Amartya Sen rallied behind Durga, whom he claimed was omnipresent in the lives of Bengalis, and decried chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram,’ which he stated was alien to the culture of Bengal. He despised people getting beaten up for refusing to shout Jai Shri Ram.
Sen, a demigod in West Bengal, is a Nobel Laureate in Economics and does not confine to matters about the economy alone. He selectively chooses to bash the Modi government for many of its actions, though I’ve not seen him as vocal during the earlier UPA regime.
Sen being a left-leaning intellectual, it is hard to guess his religious leanings, Ram or Durga. It, however, may be prudent to learn why Ram of the ten avatars stands out special. The ten avatars of Vishnu match the much later theory of evolution of Darwin, with only Rama and Krishna are the complete human form with human intellectual qualities. Rama, in Tretha Yuga, was righteous in every path in his life, as a right son, a right brother, a right friend, a right husband and a right adversary and above all ruling his kingdom later to be quoted as Ramarajya. He suffered like any other human being, while being in the forest, separated from his wife to be reunited and joyous and returned to rule.
Krishna, on the other hand, was diplomatic, to the extent of being crafty whenever it warranted, possessed supernatural powers from the time he was born and helped win the war over evil. Men and their characteristics had changed during the Dwapara Yuga, the period of Krishna, which warranted the rebranding of the last Avatar, more suited then. For Krishna, the goal mattered, and for Rama, the path to the goal too mattered.
Durga could’ve made an entry into Bengal in the early sixteenth century but, was confined to the houses of the gentry, until Buddhism and Jainism started to spread and threaten the existence of Hinduism. Shakti worship, in the form of Manasa, during the later period and adopting a rural hookah smoking and pot-bellied Shiva spread the Hindu religion as did Vaishnavism revived by Chaitanya and his Goswamis.
Durga worship could have become public, similar to Tilak’s bringing Ganesh festival to the streets of Mumbai and intensifying peoples’ participation as defiance and threat to the British. The Sarbojanin Pujas, organized by clubs and in the present commercial form may not be much older than a century and is now famous for long holidays.
Sorry, Mr Sen, Vishnu in the form of Krishna was more popular in most Bengali households than Durga or Kali. Krishna might have replaced Ram, as he was more acceptable for his characteristic mischievous, romantic and liberated form. To call Ram as an alien to Bengal is a fallacy and could expose Sen’s ignorance on matters of religion.
Someone back home never forgets to chant La ilaha illallaah Muhammadur Rasulullah, meaning there is no other god other than Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of God. Sen should comment on this as well.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
