In this weird India, bizarre scenes are witnessed daily. Words of wisdom come from a villager in Haryana. He says what a scholar could have said: “Modi ji, Hinduism continued to survive centuries of foreign rule because religion was not associated with the ruler. If it were associated with a Prime Minister or President or King, it would have died after his departure. So please keep it out of your politics!”
Consecrated in Ayodhya as Dev-Raja (god-king), Narendra Modi returned to his office in New Delhi to ostensibly clear the files piled up due to his temple-hopping. Some humans had accorded him divine status. A Ram Janmabhoomi Trust official declared that Modi is Lord Vishnu’s avatar. Modi’s idol was installed in the first Modi Mandir some years ago. If there is a parliament of Hindu Gods, they may formally welcome a new entrant into their fraternity.
Scholars say the concept of God-King is rooted in the indigenous tradition. They used to say this about democracy. It has been said that history is a fluid creature and is easily contaminated. Authoritarian regimes edit and airbrush history books as the key to political legitimacy.
The narratives about the Babri Mosque and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement validate this view.
The prime minister has emerged as an object of veneration. L.K. Advani, BJP’s one-time top leader, said Modi was chosen by God as his instrument for the Ayodhya event. “God’s instrument” is a term used by Modi for himself in his election speeches. Time and again, he highlights his connection with the Divine. He hears the call of the Divine. One widely circulated poster shows the life-sized Modi escorting child Ram back to the temple.
The Union Cabinet members joined in the worship of the Mahamanav – superman – who presides over their meetings. They expressed their feeling of spiritual bliss “aatmic anand” flowing from Modi’s feat. They adopted a resolution calling Modi the harbinger of a new era who achieved what the Indian civilisation had dreamt of for 500 years.
Some called Modi the “fifth Shankaracharya” because he took the prime position at the religious ceremony. This goes against a basic tenet of Hinduism that each person should follow his or own dharma, specific duty, and conduct. The king should follow his raj dharma and a priest or saint should do his religious duties. But in this strange scenario, religious leaders are making political statements and a prime minister is lecturing on religious matters and talking of the divine.
Modi mobilised the people all over India by calling upon them to light diyas on January 22. The BJP wants the “return” of Ram to be remembered by the masses till the coming parliamentary elections. Modi thinks big. He says the day will be remembered for a thousand years.
In his speech at the consecration, Modi talked of the “Kalachakra”. He did not explain whether it was simply a reference to the Wheel of Time or to the intricate Buddhist tantric practice. Modi’s speech writer must have studied the generation stage of this practice involving the visualisation of oneself as a deity within the context of a mandala. There is no interest in complex theology, so Kalachakra is not discussed in social media.
The Ayodhya spectacle was organised on a grand scale. The state played a big role. It deployed thousands of folk artistes to entertain the guests. Half a day’s holiday was declared by government offices on January 22. Devotional songs were played on the TV channels and through loudspeakers. Life-size cut-outs of Modi were seen hanging on the roadside poles. Millions of saffron flags were waved with exultation and with hostility towards “the other”. Knowing what Modi stands for, they demonstrated fake religiosity on roads and in colonies without fearing police action.
A wave of triumphalism led them to shout provocative slogans in front of Muslims in Mumbai which led to violent clashes. Some mosques attracted mobs shouting that every child must say “Jai Shri Ram.” A gag asked the government to build more mosques because what Ram devotees like most is to chant outside mosques. Elsewhere, Ram devotees climbed atop a church and planted a saffron flag above the cross. A set pattern of organised lumpenisation and religious polarisation marks Indian democracy. Mobocracy is no longer a dirty word….
https://thewire.in/communalism/modis-strange-india-of-celebrations-and-superstition
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Of Shankaracharyas and Cameracharyas
Ramachandra Guha on the Chief Justice, Mahatma Gandhi and Saffron Robes
The idea of Ram and the idea of India
मध्यमार्ग का अवसान: दिलीप सिमियन (EPW, November 2014)
After the truth-shower 