Amritsar train tragedy: Why BJP and Congress should stop the culture of 'celebrating' death
The tragic death of people crushed under a train while celebrating the death of Ravana in Amritsar was indeed painful and avoidable. The entire nation slipped into mourning over the massive loss of lives and suffering.
The cult of burning effigies of Ravana — venerated by Shudras/Dalits/Adivasis — was not a part of the popular culture of Punjab. But with the maelstrom of competitive religious politics gaining more and more momentum, the burning of Ravana effigies has also become commonplace in the land of Sikhs — normally more famous for celebrating the birth anniversaries of the 10 Sikh gurus.
While Punjab is a Congress-ruled state, Amritsar happens to be senior BJP leader and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s election turf (he was the BJP candidate for the Amritsar seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha election, but lost to the Congress' Amarinder Singh). Naturally, there is a lot to compete over on this turf for the BJP and the Congress.
But strange are the human emotions that want to celebrate somebody's death. That too, a mythical king's death.
In a country like India with 1.32 billion people living with opposing cultural beliefs and practices — where someone's God is someone else's demon — such celebrations and practices will only deepen the social cleavages. A more harmonious way that would unite people is to commemorate the 'birth' of one’s own God than celebrating the 'death' of someone else's God. Spiritually speaking, burning, killing or demolishing religious shrines won't help build a culture of tolerance. Such vengeance only breeds a culture of hatred.
The BJP/RSS and all those political parties competing with each other are most welcome to celebrate the birthdays of their respective Gods. They are free to choose and celebrate Lord Rama’s birthday, if they could agree upon one date. They are most welcome to celebrate Vamana’s birthday, if they could fix one date.
But why celebrate Bali’s crushing and killing?
Why celebrate Parshurama's killing of Ksatriyas of his times?
Why celebrate Ravana’s death by burning his effigies every year?
No religious group across the world celebrates somebody’s death. Whether it is Buddhism, Christianity, Islam or Judaism, the culture of celebrating death, killing and burning of cultural figures is not acceptable and simply not done.
Why is the RSS/BJP spreading the culture of celebrating death in India?
If their leaders are indeed nationalists, as they claim, they should stop this kind of celebrations. Instead, they are promoting this culture of vengeance and celebrating such killings. How is it going to help the nation anyway?
Even among the Shudras in rural India, celebrations over an enemy’s death is not appreciated. In fact, there are a number of adages that tell us to “empathise with our enemies when they are in bereavement”. There is a fine proverb in Telugu: "Do not talk bad about your dead enemy."
From the days of Harappa, the builder of the first city in the Indus Valley, to present-day Shudra culture — life on earth has been full of celebrations — of childbirth, harvesting, crops, nature and flowers.
In Telangana, we have just finished Bhatakamma (the Goddess of life and flowers) celebrations. Interestingly, the BJP/RSS leaders were not particularly enthusiastic about this festival. But they celebrated Dussehra with a lot of fanfare and burning of Ravana effigies. Their leaders make appearances on TV channels and belligerently support such destructive culture.
The Dalit/Bahujans have been opposing this for a long time now. But sadly, this violent culture is only spreading to all parts of India post-2014.
Not that those who ruled before cared enough not to make such mistakes. Congress prime ministers, including Manmohan Singh, used to go and watch the burning of Ravana effigy in Ramlila Maidan, Delhi. There were and are a lot of narrow-minded leaders in the Congress as well. They are openly Brahminic and anti-Dalit.
What kind of secularism and seculars enjoy burning effigies of a figure venerated by Dalits/Shudras/Adivasis?
What is considered good by a Brahmin is certainly not good for a Shudra or Dalit. What is considered tasty by a meat-eater is definitely not edible for a vegetarian.
This is where Mahatma Gandhi and BR Ambedkar believed in opposite spiritual and cultural lives. If Gandhi was for vegetarian nationalism, Ambedkar was for universal food and dress culture. The Congress also did not understand such historical oppositions.
What the BJP doesn't realise is the more it spreads the culture of Ravana burning and celebrating Ravana's killing, the more it pushes Dalits/OBCs/Adivasis towards worshipping their cultural icon. The best example is that of Bhim Sena leader Chandrashekhar Azad, who added Ravan to his name.
In his Vijayadashami address, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat demanded a law to be framed to allow the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya by completely destroying whatever remains of the Babri Masjid. Every year on December 6, the BJP-Sangh Parivar celebrates the demolition of Babri Masjid by mobilising communities that have nothing to do with productive labour. This in other words means Shudras/Dalits/Adivasis and Muslims are their enemies.
The Shudra community of Yadavs (it is community that built the cattle economy of India), for example, celebrates Sri Krishna’s birthday. Similarly, Ram bhakts can celebrate Rama’s birthday. But why burn somebody's else's God. Yadavs do not burn effigies of Duryodhana or Dronacharya to celebrate the greatness of Krishna. They simply celebrate their God’s birthday.
How is competitive religious politics or burning and destroying of any 'enemy-God' good for a nation or its people?
Burning a mythical god's effigy is not nationalism. But tilling your land is. Nationalists must celebrate production, not destruction — whether that of an effigy or a masjid.