A rural temple in South India, painted stone as deity.

If you hear the rising roar of faith, it is election-time in India. Belief in God is stronger than any political belief. Faith rushes to fill ideological vacuum and goes on to cleanse politics of its residual ideological content.  

Religious fervour, injected into a poll campaign, boosts popular interest in elections, promotes identity politics and alters voting preferences. That is why the ruling BJP has made religious polarisation its electoral strategy. It consolidates Hindu votes by propagating Hindutva, a militant and less inclusive version of Hinduism.
 

Hindu nationalists

The BJP leaders including L K Advani, who went to Ayodhya in 1992 to demand the building of a Ram temple, were erroneously called “Hindu fundamentalists”. Knowing that the term “fundamentalism” has acquired bad odour in the context of Islam, Advani declared that they were “Hindu nationalists” not “Hindu fundamentalists”. He was correct because going back to the fundamentals in his religion would mean the Vedic tradition which will rob the proposed Ram temple of all significance!
His 1992 movement to build a Ram temple generated a toxic mix of religion and nationalism and turned it into a potent political weapon. Till then the political armies marching under the saffron flag had not been able to make much headway. Advani’s historic journey to Ayodhya in his belief-driven ‘chariot’ led to the demolition of a mosque and the killings of Muslims and Hindus.

Noted documentary maker Anand Patwardhan says TV serial Ramayan, watched by millions, paved the way for the demolition of the Babri mosque. “A bow-and-arrow bearing Ram entered every household and every heart.” There was no social media then, but TV too promotes pop religion and causes social disharmony. Some partisan TV channels go all out to fuel religious polarisation.
 

Mental pollution

During the past four years, the sectarian poison has spread much more, with incidents of mob rule becoming frequent. It has seeped into “cultured” upper-class Hindu homes. The kind of people involved in violence matters. Intent is important. While sectarian violence can break out in the best of times, mental pollution sustains the process of violence.

The BJP finds assemblies of Hindu monks in saffron politically valuable. Communal worship and public observance of rituals make good TV that spreads the message of Hindutva. Mythology-based TV drama helps.

The Hindu nationalists wilfully ignore the theological complexities of Vedic thought and their faith’s glorious history of disputation and argumentation. They try to enforce a simplistic doctrine that supersedes the rich variegated strands of thought and belief. In order to collect Hindus on a single political platform, they want to create a central creed and designate one holy book. Above all, they want to establish the primacy of warrior-king Lord Ram. The people must feel, not think.

To get more Hindu votes, the party must fuel envy and animosity by blaming a secular government for “appeasing Muslims. In an election speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a subtle reference to the Hindu cremation grounds and the Muslim graveyards. This was a hint that the socialist state government’s provision of building walls around the graveyards to protect these from encroachment was discriminatory.

In the run-up to elections, vicious statements are made to cause tensions and promote orthodoxy. What the BJP spokesmen shout at times during TV discussions is unfit to print. The Muslim spokesmen shout back, which serves the purpose of all sectarian forces. The atmosphere reeks of bigotry and hostility towards the “other” faith.  Some children hear their parents say that so and so should be elected since he would “fix” a minority. They learn that “when we say prayers loudly, it is worship, when they worship loudly, it is disturbing noise!” Children learn that “when we say prayers loudly, it is worship, when they worship loudly, it is disturbing noise!”

As the BJP gained power, the Hindutva got many new adherents. The “secular” leaders who used to condemn Narendra Modi’s sectarianism, now see a messiah in him. Several Hindutva groups have sprung up under official patronage. Their activity highlights the anti-minority dimension of Hindutva. The divisive rhetoric flows with force as the police and some in the lower rungs of judiciary have turned partisan.

Some BJP leaders make weird statements that can be generally described as anti-science and irrational. The power of superstition seems to have increased. A poll candidate declares that if she is elected, the police will not be allowed to check child marriage! The fashion of wearing religion on one’s sleeves has caught on. Commercial interests promote more religious festivals. The outbreak of religiosity is to be seen to be believed. More Hindu pilgrims march for miles and miles to fetch the holy Ganga water. Charitable Hindus set up tents on the footpaths for feeding the tired pilgrims. This public spectacle disrupts traffic and at times results in clashes.

Meditation, quiet contemplation.The attendance in temples has gone up. More Hindu temples, as also mosques and churches, are being built as a result of growing prosperity. Competitive communalism makes mosques more crowded. The temple loudspeaker’s volume is increased to match the sound coming from the neighbouring mosque. In this atmosphere of religious rivalry, private contemplation and meditation get devalued.
 

Hindutva versus Hindu interplay

A brainchild of the Hindu nationalists, Hindutva is not eclectic and dialogic. It has been honed as a powerful tool for political mobilisation through incendiary divisive statements. Hindutva fiercely seeks converts. When popularised by a charismatic divisive leader, its political dimension overshadows spirituality.

In the current atmosphere of intolerance, the political message of Hindutva is amplified through social media by political activists including the Non-Resident Indians. Little is heard about the huge difference between Hindutva and Hinduism known over the centuries as Santan Dharma.

To understand the distortion of Hinduism, one has to be familiarised with the real thing. Hinduism, tolerant and inclusive, includes principles taken from different faiths and cultures. Even before its interaction with Islam and Christianity, Hinduism assimilated new ideas and practices while transiting from the Vedic to the Puranic period.

Hinduism sanctifies sacrifices of the Vedic Aryans as well as the rituals of primitive tribes. Not all Hindu gods are Aryan gods. Hinduism has no central creed and no central authority, nor does it prescribe one specific book to follow. It is not based on a revelation granted to a prophet. Hindus do not consider themselves to be the “chosen people”. They do not consider their faith to be superior to others. This democratic religion, presided over by a Parliament of Gods, has no founder. Hinduism has no central creed and no central authority, nor does it prescribe one specific book to follow… This democratic religion, presided over by a Parliament of Gods, has no founder.

The Divine can be reached through any of the several different ways. Two prominent ones are the path of knowledge and the path of devotion. This is a simple journalistic statement about a faith whose complexities even scholars find hard to fathom. Hinduism is studded with elegant metaphysical knots and strange paradoxes. It offers infinite choice. Those who do not like the idea of a galaxy of gods and goddesses can take comfort from the Rig Vedic thought that all the many gods are manifestation of the One Reality. Hindus revere a saint-poet who does not believe in rituals or external formalities and for whom God lives, not in a temple or a mosque but in his devotion.

A Hindu can choose from the nine specified ways to perform devotion or devise one of his own. Astounding diversity is reflected not just in innumerable gods and ways of worship but also in the multiple versions of its sacred books and philosophical treatises. Rituals vary from region to region and from caste to caste. There is choice in the ways of dying. Hindus are generally cremated, but thousands of Hindus are given earthen and riverine burials. The variety of thought content, rituals and devotional practices meet the needs of all sections of society, ranging from the intellectual elite to the illiterate masses.

Millions recite 1000 names of one God and 1000 names of a Goddess. A sacred text features Mahadevi, literally the Great Goddess who encompasses the thousands of local and regional devis as well as the pan-Indian goddesses. Each god or goddess is worshipped in several forms.

Columnist Shobha Narayan writes about her mother being part of an ancient Hindu lineage linked to goddess worship called Sri Vidya. She says: “It is visually and aesthetically very beautiful – with flowers, incense, oil lamps, hand gestures called mudras, sacred drawings called mandalas or yantras, and the chanting of mantras. Mudra, mandala and mantra, the triumvirate as it were – is at the root of this goddess cult.” 

Hindus of one region may accord primacy to one form which may not be worshipped at all by those of another region. Then, the veneration of natural forces such as the monsoon rains and trees and of animals is common among those living in forests. Ideas and practices from the margins have been leaking into the mainstream.

This interplay is seen in Hindu religious art and objects made by Muslims.  They participate in Hindu religious festivals. Eminent Muslim musicians played in Hindu temples. Muslim poets wrote devotional songs in praise of Hindu Gods. A most devout Brahmin, Congress leader Kamalapati Tripathi, had a Muslim assistant to clean and arrange the idols in his home temple before daily worship.
 

Good behaviour

In the absence of a set form of worship, a Hindu is free to act according to his individual belief. What counts is not belief but conduct, as stated by philosopher S. Radhakrishnan, who was India’s President. No wonder Hinduism embraces believers and non-believers, the theist and the atheist, the sceptic and the agonistic.

Scholar Kshiti Mohan Sen says the uniting force among the enormous variety of religious beliefs and ceremonies in Hinduism has been the belief in a basic code of behaviour. Today he would have seen more Hindus indulging in an un-Hindu-like conduct at the behest of political leaders. The examples include the lynching of alleged beef transporters, intimidating women temple-goers, disrupting a Christian prayer meeting and demolishing a mosque.

The influence of Hinduism over Islam and Christianity is reflected in the Sufi tradition and in Christian meditation and Christian Vedanta. It can be seen in the global Hare Krishna movement. Hinduism also contributed to the New Age faiths! Muslims and Christians extended the reach of the sacred Hindu literature by translating it and even helped preserve some of it. This is never recalled while the voters are constantly reminded of the Hindu temples destroyed by the Moghuls.

India’s syncretic tradition can be attributed mainly to the diversity of Hinduism that has a history of several philosophical turns. Of course, this diversity leads to confusion over certain precepts. Differing practices and various interpretations of the same sacred text, in the absence of a validating central authority, result in mixed-up theological concepts and endless arguments. That is why theological dissent always got accommodated.

Hinduism is suffused with paradoxes. The Divine is unimaginable and unknowable and yet the Divine is imagined in countless forms appearing in representational and abstract art and as idols of stone and metal. Hindus worship gods both in iconic and aniconic forms. The deity in thousands of rural temples is just a painted stone. Devotion takes the form of meditation, quiet contemplation, lighting sacrificial fire, loud out-of-tune community singing, disciplined congregational chanting, ritual bathing, fasting or even social service since God lives in every human being.

There is latent divinity in every being and everything. There is an external God and the God within. God is a distant entity but then the devotee is also part of Brahman, the universal soul! Ahaṁ Brahmāsmi in general terms implies the unity of individual self with the Absolute. Thus, divinity is shared by every human being. Divisive rhetoric has to be foreign to Hinduism which says: Thou art That (Tat Tvam Asi).
 

Faux religiosity

Scholars of comparative religions can observe how Hinduism, when hijacked for political purposes, gets vulgarised. The devotees are encouraged to display faux religiosity. The Sarkari (pro-Government) “seers”, in their so-called religious discourses, bless the Prime Minister. The ruling party needs their endorsement, the seers want political patronage. The seers are sought after by politicians more than by spiritual aspirants.

Respected heads of genuine spiritual institutions keep quiet about the misuse of religion for elections. Surely, they are pained by the distortion of their faith tradition, seeing an immense idea being reduced to a dismal creed. Islamic leaders get blamed for not condemning the misuse of their faith by politicians and terrorists. One may ask where have the Hindu spiritual leaders gone? Islamic leaders get blamed for not condemning the misuse of their faith by politicians and terrorists. One may ask where have the Hindu spiritual leaders gone?

The distortion of Hinduism does not provoke much reaction while many western Christian communities vigorously debate spirituality vs. institutionalised religion. Currently there is no such discourse in Hinduism, notwithstanding its tradition of argumentation. 
It is left to a few secular politicians and the leftists to offer a trenchant criticism of Hindutva. They reason well but they cannot influence those swayed by the men in saffron robes. The leftists, not well-versed in India’s spiritual traditions, have little leverage with the faithful. Only firm believers protesting against the “hijacking of our religion” can make an impact. They can increase the public understanding of Hinduism unsullied by politics.

Those rushing to demolish a mosque or build a temple on a disputed plot know nothing about a faith that assimilated various religions and cultural movements. They are familiar with folklore, mythology and miracles and black magic but unaware of the Vedic Song of Creation that wonders whether even the Creator knows all! That kind of questioning will be considered blasphemy and a punishable offence in some other religions. The sacred texts of Hinduism make bigotry unthinkable. In the wake of the Babri mosque’s demolition, Prof. Amartya Sen attributed growing fanaticism to the neglect of the classics in education. In the wake of the Babri mosque’s demolition, Prof. Amartya Sen attributed growing fanaticism to the neglect of the classics in education.
 

Fanaticism versus self-renewing reform

Fanaticism characterises the politicisation of a religion which retards reforms. The Supreme Court lifted the ban on the entry of young women into a Hindu temple. The BJP launched an agitation against the entry of young women in order to uphold a “sacred tradition”. However, the same ruling party was all for abolishing the traditional Muslim custom of instant divorce because it oppressed Muslim women. The BJP Government undertook the noble mission of reforming Islam but considers reformation of Hinduism as a no-go area. The BJP president advises law courts to refrain from hurting Hindu sentiments and to pass only such judgments that are “implementable”!

Every old faith tradition accumulates undesirable rituals and practices and Hinduism, being a product of many cultures and cults, is more prone to do so. In its long journey, Hinduism acquired and discarded many questionable rituals. It abolished some practices partly due to the influence of Christian values but mainly by recollecting its own glorious Vedic past. There was recognition of the corruptive influence of idolatry, child-marriage, self-immolation by widows and untouchability that had no place in its ancient culture.

Commenting on this process of reforms and renewal, scholar Kshiti Mohan Sen writes that the impact of the West produced new schools of thought which emphasised old doctrines.

Swami Dyanand who founded Arya Samaj to reform Hinduism.Hinduism has a rich history of reforms. Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-83), who founded the Arya Samaj, gave the call “Back to the Vedas”, drawing a large section of Hindus away from idol-worship and exploitative priests. Arya Samaj established excellent educational institutions and worked to raise the status of the backward classes. It also introduced proselytization, which was no part of the Hindu traditions.

Swami Dayanand came from the state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had used regional pride as an electoral card. Curiously, videos glorify several sons of Gujarat, but not this Arya Samaj founder! Praising this great Gujarati will pose a problem for the party that has made the Ram Temple a central issue of its political campaign. Arya Samaj opposes idol-worship. The Vedic tradition involved sacred sacrifice in the open. The Indo-Aryans did not build permanent structures for the practice of their religion. Temples began to be built much later when worship and supplication were added to sacrifice in the Hindu religious ethos.

In Bengal, Raja Rammohun Roy (1774-1833) founded the Brahmo Samaj facing opposition by orthodox Hindus who were dead set against his progressive outlook on social matters. He advocated modern education and wanted Indians to learn science and technology. His agitation led to the abolition of the criminal practice of Sati that ordained a wife to commit suicide by plunging into the fire consuming her dead husband.

Reformer Raja Rammohan Roy.Another new school of Hinduism developed in Bengal under the influence of Ramakrishna Paramhamsa (1834-86) that appealed to the common man who just prays before a deity without bothering about theology. This simple communication with God, known as the Bhakti movement, became very popular. Earlier in the late 15th century Bengal, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had mesmerised his followers, leading them in congregational chanting, Sankirtan. There were reformers in south India who are venerated by millions of Hindus.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu – simple devotion through singing in praise of the Lord.In British India, the conservative Hindu leaders debated with reformers vigorously, but that contestation was due to clashing beliefs and not a political strategy for use in a democracy. Today the orthodox Hindu leaders who are corralled into supporting Prime Minister Modi have no interest in theological debates.

In the current atmosphere, Hindus hesitate to even talk of reforms lest they are called anti-Hindu. Political mobs are unleashed on the few reformists asserting the inclusiveness of Hinduism and fighting bigotry. Swami Agnivesh, a social activist who propagates the Vedic tradition, has faced physical assaults. That has not deterred him from continuing his struggle against superstitions that defile religion. Swami Agnivesh laments that politicians promote belief without truth. He reminds the people that the Vedic religion identified God with truth and Gandhi went a step further by saying that “Truth is God”.

The Hindu nationalists always opposed religious reforms. In Nehru’s secular India, they protested strongly, but the Government went ahead taking steps for improving the status of Hindu women. Today it seems like a miracle that in the face of horrendous Partition-related Hindu-Muslim killings, the Congress leaders managed to establish a secular state. That feat was made possible by Hinduism’s spirit of tolerance and mass adoration of the secular leaders. The parent bodies of today’s Hindutva forces failed to politically challenge Nehru and destroy the Nehruvian ethos. Nehru had called development projects the new temples of India!

The slogan “Hinduism in danger” had no appeal then as Hindus had enough self-confidence. That was the India that was! Since then much water has flowed down the holy Ganga. Hinduism now figures in a story of regression. Read the newspapers, listen to the TV “debates” and see the WhatsApp-trained ignorant armies clash day and night.

 

Supporters listening to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in March, 2018. Hindustan Times/Press Association. All rights reserved.

“Jaati na poocho sadhu ki, pooch leejiye gyan”, sang India’s saint-poet Kabir. (Do not judge a saint by his caste, imbibe his knowledge). However, the most-asked question in an Indian election is about the candidate’s caste. Political analysts ask it, poll strategists ask it, and the voters ask it. The caste-related issues frivolous to outsiders are debated seriously in TV shows and newspaper articles during an election season. Such weird identity-politics is not played out in any other democracy!

Of course, politicians did not create the powerful Hindu caste system. They merely exploit this fault-line, exacerbating the caste animosities to build vote banks. There are four main castes – Brahman (priests and intellectuals), Kshatriya (warriors and kings), Vaishya (traders) and Shudras (servants including the untouchables). They form a hierarchical order that covers hundreds of sub-castes within a caste. Every caste is credited with certain attributes such as valour or craftiness. The tradition of caste-based military regiments established by the British continue.

The tradition of caste-based military regiments established by the British continue.

The caste matters a great deal in Hindu rituals and ceremonies. Caste conflict is a regular feature of life in villages and cities. Many inter-caste marriages are destroyed by social sanctions. Some of these and at times even love affairs end in the crematorium.

A god intervenes

Hindu humans are governed by caste hierarchy, but a god was brought under its purview during the recent election campaign. Yogi Adityanath, BJP’s  monk-chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, hit the headlines by telling an election rally that Lord Hanuman, known in the West as Monkey God, was a Dalit (belonging to the most depressed caste). The statement made to garner the Dalit votes caused a huge blowback! In a country where Dalits were denied entry into temples, the Yogi called a god Dalit!

The statement highlighted the astounding complexity of Indian politics and of Hindu religion. Political parties face a difficult choice. They woo the oppressed and depressed castes in order to collect more votes. In doing so, they antagonise some upper castes. Religiosity and tradition expect them to respect the caste boundaries! Many upper-caste voters in the recent elections turned away from the BJP because of its support to positive discrimination in favour of the depressed castes.

By calling Lord Hanuman a Dalit, the Yogi offended the Brahmans, the priestly class. Some protesting Brahmans threatened to sue the chief minister. Interestingly, the Yogi is a Rajput (of warrior caste). BJP’s mentor organisation RSS has mostly been headed by a Brahman and  it is often asked whether a Dalit could ever head the RSS.

With the Yogi calling Lord Hanuman a Dalit, the Dalit leaders demanded that all Hanuman temples should have Dalit priests, and these should be handed over to them! The Dalits took their protests to some Hanuman temples and in one they forced the Brahman priest to leave the building.

A woman Dalit MP resigned from the ruling BJP complaining that Hanuman was humiliated and treated as a slave by the high-caste Hindus. She said Hanuman helped Lord Ram win the war against the demon king Ravan and yet this Dalit was turned into a monkey with a black face!

One leader in the Yogi’s own party said Hanuman was not a Dalit but an Arya since the caste system had not started in his age! This will be contested by those who worship Ram as a Kshatriya (the warrior caste). A pro-BJP royal Rajput family claims to have descended from Lord Ram.
 

Conflicting claims

Contradicting the Yogi, the state BJP minister for religious affairs declared that Hanuman was a Jat (of an intermediate caste). He gave a simple reason. Only the people of this caste jump in to help anyone in trouble and since Hanuman fought Ram’s battle, he was a Jat! A socialist leader of the same state said Hanuman was a Gond tribal. A Jain monk claimed that Hanuman was a Jain. Jainism identifies him as one of the 169 great persons, he said.

A Hindu monk-businessman who supports the ruling BJP invoked the sacred texts to say that the caste is determined not by birth but by the nature of duties performed by a Hindu. Since Hanuman burnt down Sri Lanka and made Ram victorious in his war against Ravan, he was a Kshatriya! While some Hindus do worship Ravan, fortunately none declared that a Kshatriya sinned by killing Ravan, the Brahman scholar.

As if citing the Hindu caste system was not funny enough, a Muslim politician declared that Hanuman was a Muslim because his name rhymed with common Muslim names such as Rehman and Usman! A wag said Hanuman was a Chinese because his name rhymes with Jackie Chan! All such statements were given due publicity in the media and led to serious high-decibel TV discussions! A wag said Hanuman was a Chinese because his name rhymes with Jackie Chan!

Considering half a dozen conflicting claims made about Lord Hanuman’s caste, only a law court can allocate the correct caste to this god and free him from an imposed identity crisis. Secular Hindus grumble that having dividing humans for political gains, the BJP is dividing gods on the basis of caste! Newspaper editors wrote that the poll campaign ought to have focused on the vital livelihood issues instead of on gods and castes.
 

Caste solidarity and self-immolation

Caste animosities transform the political scene. It happened following Prime Minister V. P. Singh’s decision in 1990 to grant job reservation to the “other backward castes”. The measure, based on the Mandal Commission Report, was designed to reduce inequalities. But by exacerbating caste divisions, it hindered the BJP’s project to unify Hindus on one political platform. The decision did have the political objectives of countering the BJP’s Ram temple agitation and winning the votes of the “other backward classes”.

Anti-Mandal agitation against job reservations for other backward classes.It sparked a violent agitation by the upper caste students. Self-immolation by some students gave a tragic twist to the protest. The agitation lit caste fires in young minds and sparked a political storm. The BJP, whose core constituency includes a large section of the upper castes, resumed its agitation for building the Ram temple and went on to withdraw its support to the V. P. Singh Government that lost its majority in Parliament and resigned.

Many upper-caste voters do not like positive discrimination in favour of the backward castes and resent the BJP’s stand on job reservations for them. The BJP does not dare to weaken that policy and displease the lower castes but its attempt to enlarge its footprint alienates the upper castes as seen in the recent state elections.

Different political parties are supported by a coalition of specific caste groups. Such coalitions usually stick with their preferred party for a few years. Some join a group for a couple of years then switch their support to another party. In some democracies, such coalitions are based on shared ideology, in India these are formed on the basis of caste solidarity.
 

Building your caste profile

All parties draw up poll strategy on the basis of the constituency’s caste profile. Messages in the election speeches are tailored to suit the dominant caste, ideological coherence is sacrificed. If a candidate belongs to caste A, his rival belonging to caste B fields dummy candidates of caste A to divide the opponent’s votes.

Incendiary rumours enhance inter-caste and intra-caste animosities. False statements fuel sub-caste jealousy. Political rivalry is promoted among the caste groups. The dominant caste in the village tries to impose its political preference on the depressed section by issuing threats. If the election results show that the dominant caste leader’s fiat was ignored, the defiant voters are subjected to violence. Extensive opinion polls, by indicating the voting preference of a particular caste group, make it easy to take revenge.

Newspapers give the caste-wise break-up of the candidates fielded and the candidates who win the elections. Caste matters in the selection of the candidates and shapes the content of the poll campaign speeches. When the government is formed, the media highlights the caste composition of the cabinet. It wasn’t so in the newly independent India when democracy was less mature.

Earlier, some secular political leaders tried to reduce the role of caste in politics. Congress leader Indira Gandhi once ran a successful poll campaign with the slogan: Na jaat pe, na paat pe, muhar lagegi haath pe (We shall ignore the candidate’s caste and sub-caste and vote for the Congress symbol of hand.)

Today no party ignores the caste factor that influences the voting behaviour and creates vote banks. Every party devises it poll strategy by considering castes and sub-castes. Paradoxically, even the BJP, while committed to uniting Hindus, plays caste-based politics in a big way. BJP minister has no hesitation in saying that since Congress President Rahul Gandhi belongs to an upper caste, his party cannot bear to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is not from an upper caste. BJP’s spokesman Sambit Patra publicly asked Rahul Gandhi to declare his Gotra (his specific clan within the caste). This question usually comes up when a matrimonial alliance is discussed!
 

The BJP and caste

The RSS which is BJP’s ideological mentor has mostly been headed by a Brahman and it gives no place to the minorities. A large section of its followers happens to belong to the Baniya caste engaged in business. The ruling BJP, known earlier as a Brahman-Baniya party, has been reaching out to other castes. And yet the organisation is still dominated by the upper castes, as indicated by a detailed analysis of its hierarchy by ThePrint.

Prejudices die hard. So, the BJP leaders in the southern state of Kerala invoked the low caste of its leftist chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan to attack him. He is being asked to leave his political office and go back to his caste profession as toddy tapper. The chief minister is trying to implement the Supreme Court’s judgment lifting a temple’s ban on the entry of young women. The BJP has launched a violent agitation in defence of faith and tradition. It believes that by consolidating the upper-caste votes, it would be able to make political gains. The Prime Minister made vague comments about belief and said nothing to discourage his party men from defying the Supreme Court judgment.

While some BJP leaders do not refrain from making casteist comments, the party has co-opted even Dr B. R. Ambedkar, a Dalit icon. In protest against the oppressive and discriminatory caste system, Ambedkar converted to Buddhism taking thousands of his followers with him. He had warned the nation against Hindu hegemony and burnt a copy of Manusmriti, a Hindu law book containing casteist verses.

Dr. B R Ambedkar, the Dalit icon.The support of the lower castes in elections is invaluable. It is more so for the BJP since it ignores Muslims and marginalises them to please its die-hard Hindu supporters. Since it has to woo the lower castes, in this limited context,
political compulsions have made the BJP less exclusive. It publicises the caste of its candidate if he or she is from a depressed caste. It does so in the case of Prime Minister Modi who is not from an upper caste. If a party opposing it has a large following in a particular caste, the BJP fields a candidate belonging to the same caste in order to draw away voters of that caste. It does not matter any more which caste dominates the party. All parties play this game, but the case of the BJP is worth noting since its declared objective is to unite Hindus. No one talks of the abolition of the caste system.

Caste rivalries and religious polarisation during election campaigns disturb social harmony and often cause violence. Elections come and go but tensions continue. Political leaders generate emotional frenzy through divisive rhetoric, mythological tales and false warnings of the danger posed by the religious “Other” or other caste community. Sectarian statements and violence during the election campaign have become the new normal. In this atmosphere, no one talks of the abolition of the caste system.

L K Sharma has followed no profession other than journalism for more than four decades, covering criminals and prime ministers. Was the European Correspondent of The Times of India based in London for a decade. Reported for five years from Washington as the Foreign Editor of the Deccan Herald. Edited three volumes on innovations in India. He has completed a work of creative nonfiction on V. S. Naipaul  His two e-books The Twain and A Parliamentary Affair form part of The Englandia Quartet.

Courtesy: https://www.opendemocracy.net

Detail. Durga slaying the Buffalo Demon. India, Karnataka, 13th century. Wikicommons/Los Angeles Museum of Art. Some rights reserved.

It has led to resignations in the media world, boycotts in the film industry and the closure of a famous film company. Junior foreign minister M J Akbar was made to resign. During a festival celebrating the Goddess who kills a demon menacing Gods, scores of educated Indian women have unmasked their tormentors and sparked a mini-revolution. A journalist has compared these #MeToo revelations to the “eruption of a volcano”.

These women had for years suppressed their trauma with silence, but when a visiting US-based Indian woman opened a can of worms, dozens of victims spoke out causing ‘quakes in the worlds of films, journalism, sports and literature.

Akbar, an editor-turned-politician, brazened it out for days and filed a criminal defamation case against one of the 16 women journalists for naming and shaming him by describing his alleged misconduct in the work place. Akbar denied all allegations. But finally, he had to resign as minister. The Prime Minister’s silence and the ruling party’s wait-and-watch policy failed to protect him politically for more than 10 days. The Prime Minister’s silence and the ruling party’s wait-and-watch policy failed to protect him politically for more than 10 days.

Banner headlines

Akbar’s resignation got banner headlines. The Indian Express, having demanded days ago his exit from his work place, said it marked a new benchmark in politics – of women, by women, for women and men. The minister’s exit was hailed as a “watershed moment” and a “seminal moment” in India’s history.

One of the victims had alleged that when she knocked at Akbar’s hotel room door, he opened the door in his underwear and put on a bathrobe to talk to her about journalistic work. A woman commentator wrote that the garment that will be remembered in #MeToo India (and worldwide) not as the miniskirt for which women are blamed but “the bathrobe worn by men, from Harvey Weinstein to Dominique Strauss-Kahn to M J Akbar”.

The minister has called all his 16 accusers, including one in the UK and another in the US, liars. The women recalled in adult-grade graphic details their old humiliating encounters with Akbar when he was a powerful editor. A couple of these accounts are not fit to be printed in a family newspaper. The victims asked for a mere apology, what they got was denial and legal intimidation.

The ruling party that cries itself hoarse over women’s empowerment was indifferent. That firmed up the protesters’ determination to fight on. Many more women as well as men journalists took up their cause. A battery of retired civil servants wrote a letter to the President of India. Some Opposition leader asked the Prime Minister to say something.

The lack of apology by predators and the minister’s combative stand angered many more women and men with access to social media. The woman journalist against whom the defamation suit was filed shot back by saying that truth is her defence. A call went out for crowd-funding her legal expenses.

One minister, a political non-entity, declared that the complaints (coming from various parts of India and from a journalist in the UK and another from the US) were part of a political campaign linked to the national elections due next year. Many found this suggestion laughable.

Going political

Since politics is the thing in India, the allegations of sexual harassment have become a political issue. The ruling party spokesman refused to answer any questions about Akbar. The Prime Minister’s devotees hailed Narendra Modi as a strong supporter of women’s empowerment. A couple of women journalists wrote nuanced on-the-other-hand kind of opinion pieces. The pro-Government TV channels and newspapers underplayed the Akbar story. Since politics is the thing in India, the allegations of sexual harassment have become a political issue.

The Government was not swayed by the preachers of ethics and morality. The ruling establishment initially thought that a select group of “elite” women with limited voting power might not pose too much of a political threat. The RSS chief, who mentors the ruling party, recently reiterated his “cultural” organisation’s commitment to character-building. He remained silent.

Akbar, before resigning, deployed 97 lawyers to persuade a judge to reject the allegations, punish the “lying” woman journalist and certify him as a man of sterling character! Court cases in India go on for years.

(As an editor, Akbar once filed a defamation case in the UK and won it. The Mail on Sunday apologised for publishing a report falsely involving this brilliant Indian editor in the case of a London woman publisher’s illegitimate child.)

The ruling party strategists hope that the political storm will be dissipated as the #MeToo visuals on the TV screens get replaced by fresh ones. Some are asking why these educated girls kept quiet for so long. They ignore the fact that the victims who registered complaints got nowhere. They were told that making a fuss will only harm them. The professional bodies, company managements and male colleagues asked them to get on with their lives as if nothing had happened.
 

Heroes and villains

Most victims suffered silently for years, suppressing memories, fearing stigma in a deaf and oppressive patriarchal society. One of the victims was Tanushree Dutta, a film actress whose complaint against a famous actor was ignored by all. Disgusted, she left the industry and moved to America to start a new life. But the embers of humiliation kept smouldering in her heart. The #MeToo movement in America steeled her will. She came to India and flung charges at the noted male artists with whom she had worked. Some film stars supported her but the heroes who vanquish villains on the silver screen played safe, avoiding questions by the media.

The former film star’s damning social media message triggered a movement and first-person accounts of sexual harassment started raining in. Scores of professionally successful women mustered up the courage to recall and record incidents of molestation by their male bosses or colleagues.

They got over the fear that a female victim does not get helped, only gets ridiculed. In social media they found a protest platform. Even this time, they did not hope for justice. They named and shamed predators in order to empower young girls to protest publicly against sexual harassment in the work place.
 

Public response

Considering the public response to the steps taken by the minister, legal intimidation is unlikely to crush the #MeToo movement in the India of 2018. Some see the use of social media by these long-suffering women as a consequence of the failure of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act of 2013. Good laws show few results because of poor enforcement. This law had followed the landmark Vishakha case of 1997 when the Supreme Court declared that sexual harassment at work violated a woman’s constitutional right to equality.

Many powerful men accustomed to cutting lewd jokes to attract female employees or making indecent proposals are surely being careful. Women are speaking up in English, and the women journalists working in languages other than English may follow. Their plight is reported to be much worse but then their compulsion to suffer in silence is greater. Women are speaking up in English, and the women journalists working in languages other than English may follow.

#MeToo has shown results. A film company has closed down. Many professional bodies, for the first time, are issuing statements in support of the women recording complaints. They are taking complaints of sexual harassment seriously. A few resignations in the world of journalism have followed. Some complaints redressal committees and inquiry committees have been formed. This has sensitised both the people and the media.

This mini-revolution has surely knocked down the self-confidence of some powerful potential predators. It has made women less risk-averse and readier to protest against sexual harassment.

The departures caused by #MeToo in India have created a wave of jubilation, but the women activists rule out a speedy radical reformation. A long struggle lies ahead. Traditions enable the structure of patriarchy to withstand an occasional tremor. At times, even women will be divided, with many refusing to revolt against the oppressors at home or in work places.

Already some men as well as women are warning against a backlash. They say the #MeToo movement can be misused by women. Comics featuring deadly superwomen have started appearing. The movement’s critics may soon warn against the coming extinction of the male species!
 

Mother Durga

Durga painting. Suddhasattwa Basu. All rights reserved.

The mini-revolution’s timing requires elaboration. The movement gripped India at a time when millions of Hindus are worshipping God as a woman. For nine holy days and nights, Goddess Durga enthrals the devotees and drives even the non-believers to her temporary temples buzzing with cultural and social events.

For the annual festival for worshipping the ten-armed Goddess, Mother Durga’s idols are made to reflect tradition with a modern touch. Some features show concerns of the day. One year several artists placed a mobile phone in one of the 10 hands of Durga. The Indian version of the #MeToo will inspire imaginative idol-makers next year to make the Buffalo Demon appear in a western suit!

This fierce Goddess represents woman power. She kills a nearly indestructible demon in order to protect gods. She proved herself to be more powerful than all gods and demons! The buffalo demon threatened the gods who bowed to the Goddess and sought her protection.
According to another version, the King of Demons, claiming limitless power to provide her with sensual enjoyment, asks the Goddess to choose him as her husband. He propositions her, but unlike a human sexual predator does not try to touch her! Durga challenges him to show his might. The demon goes after Durga to kill her! The Goddess radiates blinding energy. The Demon tries to flee and is slayed amid shouts of victory by the crowd of gods! An inspiring tale for the women activists of India where mythology is often used in political campaigns. The Goddess radiates blinding energy. The Demon tries to flee and is slayed amid shouts of victory by the crowd of gods! An inspiring tale…

Goddesses in different forms offer not just protection but also wealth and wisdom! No wonder, the sacred Hindu texts place the woman on a pedestal. “Gods dwell in a place where women are worshipped” is a popular saying. Unmarried girls are ritualistically worshipped during a festival.
 

India riddled with contradictions

India was proud to have a woman Prime Minister when that office was only a glint in the eyes of Margret Thatcher. On a visit to India, Thatcher wanted tips from Indira Gandhi! The ratio of women scientists in responsible positions in India is much higher than in Britain. India’s history features eminent women scholars who were invincible in their power to argue.

Why should a country like this need laws to protect women from mere men?
Alas, India is riddled with contradictions. Whatever is true of India, its opposite is also true. Some tales from ancient India enrage even moderate feminists. Some women poets blame Lord Ram for his treatment of his wife Sita.

Many prominent women were dishonoured, humiliated, maltreated and exploited by kings and sages. They were treated as the property of men. Married women were seduced or abducted and impregnated in ancient India. A woman could be disrobed; a wife could be lost in a gambling bet.

In contemporary India, the abortion of girl foetuses is a major concern. This crime has been documented in books and in the notices hung in hospitals and medical imaging centres prohibiting the disclosure of the sex of the baby in the womb. The ratio of girl babies has declined.

Sonia Bhalotra of the University of Essex and her co-researchers found that when gold prices go up, fewer female babies in India survive their first month of life. The study attributed this to the curse of dowry given by the bride’s family to the groom. “Gold is included in bridal dowries – so when gold prices go up, the cost of raising girls rises and families tend to neglect or abort them.” Despite having been outlawed, dowry is widely prevalent in India.

The incidence of rape is very high. The insecurity of women at home, on the road and in public transport is seen as a major police failure. Informal courts run by different castes and sub-castes issue illegal fatwas against women straying from the path set for them by the patriarchs. Girls are denied mobile phones and asked not to wear “indecent” clothes. Dominating fathers select grooms for their daughters and many girls are killed if they decide to marry for love.

The sexual exploitation of tribal girls and poor women has been portrayed in countless films and novels. Generally, the oppressors are village landlords and tea estate managers and owners.
 

The message spreads

It turns out that women belonging to the jet-setting class fare no better when it comes to dowry deaths, domestic violence and sexual harassment in public.  These educated women suffer silently for fear of being stigmatised and losing remunerative jobs or the financial security provided by the cruel husband.

The predator banks on the victim’s silence and does not fear exposure. Men in stylish suits, appearing to be gentlemen, carry on relentlessly and are never outed. Film-makers document the stories of poor women because that material is easily available. The #MeToo movement has altered that situation a bit. So, films and novels depicting a different class of victims and predators will follow. Many more accomplished and successful women are expected to come forward to challenge the oppressors by naming them, It turns out that women belonging to the jet-setting class fare no better when it comes to dowry deaths, domestic violence and sexual harassment in public.

The first users of social media as a platform for protest belong to the “elite” class. Women journalists working in small towns for newspapers published in languages other than English are yet to speak even though their plight is reported to be worse. The situation is not very different in other professions. A women’s NGO from Gujarat, the Prime Minister’s home state, says, “for every woman who has courageously spoken up, there are tens of thousands of women who have remained silent”.

Gradually, the movement will empower these women. The Google search data shows that the #MeToo message has started reaching India’s small towns. The struggle for women’s empowerment will indeed be long but the mini-revolution has made sexual predators jittery and their victims more courageous. Women are less likely to extend the protection of their silence to those who harass them.

Durga slaying the Buffalo Demon. India, Karnataka, 13th century. Wikicommons/Los Angeles Museum of Art. Some rights reserved.

L K Sharma has followed no profession other than journalism for more than four decades, covering criminals and prime ministers. Was the European Correspondent of The Times of India based in London for a decade. Reported for five years from Washington as the Foreign Editor of the Deccan Herald. Edited three volumes on innovations in India. He has completed a work of creative nonfiction on V. S. Naipaul  His two e-books The Twain and A Parliamentary Affair form part of The Englandia Quartet.

Courtesy: https://www.opendemocracy.net/

Rajasthan, India. Children dressed as Mahatma Gandhi during Gandhi Jayanti, the national festival marking his birthday, on October 1, 2018. Shaukat Ahmed/press Association. All rights reserved.

It was the best day for Gandhi, it was the worst day for Gandhi. The President, Prime Minister, Governors and Chief Ministers paid tributes to Gandhi’s memory, some Hindu nationalists took to social media to pay tributes to Gandhi’s killer, thousands garlanded Gandhi’s statues, a few saffron-clad Hindus garlanded his killer’s statue, the world celebrated Gandhi’s birth anniversary on October 2 as Nonviolence Day, some countries marking the day by violent thoughts and deeds. In India, the day saw police action against poor farmers trying to enter Delhi to highlight their plight. Indian political leaders read out homilies, they sucked morality out of politics, they called on the nation to follow the Gandhian path, while their governments promoted economic policies that went against Gandhi’s vision.

In seminars and TV studios, some said Gandhi was more relevant today, some others said Gandhi was outdated in the modern age. Gandhi placed the poorest of the poor in the company of God by calling him Daridra Narayan. Politicians talk about the poor during the election campaigns, but once in power help the rich accumulate more wealth.

Gandhi is ignored by those who oppress the lower castes and women, deliver hate speeches against a minority and indulge in violence. Such incidents have increased and what is more vicious, the admirers of Gandhi’s killer have found a new voice through social media. They have “come out”. Their outpouring is linked to the Hindu-Muslim issue that features prominently in the mainstream TV channels and in the First Information Reports filed at the police stations in violence-hit towns and villages.
 

Godse-admirers come out

To mark this birth anniversary, scholar Vinay Lal had to write on “the killers of Gandhi in modern India”. The newly introduced “muscular” politics is on his mind as he refers to Gandhi’s killer, Nathuram Godse, angered by the Mahatma for effeminising Indian politics:
“The so-called toxic masculinity that is on witness in the streets of every town and city in India is not only a manifestation of Hindu rage and a will to shape a decisive understanding of the past, but also a reaction to the androgynous values that Gandhi embodied and which the Hindu nationalist tacitly knows are enshrined in Indian culture.

“What is different about the killers of Gandhi today is that they act with total impunity. They are aware of the fact the present political dispensation is favourable to them, and that much of the ‘ruling class’ despises Gandhi. The official pieties surrounding Gandhi Jayanti may be nauseating to behold, but October 2 is a necessary provocation.”

Vinay Lal says the display of respect is just to cover up the complete contempt and hatred for the “Mahatma”. He refers to a poem circulating on WhatsApp calling Gandhi a fool and traitor to the nation and to the fact that Gandhi’s assassin can be installed as a deity in a temple! Lal promises to write about this poem.

Avijit Pathak, who teaches sociology at the famous Jawaharlal Nehru University, writes: “Every year on October 2, I feel somewhat uneasy. From Rajghat (Gandhi Memorial) to Parliament, from the declaration of “pro-people” policies to the empty slogan initiated by the political class, I experience the death of Gandhi.”

He refers to the normalisation of the brute practice of stigmatising the “other” through lynching and cow-vigilantism. “From Gandhi’s time of colonialism, religious reform and the nationalist movement, we seemed to have moved towards a new reality characterised by what I would regard as a mix of neoliberal capitalism and militant cultural nationalism, and market driven consumerism and technocratic developmentalism.”
 

Attenborough’s Gandhi

India’s public broadcaster dutifully screened Richard Attenborough’s famous film Gandhi. It shows the Mahatma stopping communal violence in Calcutta by going there and fasting. It shows Gandhi failing to prevent India’s Partition on the basis of religion. The film moves the secular Hindus to tears with Gandhi calling Hindus and Muslims as the two eyes of mother India. It angers the Hindu nationalists when Gandhi is shown pleading with Jinnah to give up his demand for Partition and to be the Prime Minister of an undivided India!

Those committed to social and economic equality feel enthused by Gandhi’s advocacy of the untouchables and women. But the extremist patriarchs and the high-caste goons perhaps switch off the TV! The pacifists thank the film-maker for reminding the nation of Gandhi’s warning that an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. Some others see it as a conspiracy to weaken Hindus.

Fortunately, the screening of the Richard Attenborough film passed off peacefully! He made the film just in time. He shot it in India when ultra-nationalism was not in vogue and sectarian elements used to express their views in private. Political marginalisation of Muslims was unheard of. A civilizational state was yet to aspire to be a nation-state.

Attenborough’s film introduces Gandhi’s key principles even to those who only know that Gandhi was born on October 2 because on this day the schools and offices are closed. Through simple dialogue, the film highlights the foolishness of India imitating the western consumption model, and not building self-reliant village communities, ignoring the value of handicrafts and local resources and indigenous skills. Gandhi’s critics have considered these views quaint, anti-modernity and anti-industrialisation, while even some scientists have admired Gandhi as an “innovator”. R. A. Mashelkar coined the term “Gandhian engineering” to popularise his concept of frugal techniques for “doing more for less for more”.

Ironically, it was Gandhi’s call for Swadeshi, (spirit of self-reliance) that fired the Indian scientists to develop high technology when India was denied it in fields ranging from super-computers to atomic energy and from space to military hardware. While roads in India named after Gandhi have shopping malls stuffed with imported underwear and toys, the leaders of America and Europe have become firm believers in Swadeshi by campaigning against imported goods and people!

But now, since some western economists and activists have started admiring the Gandhian vision of sustainable development, the TV debates are not dominated by the sceptic experts. It was Gandhi who relentlessly tried to impress on the world leaders that the earth has enough for human needs but not for human greed!

Gandhi would have been quite amused to observe all this. One wishes to hear his typical humorous comments. He would have quipped on seeing a photo of his statue being vandalised or on reading a news report that the tallest statue in India will not be of the Father of the Nation but of his follower Sardar Patel!

Globalising Gandhi

Gandhi’s birth anniversary yields a rich harvest of cartoons exposing the political elite’s hypocrisy and its use of the ceremonies held on this national holiday. The expected editorials appear on the lip service being paid to the Gandhian principles. The visual media displays the images and symbols associated with Gandhi.

Gandhi remains relevant for publishers and for collectors of images and sketches. He remains invaluable for the brand mangers hired by politicians seeking votes and the commercial organisations seeking customers.

With his global appeal, Gandhi enhanced India’s brand image. Gandhi even figured on an Apple hoarding in Silicon Valley! On this 149th birth anniversary, the Government took a rare public diplomacy initiative by producing a video with collected clips of artists from 124 countries singing a line of Gandhi’s favourite song that says that only the one who feels the pain of others can be said to be a good person. “Vaishnava jan to tene kahiye, je peed parayi jaane hai…”, the 15th century devotional song in Gujarati, was in the set of hymns sung every day in Gandhi’s Ashram. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s idea to present this song to a global audience.

A unique product popularised by Gandhi during the freedom struggle has got noticed internationally, thanks to some well-known fashion houses in France and other countries. Khadi, hand-woven cloth made from hand-spun yarn, attracted experts by the feel and look of its texture. For the same reason and not for the underlying Gandhian principle, many affluent Indians too started buying superfine khadi. On Gandhi’s birth anniversary when khadi is subsidised by the Government, New Delhi’s flagship khadi store did a record sale exceeding 100,000 pounds sterling. It had to extend its business hours to handle increased footfall. So, in this case the ideological past profitably fused with the materialistic present.

Gandhi used his spinning wheel every day for meeting his own requirement. He spun yarn for a piece of lace that he gave as a wedding gift to Queen Elizabeth. (The Queen gave this piece of lace to Prime Minister Modi whose minister promptly claimed that the gesture showed the esteem in which Modi is held! The Queen’s magnanimity silenced those who want Britain to return the Kohinoor.)

Gandhi popularised khadi as a substitute for the British cloth. He propagated khadi as an instrument of uplifting the rural poor and making communities self-reliant. Khadi provided livelihood to countless village artisans. In the post-liberalisation India, the khadi movement suffered, and the impressive turnover of a few glamorous metropolitan outlets does not tell the entire story. Many khadi centres remain in a bad shape and heavily dependent on the state subsidy. Take just one example of a khadi centre opened by Gandhi in 1925 which is “dying, much like his legacy”. The news report says the trust running the first-ever All India Spinners Association in a Punjab village was once famous for its khadi but is now dying of neglect. Today 20 of the state’s 28 khadi trusts are running into losses. As a result, the artisans have either migrated or changed their profession.

The famous fashion houses have given a “modern” touch to khadi. This year the simple but elegant Gandhi memorial in the national capital has been equipped with digital displays! The memorial was spruced up after a court criticised its poor maintenance.

Displaying devotion to the museumised Father of the Nation and ignoring his principles have gone hand in hand for years. “Gandhi and iconography” has been studied by scholars. The image of his reading glasses came in handy for publicising a public sanitation campaign launched by Prime Minister Modi. All see the spectacles Gandhi used to wear and read the reports of sanitation workers killed by lethal gas while cleaning the sewage lines. The contractors do not give them the gas masks and the same tragedy is repeated over and over.
Incidents of the Dalits and Muslims being lynched are not rare. Gandhi would have launched a movement against the atrocities being committed against them. He would not have remained silent about the criminalisation of politics. Some 30 per cent of the legislators have criminal cases registered against them. The Supreme Court says it cannot bar them from fighting elections unless they are proven guilty.

India’s youth today does not feel inspired by Gandhi who faces worse than neglect from the Hindu nationalists, capitalists and the middle classes of the new India. The trusteeship principle has been abandoned by the capitalists many of whom had once responded to Gandhi’s call. Moderation has been marginalised. The money-mad Indians indulging in conspicuous consumption wear their contempt for Gandhi on their sleeves. Sustainable development has never been taken seriously by the governments.
 

Gandhi magic

Do many new Indians read Albert Einstein’s words that generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon the earth?

Or Nelson Mandela’s words that Gandhi was the first person to show us the method of organised, disciplined, mass protest. Gopal Gandhi, the Mahatma’s grandson, asks: What does one say of the ‘mass’ politics and the ‘causes’ of today’s India? “On its thoroughfares, streets, by-lanes, village tracks and a hundred different hideouts, it damages, disfigures, destroys.”

Richard Attenborough’s film picturises Gandhi’s fast in Calcutta as he extinguishes the fire of communal violence and restores sanity. Viceroy Lord Mountbatten writes to Gandhi: “In the Punjab we have 55,000 soldiers and large-scale rioting on our hands, In Bengal our forces consist of one man, and there is no rioting. As a serving officer, as well as administration, may I be allowed to pay my tribute to the One-Man Boundary Force…”

What Mountbatten saw as a heroic feat is viewed differently by those promoting communal strife to use it as a political tool for consolidating Hindu votes through religious polarisation! For them Gandhi’s fast made the evisceration of secularism a bit more difficult.
It is said that Gandhi could work his magic on Britain, but he would have found it difficult to deal with Hitler’s Germany. “One of Gandhi’s achievements was to show Britons the reality of their own consciences, to reveal to them the gulf between their religious pretensions and political ideals, and their actual practice as imperialists”, writes author George Woodcock.

Gandhi worked his magic on Indians of his time. Years later in mid-seventies, some Indians told V. S. Naipaul that since the death of Gandhi truth has fled from India and the world! Naipaul saw an inversion of Gandhianism in the emergence of a violent Hindu cult like the Anand Marg and wrote about the “ease with which Hinduism can decline into barbarism”. Now in 2018 there is no Anand Marg, but many Indians share Naipaul’s fear.
 

Gandhi redivivus

The 149th birth anniversary provokes one to fantasise about Gandhi’s appearance in today’s India. Suppose in his prayer meeting he talks about the Gita and the Sermon on the Mount in the same breath and says that the latter “went straight to my heart”. Suppose he eulogises India’s syncretic tradition and calls for freedom from fear and from cultural insecurity that have been inflicted on the people. Suppose he repeats his words that “religion is outraged when outrage is perpetrated in its name” and that “truth is God”. Suppose he asks politicians not to tell lies. Suppose he tells them to stop abusing their opponents and start loving them.

If that happens, Gandhi will have to abruptly end his prayer meeting and go on a fast! Will Indians ever again march on the street singing Gandhi’s favourite song about the Supreme Being named Ishwar as well as Allah and praying to Him to bestow sanity on all human beings?
Writing on Gandhi in an India stricken by faux patriotism and jingoism causes gloom. A poem in Indian English written in the seventies by Nissim Ezekiel provides an antidote.

The Patriot  begins:
 I am standing for peace and nonviolence.
Why world is fighting and fighting
Why all people of world
Are not following Mahatma Gandhi,
I am simply not understanding….

L K Sharma has followed no profession other than journalism for more than four decades, covering criminals and prime ministers. Was the European Correspondent of The Times of India based in London for a decade. Reported for five years from Washington as the Foreign Editor of the Deccan Herald. Edited three volumes on innovations in India. He has completed a work of creative nonfiction on V. S. Naipaul  His two e-books The Twain and A Parliamentary Affair form part of The Englandia Quartet.

Courtesy: https://www.opendemocracy.net/

January 23, 2018 – Ajmer, Rajasthan, India – Indian national congress and BJP supporters during campaign on bye-elections. Shaukat Ahmed/Press Association.All rights reserved.

Commenting on democracy in Great Britain, a north European journalist attributed its ills to “too much competition”. His own country is accustomed to a much gentler version of the democratic order.

If he were to come to New Delhi and read just a day’s newspapers, he would find that in the case of India, his diagnosis is confirmed. Cut-throat competition afflicts democracy in India. Global warming is tracked by instruments but there are no instruments to measure the rise in sectarian hatred recorded by newspaper headlines. One such front-page headline may be sampled here: “As communal heat rises, BJP allies in Bihar rally together”. The same daily carries as many as ten reports related to sectarian animosity and violence.

Growing mental pollution causes this upsurge in violence. The poison of bigotry being injected into society can be felt and talked about but not measured by an electronic sensor. The seamy side of Indian politics has been highlighted for some time but earlier the main instruments were money and muscle power. The marginalisation of a religious minority and consolidation of the Hindu votes through sectarian incitement are recent developments. Some of the latest polls have proved that polarisation pays.

The word “communal” in Indian English is used as a substitute for “sectarian”. What has triggered the current wave of communal violence? In most cases, the spark is provided not by religious fundamentalists but by political activists whose leaders understand the power of religious passion and fault-lines of society. The poison of bigotry being injected into society can be felt and talked about but not measured by an electronic sensor.

They call themselves Hindu nationalists. They have become overactive on seeing that votes can be won by polarisation of communities based on religion and castes. The voters, fired by baser emotions, can be driven to the polling booths easily. In a surcharged atmosphere, a gentleman-politician is overwhelmed by a street-smart man who outshouts him. The former species will be extinct one day.

The formula for winning elections has been standardised. Create resentment and anger against the political rival. Intensify religious hatred, promote inter-caste rivalry and attack the secularists ruthlessly. Tap the voters’ feelings and promise the moon. Administer the right mixture of fear of the other and hope for the future. That populism and fake nationalism damage the nation is not the concern of the victorious candidate.

In such an atmosphere, Indian democracy faces multiple threats, though mercifully none from any rogue General. However, internal subversion by an elected leader is subtle and equally lethal. Democracy can easily be hijacked by an actor-politician, a second-hand car salesman or a seller of snake oil. Anyone with the power to mesmerise the audience.

Democracy is turned into a sound-and-light spectacle featuring a 3-D Hologrammed leader. The leader delivers his line with great effect. He knows all about light and camera angle. He chooses carefully the colour and style of his dress for the day’s role. Democracy led in this fashion retains its name but loses its true spirit. Significantly, newspapers publish elections-related news under such telling banners as The Carnival of Democracy. No newspaper in Britain uses this banner.

Lovers of democracy lament that every election campaign report uses the word “hawa” (wind) to signify the political atmosphere created, not as a result of the deeds or the misdeeds of the outgoing government, but by the rhetoric used and bogus promises made by the leaders. Then there is another set way of describing the election-eve atmosphere. The word used is “wave”. The biggest democracy turns into a mighty ocean and the candidate who generates a mighty wave by the gift of the gab is swept to power.
 

Offence given, taken and sucked away

In India, a community can feel hurt by a word or an image. Politicians can afford to ignore the basic needs of the electorate but dare not ignore the sensitivities of the dominant communities. Offence is given and taken very easily. The book lovers complaining of the writers not writing about “feelings” should know that feelings have been sucked away by politics!

If feelings rather than a dispassionate analysis influence the voting behaviour, consolidation of votes through inculcating hatred for and fear of ‘the other’ pays political dividends. In a cut-throat competition for winning political power, no holds are barred. More and more street-smart boys and criminals get into politics which starts losing traditional, dignified public-spirited leaders.

Social media makes it easier to create a favourable political atmosphere by rousing baser emotions. The task of poll strategists is merely technical like that of those who generate clouds on a film set and create a dream sequence or a nightmare on screen. The voters get impressed by the performance of the leader descending on the stage or talking to them from remote locations and forget his dismal performance in office. The future of democracy in a virtually real world is another topic. In India, a community can feel hurt by a word or an image. Politicians can afford to ignore the basic needs of the electorate but dare not ignore the sensitivities of the dominant communities.

A tough competitor in the political arena knows that feelings are bankable and that defines the poll strategist’s task. He has to incite the mob frenzy that characterises developing countries. V. S. Naipaul has written about it in his books referring to Africa. India is ripe for a fresh visit by Naipaul as he can witness another version of the million mutinies that he observed the last time. As in Africa, so in India. Naipaul will see celebrations by violent mobs. He will be amused by the elected municipal councillors installing their name plates on public facilities and renaming roads.

Naipaul will witness a nation in a temper. Long before America voted for Trump, British journalist Gavin Esler went there and discovered the United States of Anger (USA) and wrote a book with that title. Today, an illiterate maid in New Delhi, who has not heard of that book, says that there is krodh (anger) all around. She is worried as to how long the people like her or the daily wage-earners will be able to go out to work in safety.
 

A failure of intent

Anyone writing about “intolerance” and the spurt in sectarian hatred and violence has to face “whataboutry” from the Prime Minister’s devotees. What about the riots of such and such year, is their counter question. Yes, India was never free of sectarian violence but there is a qualitative difference between the past and the present.

The sporadic incidents in the past were not always politically motivated and, in most cases, the state and the district administration distinguished between the victim and the accused. The civil servants failed at times because of incompetence but did not turn a blind eye knowing that the political leadership would discreetly approve of it. Now an impression has gone around that the ruling party is determined to marginalise a community. The failure to control violence and enforce law and order is one thing but the failure of intent is another.

This has encouraged the closet communalists in the bureaucracy, police and even judiciary to be less cautious. The ruling party leaders freely make inflammatory speeches, the like of which would have ended their political career in another democratic country.

Till the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya, one never heard insensitive sectarian statements in the so-called elite or refined or cultural families. That has changed. This is the difference between the past and the present of a secular India.

All these years, those trying to harness Hinduism for political benefit faced resistance not just from the liberal secular Hindus but also from the staunch believers who remain committed to their faith’s inherent pluralism and inclusiveness, extending even to the atheists within its fold.
 

Diversity hatred and ‘Hindu Pakistan’

This diversity is hated by a rising political force trying to inject the foreign ideology of Fascism into an indigenous faith. It is determined to monopolise power by establishing the primacy of one single Hindu God – Lord Rama. This chosen God comes into the picture in the reports of many incidents of politically inspired inter-religious violence.

The condemnation by the liberals no longer frightens the sectarian forces. But what they are up against is a faith tradition having millions of theologically approved Gods. Thus, forcing homogeneity and uniformity on Hindus is going to be a difficult project.

This sectarian agenda has no theological basis. It involves no official plan to “reform” Hinduism. If anything, the party activists try to enforce some medieval customs in order to “purify” the faith tempered with modernity over the years. A top item in this agenda that mobilises many believers is reclamation of the temples demolished by the foreign invaders belonging to a different religion.

The current political confrontation has been given a religious dimension but essentially it is a political project designed to assert the supremacy of Hindus in a nation that establishes its new identity in the world. Those who have generated this cut-throat political competition are not religious scholars. In fact, they have little understanding of the Vedic literature or of the classical language associated with their faith. The spirit of argumentation that marks this faith tradition is foreign to them. The long-cherished project of the mentor of the ruling party is eventually to establish a powerful Hindu nation.

The top leadership of the ruling party is not into politics for pelf or for power for the sake of power or for public service. It has a single-point agenda. The long-cherished project of the mentor of the ruling party is eventually to establish a powerful Hindu nation. Fired by messianic zeal, the party leaders are perennially focused on electoral strategies, ignoring governance and the citizens’ problems. For the first time in the history of independent India, this party has gained unrestricted political power and influence and it does not want to let go of this opportunity. It is keen to move faster towards its goal of establishing what its critics call a “Hindu Pakistan”.

The Government has got away with this till now, despite its failure to fulfil Modi’s election-eve promises, because of its power of patronage and the Prime Minister’s charisma. Both are being used by the “cultural” organisation that holds the real power derived from its extensive network of volunteers.
But now voices are being heard against the politicians for being obsessed with the Hindu-Muslim debate and ignoring the issues of public health, education, malnutrition, safety and transport.

The constant public discourse on the Hindu-Muslim issue and embedded media’s focus on it are bringing democracy into disrepute. Politicians are being ridiculed and condemned more and more. “Plague on both your houses” is a slogan that has been heard. The Prime Minister’s devotees attack anyone criticising their beloved leader. One devotee took to social media to seriously suggest that Modi should impose a dictatorship to teach his critics a lesson!
 

Full-time politicians

While the ruling party’s Hindutva agenda is mainly responsible for queering the pitch, some other factors also intensify competition in Indian politics. Far too many politicians are full-time politicians. They know no other way of leading a life. Many are into politics for making money. Some lack the qualifications to get any job and possess no skills to earn in any other line of business. So, winning an election at any cost becomes essential for them.

Thanks to the declining faith in the police and judiciary and the administration’s failure to provide civic amenities, more and more people are joining politics in order to secure the necessary clout to get the administration to do their work or to secure the safety of their families. They use political power to safeguard the interests of their relations, friends and supporters. They use political power to safeguard the interests of their relations, friends and supporters.

More ambitious corrupt politicians use political power to promote the interests of their rich friends in the corporate world. Some business leaders and media moguls do not spend money on sponsoring other politicians and join politics to directly benefit their business.

The cut-throat political competition for gaining power exacerbates religious animosities and widens social fault lines. However, it may be argued that such intense competition at least proves that democracy is alive and kicking. The people are willing to kill or die during a heated poll campaign for a leader they love!

Here is a dilemma. Suppose the voters turn indifferent and spend the polling day holiday decorating their homes instead of taking the trouble of going to cast their vote. That kind of mass indifference to exercising one’s right will also enfeeble democracy.

So, what is the right measure of passion in politics that is good for the health of democracy? There has to be a right balance. It will depend not on the regulatory authorities or election  laws but on the wisdom of the leaders and on the proverbial common man.

L K Sharma has followed no profession other than journalism for more than four decades, covering criminals and prime ministers. Was the European Correspondent of The Times of India based in London for a decade. Reported for five years from Washington as the Foreign Editor of the Deccan Herald. Edited three volumes on innovations in India. He has completed a work of creative nonfiction on V. S. Naipaul.  

Courtesy: https://www.opendemocracy.net

Narendra Modi (left), Governor of Uttar Pradesh and newly appointed Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath (right) greet the crowd during Yogi Adityanath's swearing-in ceremony in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on March 19, 2017. Xinhua/Press Association. All rights reserved.

India is a happening place. It has just witnessed the rare event of a Hindu priest becoming the Chief Minister of its politically most influential state of Uttar Pradesh (U. P.). Ajay Singh Bisht became Yogi Adityanath and after the death of his “spiritual father” became the head of his religious establishment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi campaigned hard to win the state assembly elections for his party and then ensured that the state is ruled by a monk in saffron clothes who converts Christians to Hinduism and delivers anti-Muslim speeches.

In the ancient Hindu tradition, the priests preached and the rulers ruled. The division of labour is clearly marked; based on the accident of birth or by the virtue of the person’s conduct. The priest enjoyed a status higher than that of the king and was respected by the ruler as his Guru and adviser. But a priest would never be the king.

The ancient Hindu traditions notwithstanding, Yogi Adityanath is following the footsteps of some Hindu priests who began to participate in politics in order to challenge Nehru immediately after the independence. They were upset as Nehru talked to millions of his countrymen about the need to develop a scientific temper and march towards modernity. Nehru was the prime target of the Hindu right wing political formations that attracted many heads of the Hindu religious establishments. Of course, they could not mount a significant challenge during all these decades and no serious setback was caused to the nation’s secular ethos.

The new U. P.  Chief Minister who transformed himself from an ordinary mortal into a Yogi took to politics like duck to water and has been winning parliamentary elections for years.

This priest’s fiery speeches and hateful rhetoric promoted the consolidation of the Hindu votes in the 2014 parliamentary elections and the latest state assembly elections.

For the same reason, the new Chief Minister has caused unease among those who see this as an initial step in the grand plan for eventually turning India into a majoritarian state, called Hindu Rashtra.

The Yogi’s selection also indicates that Prime Minister Modi does not want to take any risk in 2019 when he would seek a second term. He has figured out that he cannot win without the consolidation of the Hindu votes and without a promise to end the appeasement of the Muslims. Some Muslims may vote for him out of fear. His party sent a strong political message when it did not select even one Muslim candidate in the state elections. Modi’s devotees have heartily welcomed the selection of the Yogi. One commentator applauded Modi for staging the third disruptive event after the surgical strike against Pakistan and de-monetisation.

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A Yogi becomes a Commissar! But Hindus pray for a commissar to become a Yogi, a more evolved being. Many Hindus would say that this militant-monk, this fire-brand BJP leader who spreads hate is no Yogi.

If Adityanath looks up the meanings of the Sanskrit words yoga and yogi, he would give up his divisive politics and uphold the principle of unity in diversity. Yoga signifies union, balance and moderation. In New York, “Hot Yoga” is a brand but a true Yogi cannot go about exposing himself to criminal cases and fuelling violence against a community.

But all that does not matter because the Prime Minister is behind the Yogi and the media is suffused with comments applauding Modi’s astuteness. Before the state’s Chief Minister was selected, the Yogi’s followers went around shouting the slogan that those who want to live in the state must hail their Yogi! Modi saw the Yogi’s potential. This Yogi also runs a Hindu youth organisation, independent of the BJP.

The Hindu card matters in elections but its effectiveness rises and falls from time to time. Even in the recent surcharged sectarian atmosphere, the BJP would not have got such an overwhelming majority had it projected this Hindu monk as the chief ministerial candidate.

In his poll campaign, Modi used the themes of development and Hindutva (Hinduness) in the right proportions. Thus the selection of the monk after winning the election has been described by a commentator as “bait and switch”.

Hinduism marks a clear distinction between the spiritual and temporal power. So is an ancient religion transforming contemporary politics or the ruling party’s politics modifying Hinduism?

This reporter, steeped in the Hindu tradition, was horrified when first he saw the Knights of Armour glorified in Christian churches or read about a Pope of a bygone era who issued a clarion call for the destruction of the non-Christians.

Of course, like the Christian churches of the yore, several Hindu temples and self-appointed Hindu saints are very wealthy, owning large sums of cash, gold and real estate.

And if Great Britain learns from the largest democracy, the Conservative Party could groom the Vicar of Bray to be the next Prime Minister!

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But Yogi’s selection has upset some of Modi’s followers. They were mesmerised by Modi’s development dreams. Now they advise Modi to be like Nehru or at least discipline the “foul-mouthed fanatics” in his party. These innocent columnists driven by their hatred of the Congress regime never understand where Modi came from.

They ignored Modi playing the religion card during his election campaign in U.P. Modi gathered more votes for his party by saying that the state government should provide equal patronage to the Hindu crematorium and Muslim grave yard. The implied political charge of Muslim appeasement against the state government was clear.

They say a person charged with inciting sectarian violence and facing criminal cases ought not to have been chosen, especially since Modi had made a lot of noise about decriminalising politics.

But Modi will dismiss with contempt this tiny section of his devotees displeased with him over the Yogi Adityanath affair. Their newspaper articles cannot shake Modi’s self-confidence. Hypothetically, today if Modi were to declare that in 50 days, he would make the sun rise in the west, hordes of his devotees in India, UK and America would hail him through the social media.

With appropriate gestures, he might explain how this New India to be transformed by his New Politics would help the poor. Also the New Sun God would stop appeasing the people of the Eastern India, infiltrators into the sacred nation from across the border! Tweets will blame the Congress Governments of the past for obstructing the change in solar trajectory!

After all, Modi is no ordinary man. He got a massive mandate by the people of India. In a democracy, that is the end of the argument.

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However, since arguments are still allowed in India, a Yogi becoming a ruler may lead to vigorous debate. Some Modi devotees may be looking for a verse in the sacred texts of Hinduism that sanctions the wielding of political power by a Yogi!

The Hinduism texts do contain contradictory statements, leaving scope for argumentation. A Vedic hymn questions even the Divine’s ability to know everything. That would be considered heretical in some other religions.

Are Hindus more spiritual than the westerners? Is the concept of monkhood different in Hinduism and Buddhism? If some Buddhist monks turned violent, why can’t the Hindu monks do the same? Why do the Jain monks refrain from hurting even the insects in the air and on the ground? Did Gandhi weaken the nation by preaching non-violence? Isn’t muscular Hinduism needed to fight the Islamic fundamentalism, as Yogi Adityanath keeps saying.

The Hinduism experts have to seek answers to such questions while political analysts may tell us whether the Yogi was chosen because he belongs to a dominant caste. Could a Hindu priest belonging to the small Brahmin community have been chosen in his place?

The academics joining the fray will invite hostile reaction of the kind that seeks to intimidate those historians and political scientists criticising sectarian rhetoric in India. The American scholars of Hinduism are more vulnerable as some recent events have shown. But they will be rewarded if they cite a sacred text justifying the Yogi becoming the king!

The view that the Hindu tradition marks a distinction between the spiritual and temporal power will be contested through cyber posts and You Tube videos. The Hollywood Hindus have been encouraged by the resurgence of Hindu nationalism in India now ruled by the “Emperor of Hindu Hearts”. They run a rapid response team to rubbish any criticism of Modi. Even devout Hindus committed to the nation’s secular Constitution are called “sickular” and “fake Hindus”.

Someone well-versed in the sacred literature of Hinduism rarely questions the political Hindus. One exception was the late Ramu Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, a teacher of philosophy. After the BJP’s movement to build a temple to Lord Ram at a place where Ram was born, Ramu Gandhi said in New Delhi that as per the Hindu tradition, the place where a baby is born is considered “impure” and thus a temple cannot be built there.

Ramu Gandhi’s argument did not convince the pious Hindus who demolished the mosque that was said to have been built in that place. Years ago, Ramu Gandhi got away with it, today a philosopher would hesitate to challenge a mob!

The Ram Temple issue has been hibernating. With the Yogi as the Chief Minister, the BJP will push it onto the front-burner. Modi has taken off his mask, at least temporarily. In the parliamentary election in 2019, Modi wishes to use the Yogi. So religious polarisation will be a continuing crusade.

If religious passions are inflamed, it is election time. This is what every regular visitor to India has come to know.

L K Sharma has followed no profession other than journalism for more than four decades, covering criminals and prime ministers. Was the European Correspondent of The Times of India based in London for a decade. Reported for five years from Washington as the Foreign Editor of the Deccan Herald. Edited three volumes on innovations in India. He has completed a work of creative nonfiction on V. S. Naipaul.  

Courtesy: Open Democracy