It was the majestic Shiva temple, which drew our attention as we entered the premises of the district jail, Latehar, to meet a friend and officer of the Jharkhand forest department .

Strikingly, the temple was the only edifice on the prison premises.

It had its glitter intact with its shining marble floor and milky-white dome dominating the skyline.

The prison superintendent’s office, in comparison, had a peeling wall. There were unlit dingy rooms in a row in the single roof settlement, adjacent to the office to accommodate the pot-bellied prison guards.

I wondered how did the Shiva temple maintain its sparkle amid the dilapidated and falling structures housing prison guards and jail officials.

Our driver Rahman, who is a Muslim from the outskirts of Ranchi, added to my bewilderment by asking: “Why does the prison have a temple? Why doesn’t it have mosque or a church or a ‘karma’ tree?”

A forest officer accompanying us on the trip supported Rahman: “After all, the prison administration comprises people of all religions. The prisoners too, consist of Hindus, Muslims, Christians and tribals.”

Investigations and also visits to various “seats of state establishment” in Jharkhand revealed that the Latehar jail was no exception. The Kotwali police station in the heart of Ranchi too has a Hanuman temple. Besides, the police stations at Lalpur, Namkum and Bundu have temples dedicated to Hindu gods.

The police stations referred to as “thanas” in popular parlance are rightly said to be the “symbol” of the power of our “secular” state and its administration.

We have adopted the Constitution, which bounds the state to maintain its secular character and does not differentiate its citizens on the basis of caste, creed and religion.

The ‘secular’ state in no way can allow itself to get converted into a ‘home’ of gods belonging to a
particular religion.

But back in Ranchi, my colleagues informed me that the Birsa Munda jail in the heart of Ranchi, too, has an imposing temple of Hanuman on its premises.

So has the Home Guards Training Centre and many other police establishments in Ranchi. I saw many temples in police stations dotting Daltonganj-Chatra-Dobhi road on a journey.

What astonishes one is that most of these police stations, prisons have dilapidated structures with
caving walls and leaking roofs. But the temples they have on the premises are relatively well-maintained.

Let me clarify that I have nothing against any religion. Instead, I respect all religions and its
followers. But the latest mushrooming of “gods’ homes belonging to a particular faith in a state irks me.

The state (it is expected) has to stay neutral to religions in accordance with the norms of the
Constitution we have given to ourselves.

Many people feel that the “failure” of the state to observe “neutrality” towards different religions,
somehow, encourages the anti-social elements to encroach upon the busy thoroughfares by putting up the statue of one god or another.

The narrow Ranchi streets have many small and big temples built illegally on the encroached lands
causing traffic hazard instead of ensuring spiritual emancipation to the faithful.

“The police stations which themselves have allowed the temples to come up on their premises hardly have the moral authority to remove gods and goddesses from the encroached traffic land,” says Meghnath, a social activist and founder of a voluntary group, Akhrra. I do agree with Meghnath.