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Sri Sri Show: It is the Politics, Stupid!

Author: Prakash Nanda
Publication: IBNLive.com
Date: March 10, 2016
URL:   http://www.ibnlive.com/blogs/india/prakash-nanda/sri-sri-show-it-is-the-politics-stupid-14452-1214457.html

So, the three-day World Culture festival, organised by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's Art of Living on the bank of the river Yamuna in Delhi will go on now that the National Green Tribunal has cleared it. Predictably, the opponents of the programme are extremely disappointed. But in my considered view they are disappointed not for the setback to the cause of environment for which they were opposing the event but for their eventual political failure to nail the Modi government down.

I am not saying that all of those opposed to the event had political motives, but majority of them happened to be usual Modi-bashers. No wonder why the Modi government was taken to the task for associating itself with the event by the Congress, Communists and their new-found friend JD(U) of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in the Parliament on Wednesday (February 9).

The only notable opposition that did not join the bandwagon against Modi was the AAP of Arvind Kejriwal. May be that was because of the fact that some of its ministers in Delhi government had been followers of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar; in fact, one of them had written to the defence minister Manohar Parrikkar to order the Army to construct an additional floating bridge across the river for the event!

Let us see the points that have been raised ostensibly against holding of the event. The most important one here deals with the prospects of the environmental hazards that it will ruin the eco-system of the river bed, that trees have been cut, and that the sanitary arrangements for an event attracting more than three lakh people will further pollute the already polluted Yamuna river.

The second argument is that the Modi government is helping the organisers, first through the Ministry of Culture's financial contributions and secondly by the Army that has built two floating bridges in connection with the event.

The third argument, and this a corollary of the above point, is that by promoting the event, the Modi-government is further saffronising the Indian culture; in the opinion of many such opponents, Sri Sri is essentially a Hindu saint, who, like Baba Ram Dev (strictly speaking he is no saint but a Yoga guru), is an important pillar of the present Modi regime's Hindutva brigade.

It may be noted here that in April 2014, the Congress party had formally requested the Election Commission to keep a close tab on the RSS, Baba Ramdev and Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, saying they have been conducting political activities (all helping the BJP) "without being registered as a political party". The complaint was lodged by one KC Mittal, secretary of Congress' legal and human rights department.

For me, this argument is the weakest among the three in the sense that for the Congress there is no problem if Syed Ahmed Bukhari, Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid, campaigns for it. If Bukhari's campaign for the Congress or any other non-BJP party is no problem, why should it be a problem for it if Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar advocate for the BJP.

This approach is nothing but the reflection of perverse secularism that is being practiced in our polity. And that is why it is such a weak argument. But I have cited it to make the point that the opposition to the event is essentially political. I doubt that had it not been Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Opposition leader in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad would not have been so vocal in demanding a ban on the event in the Rajya Sabha, duly supported by "secular" leaders like K C Tyagi and Sitaram Yechury.

And this precisely is the reason why the other two factors cited against the event lack credibility. If preservation of the eco-system of the Yamuna is such a big issue, then how can one explain the then Congress government building a huge complex of the Commonwealth village for the much "corrupt" Commonwealth games?

Incidentally, the event organised by the Art of Living is on the opposite side of the village, the only difference being that whereas the structures for the event are temporary and will be demolished, that of the village are permanent, situated on one of the most seismically sensitive zones of the national capital.

Preservation of environment is always a noble cause. But then India's history and culture have been such that there are many instances of compromise between environment and religious practices. River beds, considered auspicious for many faiths, have been exploited over centuries for their festivals and ceremonies.

The age-old issue, therefore, has been not to stop these activities but to minimise their adverse ecological impacts as much as possible and to replenish the earth. And that explains why we cannot ban the "Kumbh Melas" (that attracts millions) on the bank of the river Ganga in Allahabad from time to time. And that explains why cannot prohibit "the Maramon Convention", one of the largest Christian conventions in Asia (organised by Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association, the missionary wing of the Mar Thoma Church), which is held at Maramon, Pathanamthitta, Kerala, annually during the month of February on the vast sand-bed of the Pampa River next to the Kozhencherry Bridge. These instances are illustrative, not exhaustive.

And that brings the factor of the involvement of the government (the State, speaking strictly in terms of political science) in such functions. These functions may have religious overtones, but they have also turned out to be cultural or ways of life, involving or attracting people of all faiths and sects. The government, therefore, steps in. Financial help to such events by the government is not uncommon. It may also be noted in this context that on a smaller scale, the Presidents and Prime Ministers often host private functions, but we do not here criticisms on that score. For instance, few years ago President Pranab Mukherjee hosted inside "Rashtrapati Bhavan", an award ceremony for "the-25-greatest-global-living-legends", organised by the NDTV, a private media house. How many among the present protestors did raise their voice then?

As regards the use of the security agencies (Police and the Army) and their assets for facilitating such events, it is a natural phenomenon as they are involved for the safety and other facilities of the huge crowds (general public) that these events attract. Crowd-control is one of the basic mandates of the Police, whether it is a private or the government function.

Similarly, the services of the Army are often requisitioned by the Civil Authorities (in this case it was formally requested by the Delhi government). As per guidelines, under "Aid to Civil Authorities", the Army can be requisitioned for assistance in maintenance of law and order, natural calamities and development of projects, among others.

The Army has built floating bridges for similar occasions in the past elsewhere; the most wellknown example has been building two pontoon bridges to get across the Yamuna river and also building the roads leading to the pontoon bridges for the Yanni concert (Greek composer Yanni has spent his adult life in the United States.) for three consecutive nights from 20 to 22 March 1997 at India's iconic monument Taj Mahal (The spectacular concerts were staged at the back-side of Taj Mahal on a stage with sitting arrangement in the middle of the river Yamuna on a sandbar that took nearly two years to complete).

As I am finishing this piece, a young Facebook friend has sent me a scanned paper clipping of the Hindu Newspaper dated January 22, 2005. It contains a report of then Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh attending the "festival of Blessings" programme addressed by the American evangelist Benny Hinn, despite vehement protest by the BJP and other Sangh Parivar organisations over the past week. What was the BJP opposing then? It was opposing the permission for the prayer meeting that was held in the land owned by the Indian Air Force!

In sum, what is real reason for opposing the Art of Living's event? The answer – "it is the Politics, Stupid!" Environmental concerns just happen to be an alibi.
 
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