49 Indian Celebrities have addressed a letter to the Prime Minister claiming that “Jai Shri Ram,’ is a provocative war cry and to stop the violence in the name of Ram. Amartya Sen too said the same a few days ago.
Ram is the most humane amongst the ten avatars of Vishnu. His qualities- loyalty, discipline, honesty and governance were unmatched. The slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram,’ is now merely raised to identify and consolidate people, who were for long in the receiving end of the law. One can’t expect to bar a slogan in praise of Allah in any Muslim country, or praise of Christ in any Christian dominated land.
India, though secular by the constitution, was divided on religious grounds, the Muslims opting for Pakistan, West and East. Hindus were driven out from Pakistan, and thousands butchered in the process. Many persecuted Muslims like the Ahmadis and Bohras opted to stay back in India and have comfortably amalgamated into our society.
The problem started only when the hardline Wahhabism began to replace the softer Sunnism. Mosques have mushroomed in the proximity of temples, doing Azans and disturbing the delicate religious balance. In the name of secularism, successive governments tolerated and safeguarded every aberration by the minorities.
The poor Muslims are forced to opt for Madarasas, where their thought process is honed typically narrow with ignorance of other religions. The poor and middle-class Indian Muslims choose to live in ghettos, be it in cities, or villages. The intermingling between communities has become less, with crafty political and community leaders isolating their people and increasing the disharmony.
Jai Shri Ram, the chant, enters around this period and is quickly gobbled up voluntarily by many, predominantly Hindus, seeking to reassert their position. Mamata Banerjee, the CM of West Bengal, further queered the situation, by concluding that the chant as abusive.
These complaining celebrities should have stood up when a tall communist leader from Bengal dared to confront the Supreme Court, refusing to stop the private slaughter of Cows during the Eid Al-Adha. They should have with equal alacrity protested when a Bangladeshi writer was barred entry into West Bengal following the eruption of riots. They should have condemned violence and riots in Dulagarh and Basirhat.
I do not support lynchings for any matter whatsoever, which should be condemned by one and all. At the same time, grave provocations, like beef parties or inflammatory speeches that destroy communal harmony, should be avoided too. Let the celebrities walk into any Hindu temple in the south and see the desecration of the idols of gods and goddesses. India bears the wound inflicted for long. It is not a case of helpless Hindu now, who feel stronger now than ever.
While quoting the percentage of minorities in India, grown by numbers since the partition, the celebrities must explain the steep fall in the number of Hindus in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Where did they vanish?
To the celebrities: If you have issues against lynching, and over the attacks on Dalits, I’m with you. If you think Jai Shri Ram has anything remotely to do with it, you need to educate yourselves better.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
