Saffronisation Agenda!

 

Although the initial euphoria over the Bharatiya Janata party opening its account south of Vindyas in Karnataka is on the wars and its central leadership caught between devil and deep sea with political and organizational unstability leading to change of three chief ministers in four years and 19 of its MLAs cross voting for Pranab Mukherjee in the just concluded Presidential elections.

However, instability in the governance of BJP did not impinge upon the saffronisation agenda of the Hindutva forces. Two recent developments indicate the scheme of the communal forces.

A reference book on festivals observed by ‘Indians’, prescribed by the BJP government in Karnataka for school libraries across the State, carries in it only those observed by Hindus. While 30 pages of ‘Bharatiyara Habba Haridinagalu’ (or Festivals of Indians) are dedicated to explaining Upakarma, there is not a single word on Ramzan, Good Friday, Buddha Purnima, or any non-Hindu festival celebrated in the country.

A December 2011 circular sent by the Directorate of State Educational Research and Training (DSERT) directs primary and high schools to buy at least one copy of the book for their library. At a voluminous 640 pages, the Kannada book written by Sri Sri Rangapriya, Sanskrit scholar and head of the Ashtangayoga Vijnana Mandiram, Hanumanthnagar, Bangalore, is priced at Rs. 500.

While the cover of the book primarily features Hindu iconography — the sage and the holy cow, ‘kalash’ (offerings given during a Hindu ritual), a temple gopura and devotees with hands joined in prayer — the rest of the book doesn’t deviate from the Hinduism theme.

The DSERT, in its circular, describes the contents of the book as “reflecting Indian culture”. Though the title says these are festivals celebrated by Indians, the book manages to cover only the major Hindu religious dates, 23 of them, besides mentioning birthdays of Hindu religious sages. From festivals such as Ugadi, Ramanavami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Deepavali, Mahashivaratri and Akshaya Tritiya to lesser-known ones such as Subbraya Shrasthi and Rathasaptami, and even religious days observed primarily by the upper castes, such as Chathurmasa, Upakarma, Ananthapadmanabha Vrath and Narasimha Jayanti, are given detailed descriptions in the book.

Why is it that Ramzan, Id-ul-Fitr, Christmas, Good Friday, Buddha Purnima, Mahaveer Jayanti and Guru Nanak Jayanti find no place in the book, asks Nooruddin Salmar of the Dakshina Kannada Congress Minority Committee. Salmar said the manner in which the order was quietly circulated, pointed to an increasing trend of saffronisation of education and emphasis on the Hindutva agenda seen under the Bharatiya Janata Party government. “Aren’t Muslims, Christians, Jains, Parsis and animist tribes also Indians? Is it right to teach schoolchildren that only Hindus are Indians,” he asked.

DSERT Director Rama Rao said the book was chosen after the directorate deemed it “educationally suitable” for students. “All the festivals mentioned in the book are celebrated pan-India. I don’t see why anyone has a problem with the title. One has to look at it with an open mind, and we believe the book to have adequate information for students to learn,” Rao said.

In another development, the Department of Revenue (Muzrai) has issued a circular to 34,000 temples under its control to conduct ‘abhishekha,’ ‘varuna mantra,’ ‘jalabhishekha’ and several other rituals. The circular has drawn flak from the Opposition, which has said the money meant for these rituals could have been allotted for relief work. Issued on July 19, the circular says the government is “convinced” that it is necessary to conduct these rituals in view of the severe drought, and “for the welfare of people and cattle.” Chief minister Jagadish Shettar may have declared that he is an atheist, but that's not going to alter a BJP government order on a special rain prayer.

The BJP government has set aside Rs 17.5 crore to be spent on prayers to invoke the gods to bless the state with rain, and counter the state's worst drought in 42 years, which has led to scarcity of drinking water. On July 20, the muzrai (religious endowment) department issued a circular to its 35,000 temples across the state to hold special pujas to propitiate the Rain Gods. The pujas, comprising Varuna Mantra, Jalabhisheka and Parjanya Japa, will be held on July 27 and August 2.

"We've released Rs 5,000 to each of the 35,000 temples to conduct special pujas on two different days,'' Muzrai Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary said. While Rs 5,000 appears to be a small amount, the overall prayer bill can do a great deal for those in the grip of drought.

Defending the government's stand in seeking divine intervention, Poojary said: "I strongly feel only God can help us from nature's fury. The pujas are being held not just for the welfare of the people but also livestock. I am confident the special pujas will bring prosperity to the entire state.'' Poojary said he would also appeal to churches and mosques to hold prayers for rain.

It's isn't just Poojary who is superstitious . He only appears to be following the footsteps of his predecessors, Es En Krissnaiah Setty and VS Acharya. As muzrai minister in 2008-09, Setty had ordered daily puja, distribution of Tirupati laddus and Ganga jal in all government temples for the welfare of the BJP government and former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa. An embarrassed Yeddyurappa had had the order withdrawn.

The government just doesn't seem to realize the gravity of the state's worst drought in 42 years. Instead of deploying every available resource to tackle the situation on the ground, one of its executive decisions is to sanction money for prayers in all temples across the state. While there's no harm in invoking divine intervention by non-governmantal bodies to alleviate the problem if it indeed helps, the sticky point is govt spending precious money for it. The same amount could well have been spent on concrete measures which could have wiped away a tear or two.

The government has sanctioned a maximum of Rs. 5,000 for each temple. This will amount to not less than Rs.17 crore. Temples in the A, B and C categories are expected to conduct the rituals on July 27 and August 2. The circular makes a particular mention of such prominent temples as Kollur Mookambika, Kukke Subrahmanya Swamy, Kateelu Durgaparmeshwari and Nanjangud Srikantheswara Swamy. Speaking on the drought in the Assembly, Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Revanna criticised the way the government was spending its funds.

Thanks to Yeddyurappa and Reddy Brothers the BJP’s claim of ‘a party with a difference’ bursted long back with scandals and cases and now with their saffronisation moves, the Hindutva party is destined to retreat northwards beyond vindyas!