Each incident spiralled into a larger narrative; each group speaking for or against, tried to argue or assume the identity that it was protecting and preserving spiritual and cultural ethos.
Published Apr 21, 2025 | 12:34 PM ⚊ Updated May 24, 2025 | 7:42 PM
N Chandrababu Naidu with Pawan Kalyan. (X)
Synopsis: Of late, religion is increasingly becoming a part of the public discourse in Andhra Pradesh. Religion, which was a personal matter once, has become the currency of public life lately. By the time the next elections arrive, it is quite possible that religion might come centre stage, pushing everything else aside.
In Andhra Pradesh, religion had never been a part of the public discourse. However, of late, it is increasingly becoming one. The recent controversies like the cause of death of cows at Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD)’s goshala, the death of Pastor Praveen Kumar, and the earlier Tirumala laddu controversy, Deputy CM Pawan Kalyan’s posturing as “unapologetic Sanatani Hindu” appear to be heightening tensions and polarising the people along the religious fault lines.
These incidents, though unrelated, are, yet in a way interconnected since they have religious implications.
The state has now become a crucible for debates on faith, which is a disconcerting trend. It is drowning out other pressing issues like lack of funds for taking up development projects and welfare schemes.
The latest which is showing potential to fuel fire is the TTD goshala controversy. It all started when YSRCP leader and former TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy alleged that over 100 cows died in the sacred cow shelter managed by the TTD during the last three months. He accused the TTD and the NDA coalition of negligence and mismanagement, which he said led to their death.
He had claimed that the goshala was poorly maintained and demanded a high inquiry into the factors that led to the death of the cows and initiation of measures to restore the sanctity to the goshala.
Not to be outdone, the TDP countered the accusations. TTD chairman BR Naidu blasted Karunakar Reddy for making baseless allegations after visiting the goshala on Monday.
It was followed up by the TTD EO J Shyamal Rao on Monday, who lashed out at the YSRCP for spreading canards, using morphed pictures of cows which had died during Karunakar’s tenure as the TTD chairman.
Both the YSRCP and the TTD are in the thick of washing the dirty linen of each other. The decibel levels of their voices are so high that it is becoming increasingly difficult for one to know what exactly is the truth and who is to blame for the death of the cows.
Now, take a quick trip to late 2024. The Tirumala laddu controversy became a powder keg. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu off the cuff allegation that animal fat, including beef tallow and lard, was used in the ghee for making the temple’s sacred laddus during the YSRCP’s tenure spread like a conflagration. While TTD refuted animal fat being ever used in the making of Tirupati Laddu, it pointed to adulterated supplies being rejected after failing quality standards.
A lab report from the National Dairy Development Board shows adulterants in the rejected samples but didn’t specify with authority the nature of the adulterants. The incident also became an opportunity for Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan to position himself as the undisputed Hindu leader with his “penance” and public addresses.
The YSRCP, led by Jagan Mohan Reddy, dismissed the accusations as a political drama. He argued that Naidu was trying to weaponise Hindu sentiments to attack him, unable to govern the state.
The Supreme Court stepped in and ordered a CBI inquiry while reprimanding Naidu for rushing to conclusions that the laddu was adulterated with animal fat without empirical evidence.
A rash of protests took place, effigies were burned, and social media resonated with the outrage. Hashtags pitted Hindu purity against “alleged Christian influence.” The laddu row built an argument that religious sanctity was facing a threat, and all political parties vied with one another to claim the mantle to defend it.
Even as the issue was taking a backseat with the Supreme Court ordering a CBI probe, came the death of Pastor Praveen Kumar Pagadala in March 2025. It added another layer to religious sentiment, though it concerned the Christians, in this case. The body of the 46-year-old Christian evangelist, who was known for defending Christianity without mincing any words, was found near Rajahmahendravaram.
The police initially thought it was a death caused by a road accident, but later on, the political leadership of the state ordered a thorough investigation, aware of the religious backlash. The police finally arrived at the conclusion that he died due to an accident caused by drunken driving.
The police had obtained video footage of the pastor purchasing liquor at several places after he set out for Rajamahendravaram from Hyderabad.
However, the Christian community found something fishy and felt that there was more to it than meets the eye. Several self-styled leaders of the Christian community belted out warnings, suspecting that unknown factors were responsible for his death, suggesting murder.
They recalled the threats Pagadala had received for his religious activism. When his body was taken to Rajahmundry’s Government General Hospital for post-mortem examination, protests flared, demanding a transparent inquiry into the circumstances that led to his death.
Some Christian leaders described the death as a targeted attack, subtly implicating Hindu groups, though they could not provide any evidence in support of their claims.
Countering the social media campaign for “justice” for Pagadala’s death, narratives erupted on the same social media that accused Christian leaders of stirring communal discord. Religion, once again, became the lens through which a tragedy was interpreted, speculation overshadowing facts.
These three events — the death of cows in goshala, laddu adulteration, and Pagadala’s demise — dominated the discourse in Andhra Pradesh’s public square.
Each incident spiralled into a larger narrative; each group speaking for or against, tried to argue or assume the identity that it was protecting and preserving spiritual and cultural ethos.
Political analyst Dr DAR Subrahmanyam said in Guntur: “The public narrative is being influenced more by social media. The purveyors of what they consider news have their own agenda. This is leading to a highly polarised society.”
“Though there are no political forces behind Pagadala’s death, social media has been successful in whipping up a frenzy so much so that the police had to make a very thorough investigation and declare that it was a death caused by an accident.”
“There is no control on social media, and as a result, divisions are appearing,” he said.
The issues of the goshala and the laddus last year have provided a theatre for the TDP and the YSRCP for a showdown. In the case of the goshala, both the TDP and YSRCP appear to be right to some extent and wrong at the same time, to some extent. Deaths did take place, but no one knows whether it was due to ill health or due to the age of the cows.
“As the arguments become louder, truth becomes a casualty, and people would never know forever what had actually led to the death,” said a senior journalist in Tirupati.
Even though Chandrababu Naidu had a secular nature in the past, the TDP has been influenced by the BJP as it is a part of the NDA at the Centre and leads the NDA government in the state.
Even though it has been at the forefront of protecting the sanctity of Hindu institutions, it never wore its commitment to the Hindu cause, on its sleeve in the past.
However, with BJP breathing down its neck, sometimes it may have to wing to its side, though not fully — like not opposing the Waqf Amendment Bill, which had in fact led to some kind of schism among the minorities who owe their allegiance to the party, however small their number might be.
Andhra’s voters are always religious inside, and Tirumala is their cultural and spiritual anchor. Aware of how religion strikes a chord, the parties are now turning local disputes into statewide crusades, with social media ever ready to amplify them.
Religion, which was a personal matter once, has become the currency of public life lately. By the time the next elections arrive, it is quite possible that religion might come centre stage, pushing everything else aside.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
