The deep strategy behind the stupid ‘mytho-scientific’ statements of BJP leaders

Samvartha ‘Sahil’ | coastaldigest.com
April 19, 2018

Biplab Kumar Deb, the Chief Minister of Tripura, recently made a controversial comment which has since then gone viral and within a day has garnered support from many including the Governor of the state. Speaking at a Regional Workshop on Computerisation and Reforms at Pragna Bhawan in Agartala on April 17, 2018, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the internet was invented by India and substantiated his claim by explaining thus: "Internet and satellite communication had existed in the days of Mahabharata. How could Sanjaya (the charioteer of King Dhritarashtra in the epic) give a detailed account and description to the blind king about the battle of Kurukshetra? It means internet was there, the satellites and that technology were there in this country at that time.”

As expected the statement met great criticism where the social media went mad mocking the statement and extending it to severe jokes around the text of Mahabharata and the possible connections one could make to the details of the text with internet and satellite.

While on the surface it appears like an act of stupidity on the part of the BJP to be repeatedly making similar statements, if one has to think why the party members make such statements, even if they believe it to be true, again and again when every time their statements of this kind is laughed at mocked at and ridiculed.

What looks like an act of stupidity might be a strategy too, it appears.

The reason for me to arrive at this suspicion is simple: When someone from the Sangh Parivar makes such claims, within no time the critics of the BJP and the RSS along with some liberals come up with several memes and jokes which more than often appear like ridiculing the text of Mahabharata and Ramayana than actually ridiculing the BJP or the RSS. This to the majoritarian community members, including a lot of apolitical kinds, get a feeling that their religion is facing threat and is being disrespected. This sense of threat makes them extend their support to the BJP which claims to be for the safeguard of the majoritarian community. So when the saffronists make stupid statements and invite the opponents and liberals to respond to it, the chief beneficiary is the BJP and its mother institution the RSS.

This works for the BJP and the RSS as they wish because of the decades of work they have done by which they have politicized religion and more importantly historicized mythology and mystified history. Years of effort has not just made Ayodhaya, a historically not so significant pilgrimage centre for the Hindus, into a significant centre in the minds of the Hindus, but also linked the mythological texts of Mahabharata and Ramayana to the identity of Hindus. Though it was Anandavardhana who centuries ago first called the ‘kaavya’ of Mahabharata, a ‘shaastra’, bringing about a major shift in the way epics are perceived, it was the 20th century politics of the RSS which linked both Mahabharata and especially Ramayana, to the identity of the Hindus and also politicized religion and thus the texts. With that achieved now whenever who critiques the texts of Mahabharata and Ramayana or mocks at it, end up not just “hurting the religious sentiments” of Hindus, though neither of them are religious texts, but also cements the support of Hindus for the BJP.

The greatest tragedy of all this is the texts of Mahabharata and Ramayana becoming either a text to worship or ridicule. While the BJP and its supporters do a religious reading of the epics, the liberals and radicals do a very ideological reading of the epics. Both the extremes fail to see the texts as poetry, as an inquiry into the human existence. Both the extremes distort the inherent philosophy of the text. In this boxing ring we all have lost a poetry which has the ability to illuminate our lives.

If it’s the poetry which is lost in this tug of war, the clear cut winner is of course the BJP, which reaps the benefits also of the criticism that comes their way.

The radicals need to find ways in which the strategies of the BJP can be punctured; especially when it comes to texts such as Mahabharata and Ramayana. Else the valid and creative criticism of the ways in which the BJP looks at these texts will go a waste and only become a cause for strengthening the base of the BJP. While it is difficult now for the radicals to call out the BJP for distorting the epics by politicizing them, the least they can do and should do is not to fall into the trap and help the rightist ideology.

 

[Samvartha ‘Sahil’ is a freelance writer based out of Manipal, Karnataka. An alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune he has earlier worked as an academician at Manipal University and as a journalist with The Hindu. His book on the travel experiences in Jammu and Kashmir during the 2016 uprising is about to be published by the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi.]

Comments

Arron Menezes
 - 
Saturday, 12 May 2018

This is a  valid explanation. either i too dnt see any possible benefit in connecting religion to todays science.

there is one more point, negative publicity also makes more impact than positive one. ridiculing our epics will create impact as rightly said attacking religious views, and feeling of endangerment.

 

Indians are by and far religious in nature and anything spoken against, religion or god makes them offended. that negativity will subliminally helps to negate anything else to flurish. Reasoning becomes less when one is overwhelmed by negativity.

 

nice article. looking forward for more.

J. M.
 - 
Friday, 20 Apr 2018

seems like a typical left conspiracy theorist.

 

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

- Hanlons Razer

Hari
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

The reason behind the "fool decision" strategy is simple..

 

 
By those decision we may mock them, but wont protest against him. and he can easily divert people's attention from the actual issue/sim/trick

Xavier
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

Even Modi's intention is different.. actually they making us fool by pretending as fools. That Digital money issue proves their hidden agenda. He made Paytm owner a richer guy by  one night.

Danish
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

Great observation.. good job sahil

Kumar
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

True.. Some fools might be there in BJP but party wont consist fully with only fools

Ganesh
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

I felt the same. They are making us fool

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News Network
March 10,2020

Pathnamthitta, Mar 10: A man under observation for suspected coronavirus infection at the isolation ward of the district hospital here fled, but was tracked and brought back within hours. The man was among those who had interacted with the three-member family who returned from Italy and have tested positive for the virus.

Pathnamthitta district collector PB Nooh said one person, who was under observation at the general hospital had escaped but was later tracked and brought back. "If even a single person under observation goes out, it is a threat. This is a public hazard".

The one excercise which the health authorities have to undertake on Tuesday is to see how many people had come incontact with this person after he left the hospital. There is need to isolate those people with whom he mayhave come into contact, the collector said "This is the timeto behave in a very socially responsible manner".

With six positive cases being reported, the state government has already warned that stringent action would be taken against those flouting the directions of the health department. Health Minister K K Shailaja has warned that those coming from COVID19 affected nations, should report to authorities on arrival in the state, failing which a case would be registered against them under the Public Health Act.

A 3-member family, which had come from Italy recently and had tested positive along with two of their relatives had not reported their arrival to the authorities, health officials said.

At least 733 people who had come in contact with them have been tracked, the collector said and have been placed under observation. While 18 have been admitted to isolation wards in hospital the remaining are under home surveillance.

A two-year-old child is among those under obsevation at the isolation ward, health department sources said. The tracking excercise would continue on Wednesday also.

Meanwhile, an awareness class was held for migrant workers at Pathnamthitta district this morning. However, no directions have been issued to workers fromother states to leave the state. "We are planning to give extra care to migrant workerswith labour officer visiting their colonies and as part of theawareness drive and speaking to them in a language theyunderstand," he said.

A three-year-old boy, who arrived with his parents in Kochi from Italy, tested positive on Monday, a day after three people, also with travel history from the European nation,were declared positive for the virus along with two of their relatives.

The Health Minister has said surveillance system would be stregthened with the support of ASHA workers, civic authorities and ward members and resident associations. Presently, 1,116 people are under surveillance in thestate for the corona virus, 967 in home quarantine and 149 in isolation wards of hospitals. Two 90-year-old relatives of the Pathnamthitta family, who tested positive, have been admitted to Kottayam medicalcollege hospital and their samples have been sent for testing, she said. "If they test positive for the virus, it would be highlyrisky", she had said.

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News Network
January 24,2020

Newsroom, Jan 24: BJP leader and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje has been booked by Kerala police over a misleading and communally provocative social media post.

Karandlaje had tweeted that that Hindus from a colony in Kuttipuram in Malappuram district were denied water supply as they supported the the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 

"Kerala is taking baby steps to become another Kashmir. Hindus of Kuttipuram Panchayat of Malappuram was denied water supply as they supported #CAA2019. #SevaBharati has been supplying water ever since. Will Lutyens telecast this intolerance of PEACEFULS frm God's Own Country!?," she tweeted. 

A case has been booked under section 153(A) of IPC (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc). Karandlaje took to Twitter to slam the Kerala government, and said it had lodged a complaint against her instead of acting against the discrimination faced by dalit families of Cherukunnu. 

"It is high time the society unites against these pressure tactics of a non-performing, biased left government," she said. 

Karandlaje claimed that the CAA had been accepted by both houses of Parliament and people supporting the Act were facing boycott in business and were being denied basic amenities and jobs. "The CPI(M) government is blind to all these incidents across Kerala, but files a case against me for speaking the truth!" she retorted.

According to reportage from multiple outlets, the colony in Malappuram district's Kuttippuram was dependent on a private individual for water; then came accusations that they were denied the water for attending BJP's pro-CAA rally. 

A resident of the colony was quoted by a newspaper, “We were denied drinking water because our husbands participated in a meeting organised to gather support for the CAA. Some people told the family that they should not give drinking water to us because CAA is a threat to the people in their community.” 

However, the individual in question denied the accusation, claiming a lack of water because of technical issues.

The case was registered after a complaint by lawyer Subhash Chandran, a resident of Malappuram. Aravindan E.A., SI of Kuttippuram police, said, "From a private person's borewell, water was being provided to the people of the colony. This motor had taken for agricultural work and he was recently issued a warning by State Electricity Board. He was told that if he uses the motor for any other purpose, power supply would be disconnected. He then had stopped using the pump following the crisis worsened.”

Comments

Vishwas
 - 
Friday, 24 Jan 2020

This is BJP's usual drama. If your bloody seva bharathi people denied water, there is strong govt and youths to provide water. and other facilities

Yashwantha
 - 
Friday, 24 Jan 2020

Sobhakka's adhika prasanga wont work in kerala. She should visit kerala and experience. She can only boast via social media

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News Network
July 17,2020

Mysuru, Jul 17: Deputy Commissioner Abhiram G Sankar has ordered a partial lockdown in the City of Palaces Mysuru due to the increase in number of Covid-19 cases day by day.

As per the order, the lockdown will be in force from 0600 hours today till 0600 hours on July 24 at N R, Udayagiri, Lashkar and Mandi Mohalla Police limits in the city. In addition, it has decided to lockdown 400 meters from the house where Covid-19 patients have died.

The order further states that all the religious gatherings are prohibited and only parcel service is available to hotels.  Movement of vehicles is also prohibited but in emergency cases, it may be allowed.  Employees and people on essential services can go to work after producing their ID cards.

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