Author: A.R.Kanangi
Publication: Afternoon Despatch
& Courier
Date: January 17, 2004
Introduction: To many Chhatrapati
Shivaji is a great hero - almost divine. They feel disturbed and threatened
when some foreigner comes, and like a gutter inspector, looks for the dirt
in the drain and writes a book.
It was written: the earth is flat.
And when that enterprising, imaginative Italian Gallelio found and provided
proof that the earth was round, he was tortured. Not physically - that
was not necessary. He was shown the torture chambers and different gadgets
used for inflicting pain. That was enough. He could visualise it all.
And the hapless man was forced to
say he was wrong. The earth is not round, it is flat.
He had made an inconvenient discovery.
Those who wanted to spread the religion world-wide were embarrassed. The
book had the final word. How can anything in it be changed?
Such revealing, damaging disclosures
are made all the time, in all countries of the world. Someone with a rational
or scientific bent of mind comes out with embarrassing statement - rocking
the edifice, the system, the comfortably ensconced establishment. There
are tears in the eyes of images of saints; there are gods installed in
places of worship who drink milk. What is astonishing is that a large number
of people swear they see the tears flowing down the cheeks of beloved saints,
see god drinking milk. Mass hypnotism, the rationalists will say.
How can one explain this phenomenon?
For those who believe no explanation
is necessary and for those who do not, no explanation is possible.
Faith. That is the important thing.
And faith is absolutely essential
for those who do not think, who do not want to think, who cannot think.
Years ago, I was present at the
gathering of village folks discussing some episodes in the Ramayana. There
was unbelievably frank discussion on the role of Rama, Sita and Ravana.
Make no mistake, they were all firm believers in God Rama but maybe they
wanted confirmation and removal of doubts. One of them said Rama was not
a just king. On the basis of a chance remark made by a dhobi, how could
he have imposed a death sentence on Sita? That was a death sentence, since
she was to be left in a frightening forest with hungry wild animals. The
explanation given was that God Rama knew what was going to happen and that
his beloved wife Sita would be safe. Everyone was satisfied with the answer.
And then, there was this issue about Ravana, a handsome, extraordinarily
intelligent man being branded as evil. He did could have tried to rape
Sita, but he did not. He wanted to win her over. Explanation: nothing of
the sort. There was a divine line round the tree where she sat which none
could cross. An unbeliever said: "How could she have sat under a tree in
Colombo during the rainy season?"
What I am trying to say is that
we should never attack the faith of people. They get confused, disturbed,
threatened when we do so. Life is a mystery and reason and logic is not
everything. There are things beyond logic and reason, beyond the comprehension
of man.
It is better that we do not tell
the truth in situations where faith is involved.
Faith helps people to get a crutch
- to get meaning, to get an illusion that sustains on earth. The great
warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji is admired all over the country and more so
in Maharashtra. He has become a symbol. People do not want to hear anything
unpleasant or derogatory about him.
What happened at the Bhandarkar
Oriental Research Institute was unfortunate, but it was perhaps inevitable.
A foreigner does some research there, and then writes a book on Shivaji.
There are some objectionable passages in the book. So some persons, hurt
and disturbed, attack the institute.
The angry people's target may not
be right: the institute is said to be doing useful research. It is open
to all. It certainly was not the fault of the institute.
These foreigners have an undesirable
way of coming to India and like gutter inspectors (Mahatma Gandhi's description)
look for the dirt in our drains. Quite a few of them are uncivilised.
They should leave us alone - to
our own faiths, illusions. Every man must have space to work out his own
salvation.
And truth can be a lie - quite often.
Sonia Gandhi is smiling
Her face was like that of a sphinx.
She wore a hard expression all the time. There was that arrogance in the
face - a clear indication of insecurity, lack of self- confidence.
There was no smile in that face.
The smile that opens the inner self
to the world.
For the first time in her life,
she had to play the role of a leader. She must have tried to copy Indira
Gandhi. She really did not know how to go about it. See the way she walks
- fast like her mother-in-law. And she must have thought that opening her
mouth would be a give-away.
Eleven states ruled by the Congress.
Majority in the Rajya Sabha. Senior, experienced leaders recognising her
as the boss - cringing and crawling before her.
And then the shock came. A shattering
blow. She must have felt the ground giving in at her feet. The assembly
rout in three important states - Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh
must have made her realistic.
The BJP was riding on a wave of
success. The Congress setback has begun. The coalition strategy of the
BJP is likely to further its chances in the ensuing parliamentary elections.
She must have realised it was time
to get down the high horse and reach out to leaders of small but crucial
states. Leaders like Sharad Pawar - her arch enemy.
She realised she had to swallow
the humble pie and reach out to the man without whose assistance, Congress
does not have much chance in Maharashtra and the northern states.
She appears to have clinched a mutually
beneficial deal with him.
And smiling, she offered a bouquet
to BSP leader Mayawati on her birthday. The two women are likely to hit
it out well in Uttar Pradesh. Their rapport may grow so much, that the
Congress will ditch Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav and bring about the fall of
his government - and thus make way for the return of Ms. Mayawati.
And she is beaming her charming
smile towards the southern state of Tamil Nadu and trying to tie her party's
knot with the DMK. But Karunanidhi does not seem to be willing. Why must
he enter into an alliance with the Congress which is a non-entity in the
state? He gains precious little by allying with the Congress.
But Sonia Gandhi will not give up.
She has won over her arch enemy Sharad Pawar. At the press briefing after
their talks, it was not she but Mr. Sharad Pawar who did all the talking.
And like the true diplomat he is, he said nothing.
And Sonia stood beside him - shy
and smiling.
The arrogance is gone. Sonia is
smiling.