Sonia’s Waterloo

The Afghan Taliban destroyed the Bamyan Buddhas quite openly and in full view of the entire world. The state sponsored destruction of Hindu temples in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh is being conducted stealthily and under a variety of pretexts through the agency of state organizations such as the ASI (Archeological Survey of India),the State Departments of Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE).

The chilling account of this process is documented and presented by Shri V.Sundaram in his article ‘ Paramount outcry against state-sponsored temple destruction’ (Haindava Keralam,12/07/2010). There are many colourful pictures of the beautiful temples that
are being defaced and destroyed. The details of the process are impressively catalogued by the author. And the pictures tell their story. The rubble that lies around the deliberately hammered stone walls is only one example.

The process is taking place in Tamil Nadu (run by the anti Hindu clown) and Andhra Pradesh, where till recently the Chief Minister was a Christian convert. That fact speaks to his administration’s indifference (and possibly collusion with the Centre) to the fate of the temples some of which are considered by UNESCO to be World Heritage Sites and all of them extraordinary exemplars of temple architecture.

Says Shri Sundaram:

“In the name of conservation many valuable inscriptions,pillars, mandapams, shrines and specimens of invaluable art have been destroyed beyond repair and rendered beyond recovery leading to irreparable loss to the great Hindu heritage.”

“During the last few years systematic vandalism has been let loose by the ASI within the sacred premises of this great shrine, in the name of conservation. Millenium old inscriptions on the temple wall, irreplaceable sources of authentic information relating to the Chola Period, are getting shattered into smithereens. . . . .”

Ancient and beautiful mural paintings on the temple walls of Tamil Nadu have been
effaced or defaced by the ASI and the other two State Departments (referred to above). The evidence points in that direction. Shri Sundaram is of the opinion that this all did not taken place by happenstance. It is a planned and deliberate destruction of Bharat’s Hindu cultural heritage and total obliteration of the racial memories of the Hindus dating back to the days of the Vedas and the Upanishads. He lays the blame squarely on the fact that an Italian Catholic is in power at the Centre.

Ofcourse, this should concern not only Hindus but all citizens of the world who have either actually visited these historic monuments or even seen pictures of them in art books or some other source. It is also reminiscent of the devastation visited by the monotheistic faiths of Islam and Christianity all over the ancient world.

In  a previous article the present writer has opined that Sonya Gandhi has two over riding ambitions : the consolidation of the political power of her son Rahul, eventually as prime minister of Bharat and the conversion of the Hindus of Bharat to Christianity, as envisaged by her spiritual leader the Pope. The phenomenon is referred to as the harvesting of souls for Christ(The New Missionaries of Bharat,Haindava Keralam, 11/07/2010).

Both these goals work at cross purposes. If she overplays her hand in the evangelical task then this will surely indent the political goal.  So far Sonya has been able to call upon the immense powers granted to her as de facto head of the country, and as the nominated head of the Congress party.

But what goes up must come down. And  the moribund, corrupt Congress can only prop her up thus far.

Once the masses of Bharat come to understand Sonya’s agenda vis a vis Hinduism her hold over the country will weaken. And then, despite Rahul’s tilak, he will be looked at with suspicion.  Bharat has been described as a deeply religious country and it is certainly a very Hindu country, despite all the accoutrements of modern education. And what is Rahul’s interest in Bharat? Is there any extra territorial loyalty to Rome ? These are questions that are sure to be asked sooner or later.

Bharat remains a Hindu country because in ancient Hinduism both religion and the world of science, technology, learning,arts etc. were expressions of a whole way of life. The Veda has never preached other worldliness. Hence, the great advances in all of the sciences and arts that ancient Bharat is famous for. And today, the contemporary Hindu can combine his Hindu heritage and modern life with great ease. That Hindu heritage is a valuable asset, not only an emotional tie.

The young techies and scientists are experts in their fields because the intellectual life was part and parcel of Bharat’s ethos, has always been so and will remain so. This is well expressed in the famous line from the Devi Mahatmyam(The Greatness of Devi):

“ O you who  abides in the heart of every individual in the form of intelligence. . “

On the other hand, there is also the immense joy derived from the Vedic tradition in the experience of being in the world. The Rig Veda invokes the celestial, atmospheric and terrestrial powers of Nature in rapturous terms. And today in Bharat at the popular level that joy is expressed in all the festivals and pilgrimages. One has  only to see the ongoing Lord Jagannath festival. In Gujarat, the 10 miles plus long Ratha Yatra is accompanied by small groups of women who sing and dance as they move along with the Lord’s chariots drawn by devotees. In Puri and other parts of India the celebrations are equally joyful.

This ethos is entirely different from the life negating world view of the monotheistic faiths and their rigid theologies. Till recently, until the last 12 years of the rise to power of an Italian Catholic, the small Christian community has lived peacefully with their Hindu neighbours, have enjoyed the benefits of living in a pluralistic democracy.

Today, many are becoming aggressive in the assertion of their faith, a move that is wholly unnecessary given the tolerant nature of Hinduism. One sees reports of groups in Kerala singing hymns to the Pope as their leader. There was even the ridiculous spectacle of their
interpretation of Bharat’s tricolour national flag. The saffron supposedly stands for
the bloodthirsty Hindus (!), the green stands for the greedy Muslims and white stands
for the peaceful Christians.

Bishops and other dignatories of the Church are scurrying around trying to hold conferences etc. to meet the threat of the Hinduisation of Bharat (!). It is certainly true that many Christian converts, especially in the Dalit communities are returning to their ancestral faith. The tribals are doing the same. It will not be long before the North Eastern frontier states will also return to the ancestral faith.

At any rate,in the opinion of this writer, Sonya’s mission will backfire and explode in her face, because the people of Bharat will see through her scheme. Hence, if she is to make a choice between her two projects, she will have to make it soon. The evangelical agenda will fail and Bharat will remain a Hindu nation. Bharat has been through many invasions and the long night of the two Occupations, the Islamic and the colonial and is still around. Handling an Italian Catholic cannot be an insurmountable problem.

But can she salvage her other project ? She will have a fighting chance, if she abandons her assault on Bharat. Otherwise, the present writer predicts that too will fail. It is upto her to decide.

Ya Devi sarve bhuteshu

VANDE MATARAM

(The writer is a Political Philosopher and taught at a Canadian university)

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