Madhya Pradesh:
Lengthening
Trident Shadows
By Ram Puniyani
17 September, 2005
Countercurrents.org
In
a public function held in Jabalpur, M.P. (Sept. 2005) five thousand
trishuls were distributed under the leadership Mr. Pravin Togadia of
Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The function was organized by Bajarang Dal, an
affiliate of RSS. In the meeting a pledge was administered, which stated
that all will be done to bring in the Hindu Rashtra.
The previous Congress
government had put a ban on trishul diksha and with the BJP Government
coming to power the ban has been lifted. Many a places Mr. Togadia's
entry has been banned so far as his speeches heat up the atmosphere
of communal hatred. Trishul Diksha has been devised by VHP as a mechanism
to use religious cultural symbols for political mobilization of Hindutva.
During the period of Rath Yatra the use of stickers like 'Garv se Kaho
Hum Hindu hain' and the one of Lord Ram with an aggressive posture were
used with effect not only to mobilize Hindus but also to intimidate
the minorities.
The Hindu right
has been cleverly using the symbols and imageries to polarize the communities
and one recalls its culmination in the post rath yatra communal violence,
demolition of Babri Msajid and
horrific riots in Mumbai, Surat and Bhopal. The use of symbols with
religious resemblance has been the strength of RSS progeny. Just to
recall few more in this direction, one has been the popularization of
Vinayaka idols and Ganapati festival in South, the other being Hanuman
and Shabri festivals in the Adivasi areas. Most of these act to give
the cultural channels especially to Dalits and adivasis to co-opt them
into Hindutva fold. The choice of Hanuman and Shabri for adivasis gives
a very precise message of their place in the Hindu fold.
It is being said
that Trishul is a part of Hindu religious tradition. Interestingly one
never heard of Trishul Diksha earlier. It is a political innovation
by VHP. Earlier Trishul has been a symbol associated with Lord Shiva,
it was not meant for use in social gatherings. It was mostly used while
traveling to
pilgrimage sites and also by the sadhus. Its role is not similar to
that of Kripan, which is amongst the five basic ingredients of Sikhism.
The Trishul designed by VHP and used for mass distribution is a disguised
knife with sharp edges which have more of destructive potential.
Madhya Pradesh has
been having BJP Government off and on. It also has a deep and powerful
network of RSS shakhas, Bajrang dal offices and Vanvasi Kalyan Ashrams,
the latter spread in the adivasi areas. It is here in Jhabua that attempt
was made to give a communal color to the rape and murder of a young
girl by a miscreant in the campus of a Christian school. It was in Jhabua
region again that the intimidation of Missionaries has been intense
on various pretexts. The main grudge has been the activities of missionaries
in the remote places. In one of the trips to Jhabau region, where the
alleged conversions are going on, the writer of these lines was made
to realize the real motive behind the attacks on Missionaries. One of
the Principals of the missionary schools told an interesting episode.
His school is located in a township where, as is usually the case, many
RSS supporters also send their children for studying, as a matter of
choice. Same RSS supporters allege that the missionaries are doing the
conversion work through their schools in remote area. The Principal
told that one such parent of a child invited him for a dinner. In the
after dinner talk he appreciated the Principal's work in educating the
children. But he also pointed out that the schools in cities and town
places are OK but why should the missionaries open the schools in the
remote places to educate those 'animals', meaning adivasis! The real
reason for opposing these activities happens to be to oppose this empowerment
of adivasis through education, which is not much to the liking of the
Hindutva forces.
The coming to power
of BJP Government in MP has opened the gates for intrusion of Hindutva
in its full aggressive mode. This Govt. first with Uma Bharati as the
CM brought in Cows and Sants in the physical vicinity of the rulers.
Cow based economy was envisaged as a panacea for the economic ills of
the state. With Bharati's Tiranga Yatra and her resignation, which came
as a big respite for BJP, as any way Bharati had become a good deal
of embarrassment for the party. Later Babulal Gaur stepped in. For various
reasons, to win over the patron ship of RSS, to keep his seat safe from
Bharati, Gaur treaded the safe path of handing over the policy making
department to RSS, which now is determined to convert MP into another
laboratory of Hindutva, a la Gujarat. First the Government went on to
ensure that Vande Matram is brought in, in offices and schools. The
activities of Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram have been stepped up in the Adivasi
areas. With this tirshul diksha the intensity of the communal polarization
will go up tremendously. The issue is not just the insecurity of minorities;
the issue is of violation of the basic norms of democratic society,
law and order. The mass distribution of knives, disguised as religious
symbols, will step up the violent psychology and intensify the polarization
of communities.
It is precisely
here that prior to election the Bhojashala-Maula Masjid issue was brought
up for electoral purposes. The anti Christian violence unleashed in
Jhabua-Meghnangar region had paid dividends and BJP got good deal of
electoral advantage. While the BJP government is ruling, the RSS affiliates
have got a free hand to intensify their Hindutva agenda. MP has traveled
a far way during last year and a half.
The intense violence
in Gujarat was preceded by a period of BJP rule in Gujarat where the
VHP, Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram had a free run. The issue of conversion
and terrorism was manipulated to doctor the social psychology, and the
emotional distances between the communities. The culmination of this
into the violence and later ghettoisation, this has become a 'model'
pattern of Hindutva politics. What begins as innocuous sounding phenomenon
gradually takes the direction of dividing communities along religious
lines. It is conceded that BJP led NDA government at the center did
provided the cover to the local BJP government in its communalization
of society but even before the full fledged pogrom was launched by Modi
and company the religious divide in the state was extreme. The communal
violence played the role of driving the permanent wedge in the same.
Despite the claims to contrary the society in Gujarat is getting vertically
split with emotional ghettoisation preceding the physical ghettoisation.
The process in MP is going on in the similar lines and this trishul
diksha is yet another step in the ongoing process. Hope the central
government wakes up in time to put brakes on this divisive process being
permitted by Babulal Gaur Government.