New Delhi veers to the seers
There’s no doubt about it.
May 26 will be remembered as the day saffron returned centre-stage. The swearing-in ceremony on Monday underlined the significance of sadhus and seers to the new political regime.
Most of them were seated in the front row picked up by the TV cameras. Sri Sri Ravishankar who is perceived to be sympathetic to Narendra Modi, Ramesh Ojha who has the Ambanis among his disciples, Ramdev's second-in command Acharya Balkrishna and Bhaiyyuji Maharaj were prominent. VHP leader Ashok Singhal and Sadhvi Ritambhara, who shot to prominence in the 1990s because of ‘fiery speeches’ during the Ram Mandir movement, were seated in the second row. We saw RSS leader Indresh Kumar, who had appeared in Delhi's CBI headquarters in Delhi last week in connection for his alleged role in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast.
We noticed how Rajnath Singh, the new home minister, was seen touching the feet of some of these ‘saffron saints’ and leaders. What sort of message does this send out? Personally, I find this really worrisome, given the additional fact that a man who is widely believed to have instigated violence against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh has been inducted into the new council of Ministers.
TV viewers would have heard two slogans that rent the evening air: Vande Mataram and Bharat mata ki jai. You couldn’t have missed a third one: ‘Jai Shri Ram!’, one of the lead slogans in the Ram Janambhoomi movement leading to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.
The presence of the conservative Hindu right in such large numbers and the respectful treatment meted out to them emphasized the umbilical cord between the BJP and the RSS/VHP is very much intact. There will be no radical break from the past, just a calibrated adjustment.
The presence of rightist elements at centre stage- be they Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Buddhist- unfortunately has meant a raw deal for the minorities - especially those who are on the fringes, such as the LGBT community, the rationalists, and so on.
It is also worrisome for the moderates and the liberals, and those who maintain that religious practice should remain in the private realm, and should not impinge upon the rule of law and human rights.
May 26 will be remembered as the day saffron returned centre-stage. The swearing-in ceremony on Monday underlined the significance of sadhus and seers to the new political regime.
Most of them were seated in the front row picked up by the TV cameras. Sri Sri Ravishankar who is perceived to be sympathetic to Narendra Modi, Ramesh Ojha who has the Ambanis among his disciples, Ramdev's second-in command Acharya Balkrishna and Bhaiyyuji Maharaj were prominent. VHP leader Ashok Singhal and Sadhvi Ritambhara, who shot to prominence in the 1990s because of ‘fiery speeches’ during the Ram Mandir movement, were seated in the second row. We saw RSS leader Indresh Kumar, who had appeared in Delhi's CBI headquarters in Delhi last week in connection for his alleged role in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast.
We noticed how Rajnath Singh, the new home minister, was seen touching the feet of some of these ‘saffron saints’ and leaders. What sort of message does this send out? Personally, I find this really worrisome, given the additional fact that a man who is widely believed to have instigated violence against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh has been inducted into the new council of Ministers.
TV viewers would have heard two slogans that rent the evening air: Vande Mataram and Bharat mata ki jai. You couldn’t have missed a third one: ‘Jai Shri Ram!’, one of the lead slogans in the Ram Janambhoomi movement leading to the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992.
The presence of the conservative Hindu right in such large numbers and the respectful treatment meted out to them emphasized the umbilical cord between the BJP and the RSS/VHP is very much intact. There will be no radical break from the past, just a calibrated adjustment.
The presence of rightist elements at centre stage- be they Hindu, Muslim, Christian or Buddhist- unfortunately has meant a raw deal for the minorities - especially those who are on the fringes, such as the LGBT community, the rationalists, and so on.
It is also worrisome for the moderates and the liberals, and those who maintain that religious practice should remain in the private realm, and should not impinge upon the rule of law and human rights.
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