The deep strategy behind the stupid ‘mytho-scientific’ statements of BJP leaders

Samvartha ‘Sahil’ | coastaldigest.com
April 19, 2018

Biplab Kumar Deb, the Chief Minister of Tripura, recently made a controversial comment which has since then gone viral and within a day has garnered support from many including the Governor of the state. Speaking at a Regional Workshop on Computerisation and Reforms at Pragna Bhawan in Agartala on April 17, 2018, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said that the internet was invented by India and substantiated his claim by explaining thus: "Internet and satellite communication had existed in the days of Mahabharata. How could Sanjaya (the charioteer of King Dhritarashtra in the epic) give a detailed account and description to the blind king about the battle of Kurukshetra? It means internet was there, the satellites and that technology were there in this country at that time.”

As expected the statement met great criticism where the social media went mad mocking the statement and extending it to severe jokes around the text of Mahabharata and the possible connections one could make to the details of the text with internet and satellite.

While on the surface it appears like an act of stupidity on the part of the BJP to be repeatedly making similar statements, if one has to think why the party members make such statements, even if they believe it to be true, again and again when every time their statements of this kind is laughed at mocked at and ridiculed.

What looks like an act of stupidity might be a strategy too, it appears.

The reason for me to arrive at this suspicion is simple: When someone from the Sangh Parivar makes such claims, within no time the critics of the BJP and the RSS along with some liberals come up with several memes and jokes which more than often appear like ridiculing the text of Mahabharata and Ramayana than actually ridiculing the BJP or the RSS. This to the majoritarian community members, including a lot of apolitical kinds, get a feeling that their religion is facing threat and is being disrespected. This sense of threat makes them extend their support to the BJP which claims to be for the safeguard of the majoritarian community. So when the saffronists make stupid statements and invite the opponents and liberals to respond to it, the chief beneficiary is the BJP and its mother institution the RSS.

This works for the BJP and the RSS as they wish because of the decades of work they have done by which they have politicized religion and more importantly historicized mythology and mystified history. Years of effort has not just made Ayodhaya, a historically not so significant pilgrimage centre for the Hindus, into a significant centre in the minds of the Hindus, but also linked the mythological texts of Mahabharata and Ramayana to the identity of Hindus. Though it was Anandavardhana who centuries ago first called the ‘kaavya’ of Mahabharata, a ‘shaastra’, bringing about a major shift in the way epics are perceived, it was the 20th century politics of the RSS which linked both Mahabharata and especially Ramayana, to the identity of the Hindus and also politicized religion and thus the texts. With that achieved now whenever who critiques the texts of Mahabharata and Ramayana or mocks at it, end up not just “hurting the religious sentiments” of Hindus, though neither of them are religious texts, but also cements the support of Hindus for the BJP.

The greatest tragedy of all this is the texts of Mahabharata and Ramayana becoming either a text to worship or ridicule. While the BJP and its supporters do a religious reading of the epics, the liberals and radicals do a very ideological reading of the epics. Both the extremes fail to see the texts as poetry, as an inquiry into the human existence. Both the extremes distort the inherent philosophy of the text. In this boxing ring we all have lost a poetry which has the ability to illuminate our lives.

If it’s the poetry which is lost in this tug of war, the clear cut winner is of course the BJP, which reaps the benefits also of the criticism that comes their way.

The radicals need to find ways in which the strategies of the BJP can be punctured; especially when it comes to texts such as Mahabharata and Ramayana. Else the valid and creative criticism of the ways in which the BJP looks at these texts will go a waste and only become a cause for strengthening the base of the BJP. While it is difficult now for the radicals to call out the BJP for distorting the epics by politicizing them, the least they can do and should do is not to fall into the trap and help the rightist ideology.

 

[Samvartha ‘Sahil’ is a freelance writer based out of Manipal, Karnataka. An alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi and the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune he has earlier worked as an academician at Manipal University and as a journalist with The Hindu. His book on the travel experiences in Jammu and Kashmir during the 2016 uprising is about to be published by the Karnataka Sahitya Akademi.]

Comments

Arron Menezes
 - 
Saturday, 12 May 2018

This is a  valid explanation. either i too dnt see any possible benefit in connecting religion to todays science.

there is one more point, negative publicity also makes more impact than positive one. ridiculing our epics will create impact as rightly said attacking religious views, and feeling of endangerment.

 

Indians are by and far religious in nature and anything spoken against, religion or god makes them offended. that negativity will subliminally helps to negate anything else to flurish. Reasoning becomes less when one is overwhelmed by negativity.

 

nice article. looking forward for more.

J. M.
 - 
Friday, 20 Apr 2018

seems like a typical left conspiracy theorist.

 

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.

- Hanlons Razer

Hari
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

The reason behind the "fool decision" strategy is simple..

 

 
By those decision we may mock them, but wont protest against him. and he can easily divert people's attention from the actual issue/sim/trick

Xavier
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

Even Modi's intention is different.. actually they making us fool by pretending as fools. That Digital money issue proves their hidden agenda. He made Paytm owner a richer guy by  one night.

Danish
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

Great observation.. good job sahil

Kumar
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

True.. Some fools might be there in BJP but party wont consist fully with only fools

Ganesh
 - 
Thursday, 19 Apr 2018

I felt the same. They are making us fool

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News Network
November 21,2024

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After the US prosecutors charged Gautam Adani with bribery and fraud, Congress reiterated its call for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the transactions of the Adani group, and hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging an "internal nexus" between him and "his favourite businessman."

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the indictment of Gautam Adani and others by the US Securities and Exchange Commission validates his party’s call for a Joint Parliamentary Committee investigation.

The Congress has been pushing for the probe since January 2023, raising concerns over alleged irregularities involving Adani and his business dealings, said Ramesh.

Ramesh referred to the party’s “Hum Adani ke Hain” series, where 100 questions were raised about the alleged scams and the links between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gautam Adani.
He noted that the questions remain unanswered, reiterating the need for accountability in the matter.

The US prosecutors have charged Adani with deceiving investors by concealing information about his firm's solar energy project in India, which allegedly involved bribery.

Adani has been charged with securities fraud and conspiracy, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday. The case focusses on an agreement between Adani Green Energy Ltd. and another organisation to supply 12 gigawatts of solar power to the Indian government.

'BETRAYAL OF INDIAN INVESTORS'

Congress leader Pawan Khera described the allegations against Gautam Adani and his conglomerate as a “betrayal of Indian investors.”

Taking to X, Khera outlined the US charges, including claims that Adani’s group bribed Indian government officials between 2020 and 2024 to secure contracts. Citing media reports, he also pointed out that Gautam Adani personally met a government official to advance the scheme.

Khera referred to a March 2024 incident where the Adani Group allegedly misled the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange, calling it a “grave violation of investor trust.”

He further highlighted a March 2023 FBI raid on the premises of Sagar Adani, Gautam Adani’s nephew, where electronic devices were seized as part of the investigation.

'SEBI NOT ABLE TO PROVE ANY CHARGES AGAINST ADANI'

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi criticised central probe agencies following US charges against Gautam Adani and others in an alleged bribery case linked to solar energy contracts.

Chaturvedi raised concerns about corporate governance and regulatory oversight in the country. “They talk about corporate governance, responsibility, and accountability. The industrialists should be asked to follow the rules and regulations, but even the agencies were defending him. The SEBI has not yet been able to prove charges against him,” she said, pointing to what she viewed as failures in ensuring accountability.

'BROUGHT DISREPUTE TO INDIA'

On US charges against Gautam Adani, AAP leader Sanjay Singh called for a probe against the industrialist. He said that the probe should be conducted by an investigation agency under the Supreme Court.

"Adani Group has brought disrepute to India. This is a very serious matter. The PM of India should come forward and answer this. All the pending matters against Adani should be probed by an investigation agency under Supreme Court monitoring, and all the corruption done by him, within and outside the country, should come out before the country and action should be taken against him," he said.

BJP DFENDS

BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya responded sharply to the Opposition’s criticism regarding allegations involving Adani Green Energy and US-based Azure Power. He pointed out that the charges in the indictment are only allegations and emphasised, “The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”

Malviya argued that the crux of the case concerns agreements to supply 12 GW of power to the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), contingent on SECI securing power purchase agreements with state electricity distribution companies (SDCs).

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News Network
November 11,2024

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The Manipur Kuki MLAs have released a statement calling out Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's 'lies' in the Supreme Court. In a joint statement, the MLAs, including those from the Bharatiya Janata Party, said they had not had any meeting with the Chief Minister since May 3, 2023, nor did they intend to meet him in the future as “he was the mastermind behind the violence”.

As per the MLAs, the SG lied about state CM N Biren Singh speaking to Kuki MLAs to control the situation there, in order to halt a Supreme Court probe into the leaked tapes which allege that Singh has been complicit in the violence that broke out between Kukis and Meitis there.

"We...clarify that we have never had any meeting with Chief Minister, Shri N. Biren Singh since May 3, 2023, nor have any intention to meet him in future as he is the mastermind behind the violence and ethnic cleansing of our people from the Imphal valley, which is continuing till today, the latest being the brutal killing and burning of Mrs Zosangkim Hmar on November 7, 2024," the letter read, while condemning the recent 'barbaric' killing of the woman there, and noting the SG's assertion is 'tantamount' to misleading the top court.

“We, the undersigned ten MLAs, have come to know that during the Supreme Court hearing held on November 8, 2024, the Solicitor General of India submitted that ‘CM is meeting all Kuki MLAs and trying to bring the situation down to get peace’. In this connection, we hereby categorically state that this submission is a blatant lie and tantamount to misleading the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India,” the statement said.

The Supreme Court, while hearing a petition by a Kuki organisation, asked that it submit audio tapes to substantiate its claim that the Chief Minister was instrumental in inciting and organising violence in the northeastern State.

Solicitor-General Tushar Mehta orally informed the court that the Chief Minister was meeting all the Kuki-Zo MLAs and that peace in the State had come at a huge cost.

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News Network
November 15,2024

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Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has killed or captured 69 terrorists linked to the Israeli spy agency Mossad during a major counterterrorism drill in the country's southeast, its spokesman says.  

General Ahmad Shafaei, the spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, said Friday that a total of 23 terrorists have been killed and another 46 arrested in various clean-up operations ever since the IRGC Ground Force launched it in the Sistan and Baluchestan province on November 1.

Seven terrorists have also turned themselves in during the period.

“The undeniable fact about terrorists is that they rely on arrogant powers, particularly the intelligence service of the wicked and vicious Zionist regime," Shafaei said.

“Unfortunately, weapons and munitions at terrorists’ disposal are among the most sophisticated ones in the world. This accounts for their heavy dependence.” 

The official stated that several members of the disbanded terror teams were non-Iranian nationals, who had been hired by foreign intelligence agencies to carry out acts of sabotage and terror inside Iran.

In a most recent operation, six terrorists were arrested and four others were eliminated, three of whom were non-Iranians, he added. 

On October 26, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

The group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, primarily in Sistan and Baluchestan.

Its tactics include the abduction of border guards as well as targeting civilians and police stations within the province to incite chaos and disorder.

In January, Iran launched a military operation during which the headquarters of the Pakistan-based terrorist group was targeted in missile strikes, destroying its infrastructure.

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