Hindutva ideology. Take Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code, for instance: a colonial-era law meant to prevent communal violence, now used by the Modi government to crush voices critical of Hindu nationalism. Since 2014, cases under this section have surged by 70%, with comedians, authors, and activists becoming easy targets simply for speaking up.
Laws like the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are presented as administrative policies but function as tools of exclusion. The CAA offers fast-track citizenship to everyone, except Muslims. And the NRC rendered nearly 1.9 million people in Assam, mostly Muslims, stateless. This isn’t just discrimination, it’s a quiet, calculated act of ethnic cleansing.
Then there’s Uttar Pradesh’s so-called “love jihad” law, which has led to more than 1,500 arrests since 2020, mostly targeting Muslim men in interfaith relationships. These laws turn suspicion into a legal weapon and empower Hindu right-wing mobs to act as moral police. The 2022 hijab ban in Karnataka further pushed Muslim girls out of classrooms, punishing them for their faith and robbing them of their future, all under the garb of “uniformity” and “discipline.”
Let’s be clear: these aren’t acts of divine will. They’re legal handcuffs dipped in saffron, tools used to control, not uplift.
India’s Secular Mask vs. Global Religious Control
India claims to be secular, but Modi’s policies paint a very different picture. The state-backed prejudice of the CAA-NRC framework mirrors the very religious authoritarianism we criticise abroad. When Muslim students are forced to chant Hindu slogans like “Jai Jagannath” or “Jai Shri Ram,” it recalls the moral policing in Iran.
The Gyanvapi Mosque case echoes the Ayodhya verdict, courts siding with majoritarian sentiment, ordering surveys to hunt for temples beneath mosques. The judiciary, once a bastion of secularism, now often seems more interested in appeasing Hindutva demands than upholding constitutional values.
These aren’t isolated incidents. They reflect a pattern, a slow, deliberate attempt to erase India’s plural identity and replace it with a monolithic Hindu state. When Modi smiles for the cameras while children chant religious slogans, it isn’t unity on display. It’s submission.
Conclusion
Bhagat Singh’s Warning Echoes Louder Today
Bhagat Singh’s Why I Am an Atheist isn’t just a rejection of God, it’s a challenge to any system that uses fear to control. His atheism wasn’t despair; it was defiance. He saw how religion could be used to justify exploitation and demanded that people think, question, and rebel.
Today, in Modi’s India, Singh’s message feels more urgent than ever. The BJP is not just rewriting textbooks or passing discriminatory laws, it’s trying to rewrite India’s soul. The saffronisation of public life is turning dissent into blasphemy and faith into a political weapon.
When Modi pressures Muslim students to shout Hindu slogans, it’s not about faith, it’s about domination. It’s about who belongs, and who doesn’t. And in that moment, India’s secular dream falters.
Singh faced the gallows with no prayer on his lips, only conviction in his heart. He wouldn’t have bowed before empire, god, or Modi. He would have asked the same searing question again: Is your God watching all this and enjoying the misery of His children?
Today, the question for us is: will we stand with Bhagat Singh’s courage, or kneel before a government that wants to play god? The answer lies not in fear, but in resistance.
