A large number of Indians are ritualistic, when it comes to their religious practices.
There is nothing wrong in being ritualistic, but one needs to have a probing mind to find the reasons behind the rituals and whether there is a need to review some of the rituals, which may be irrelevant now.
The rituals, which they see as children and soon start following them. The practice of these rituals moulds the minds in a way that they end up being ritualistic in various aspects of life, especially when it comes to political beliefs. People follow rituals in politics and while worshipping political leaders, even if they are betrayed by the party and its leaders.
More individuals are reacting to the Hindenburg report than those who have been named in the report! For the individuals raising their voice against the Hindenburg report, it is a ritual to defend Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sane minds would seek a thorough and unbiased probe by Indian agencies into the allegations against the Adanis and the Buch couple. The allegations are of a serious nature, not only violating Indian laws, but also adversely affecting the health of our national economy. This is not seen by the blind followers who support Modi and his party; while doing so, they are also supporting Gautam Adani and his cronies.
Many states in the country have their historical icons, who are worshipped or praised more in a ritualistic manner, without inculcating their teachings and the lessons we are supposed to learn from the lives of such personalities. Rather, the behaviour of most followers of such personalities is contrary to their teachings or lives. A case in point is that of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Almost all political parties in Maharashtra swear by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, but some parties have other political icons including Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj, Jyotiba and Savitribai Phule and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, just to name a few. But four political parties in the state — the two factions of the Shiv Sena, the BJP and the Navanirman Sena (MNS) — primarily owe their political allegiance to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and he is also adored and worshipped more in a ritualistic manner. These parties also adore Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and ironically worship him ritualistically, though he was himself against rituals.
Both Shivaji Maharaj and Savarkar are not followed selectively, ignoring some of the other traits of their personalities.
A few incidents in the state in the recent past, not only expose, how these for political parties use Shivaji Maharaj’s name as a ritual and also how leaders of these parties are far from gender equality; rather, time and again they insult women by considering them to be weaklings.
Primarily the leaders and followers of the four political parties mentioned cannot stand criticism of their party or its leaders, even when the criticism is based on facts.
It is a shame that Raj Thackeray, the leader of the MNS, who is a very good cartoonist and as such criticises others through his cartoons, cannot tolerate criticism against him and the same is the case of his blind followers. The political moves by Raj Thackeray, especially since the setting up of his party, have been questionable as his new moves are diagonally opposite to the previous ones, raising doubts about his political credibility. He has a sizeable following in the state, going by the crowds at his public meetings, but that does not get converted into electoral success. It could be that most of those crowding at his rallies, come for the free entertainment — political tamasha — that they get from Thackeray.
Rival political leaders have been alleging that Raj Thackeray puts up candidates in various elections, primarily at the best of the BJP to help break into the rival vote bank, to enable candidates of the BJP and its allies, to win the election.
The term used for this is supari, a tradition followed in Maharashtra to give one’s word or take a contract to fulfil a task, by taking or breaking a supari (betel nut). The underworld does that to carry out killings, hence the term supari killing (contract killing).
The members of the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray attacked the motorcade of Raj Thackeray, by pelting the cars with supari. The throwing of betel nuts at the cars is an act of violence and should have been avoided. Protests need to be peaceful.
In retaliation, the followers of MNS attacked Uddhav Thackeray’s motorcade, pelting it with coconuts, cow dung and bangles. This too has to be condemned. The throwing of bangles at the motorcade and at Uddhav Thackeray is an insult to Shivaji Maharaj as much as it is to women in general and the women in the Maratha king’s life.
Bangles, worn by women, are often seen as a sign of weakness, with a presumption that women are fit only for limited tasks of home management, hence the supposedly denigrating phrase in Indian languages, “Wear bangles”.
Those who threw bangles at Uddhav Thackeray are those who swear in the name of Shivaji Maharaj and forget the role played by Jijamata and Tarabai, the mother and daughter-in-law respectively of Shivaji Maharaj. Jijamata is credited with the training and the upbringing she gave to her son, who went on to become the Maratha King and challenged the Mughal, British and the Portuguese.
His daughter-in-law, the wife of Rajaram, fought the Mughals in the battlefield, earning praise for her valour, even from those in the court of Mughal King Aurangzeb, against whom she went to war.
Even foreign rulers may not have insulted Shivaji Maharaj the way the leaders and members of Shiv Sena, BJP and MNS do.
The Maratha king was known for his hold over the administration, but Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reacted to the act on Uddhav Thackeray stating that every action has a reaction, forgetting that it is his duty as the head of the administration to prevent violent reactions.
The author is a senior journalist and media trainer. He tweets at @a_mokashi
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