Faith and power: How state exploits belief

By: Jayaraman Chillayil

Just weeks after the news on the enormous Rs 25 crore Onam Bumper winner reignited the state’s annual frenzy over lottery, the high court ordered a special investigation team to probe the gold theft at government-managed Sabarimala temple. These two incidents perfectly illustrate a central paradox: how a state that should ideally stand for equity and good governance successfully monetizes the desperation and dreams of its citizens.

Where does good governance end and exploitation begin? In Indian context, that border is quite blurred. We see it clearly when state governments run colossal lottery systems while also having direct control over major religious institutions. This twin operation isn’t a coincidence but calculated mobilization of a single, powerful intangible asset: the manipulation of human hope In recent decades, the state’s involvement in matters rooted in beliefs, be it luck or divine, has become more complex.

From government-run lottery systems to the administration of religious centres, state’s involvement in matters rooted in human hope and faith raises serious ethical and constitutional questions. From lotteries promising instant riches to temples offering spiritual salvation, governments are navigating and sometimes monetising emotions that should remain beyond political and fiscal calculations.

Kerala’s lottery paradox
Kerala, often hailed as a model for social development, offers an interesting lens to view this paradox. Kerala’s lottery system is a cash cow, raking in over Rs 12,000 crore annually. Yet the odds of winning a minor prize are less than 0.1%. Kerala’s lottery, which began in 1967, has become a major source of non-tax revenue. Tens of thousands of agents and retailers depend on it for their livelihood.

The system thrives on an illusion — the promise of easy wealth. For millions who buy tickets each day, a majority will lose, leaving disappointment and frustration in their wake. Marketed as welfare, lottery is essentially a state-sponsored gambling — one that exploits desperation and dreams instead of building genuine opportunity through skills and livelihoods.

Faith under government custodyHindu temples in TN, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand are administered by special state laws that empower government officials to regulate secular affairs (finances, property) and many religious functions (priest appointments, rituals), justified under Article 25(2)(a) of the Constitution. Government-controlled bodies oversee vast wealth in the form of properties, donations and employment — all tied to the faith of millions. The justification is often administrative: promoting transparency, preventing corruption and ensuring public safety during festivals. Yet, by positioning itself as the custodian of places of worship, the state risks capitalizing on emotional and spiritual dependence.

Lotteries and state-managed festivals/temples operate on a similar psychological principle: hope. The lottery plays on the hope of sudden material change and religious centres channel the hope of spiritual salvation or divine favour. When governments begin to regulate or profit from either, the line between governance and exploitation becomes dangerously thin.

Problem of selective control
India’s secularism emphasizes equal respect for all religions, rather than excluding them from public life. In practice, government selectively administers Hindu temples, while churches and mosques retain their autonomy. This creates an imbalance that invites political interference in spiritual matters and raises questions about fairness.

This control over Hindu temples by state governments is partly a strategic political tool aimed at consolidating the majority vote. Like a lottery, where belief is commodified and managed by the state, religious control turns faith into a resource rather than a right.

Faith vs fiscal convenience
The question is not whether administration is necessary, but what motivates it. There is a fine line between regulation for public good and control for political or economic benefit. A government has the responsibility to ensure that donations are used ethically, workers are paid fairly and public order is maintained during major religious events. But when it begins to profit, financially or politically, from the institutions of belief, it effectively commercializes faith. Lottery and religious control alike turn intangible emotions — faith, fear, hope — into tangible revenue streams. In doing so, belief becomes a tradable commodity.

Cost of emotional capital
Democracy is meant to rest on reason, not belief. Its legitimacy should derive from rational policy, transparent governance and empowerment via education and opportunities. Trading in emotion corrodes that legitimacy. When it starts to trade in emotion, whether through lotteries or religious institutions, it blurs the ethical boundary between governance and manipulation. A welfare-oriented state should not sustain itself by monetizing its citizens’ vulnerabilities. It should help people build real security — financial, emotional and spiritual — through education, employment and social trust.

Regulate, don’t own
The remedy lies in redefining the state’s role. The government should act as a regulator of religious institutions and not as a proprietor. Lottery proceeds must be transparently reinvested in social development and public education. Temples should transition toward autonomous community governance, accompanied by rigorous financial audits. And citizens must be empowered through financial literacy and critical thinking, lessening dependence on speculative or superstitious systems. Faith, whether in fortune or the divine, should lift people up and not be used to sustain the state machinery. A democracy that profits from belief imperils the trust it is meant to protect.

Core duties of a just government
The core challenge for a just government is to uphold its sacred duty: the unwavering defence of constitutional rights. This principle is violated not only when the state oversteps by turning religion into a tool of favouritism, but also when it turns citizens’ private hopes for financial luck into a state-managed revenue stream through lotteries.

Both practices raise profound ethical and legal questions, especially as they inflict economic and social harm on vulnerable individuals, undermining the right to life and dignity enshrined in Article 21. Ultimately, the integrity of a government is judged by its ability to prioritize the well-being and fundamental rights of its citizens over any pursuit of state-managed ‘profits’ — be it from religion or lottery.
(The writer is a Fulbright Scholar with 28 years of industrial experience and co-founder of many social and professional organizations)