Hariprasad’s Weblog

NDTV has made available the soft copy of the Lieberhan report on the Babri Masjid demolition. The voluminous 1000 odd page report contains a dedicated chapter on “Secularism”. I have not yet read the chapter completely (nor the report, of course) but at first glance, it looks more like the author’s personal rant against BJP, RSS and Hindus in general. Here are some quotes from the particular chapter. The numbers at the beginning are section numbers from the report.

• 146.6 “Killing of many muslims in cities is a well known act of extremist Hindu groups”
• 147.1 “BJP managed to channel the frustration of illiterate or semiliterate persons into a destructive direction and tried to increase its political impact for which it stoked mass hysteria”
• 147.2 “BJP is the successor of Jan Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha. Jan Sangh and Hindu Mahasabha had failed in their nationalist movements”
• 147.2 “There is no doubt that during the elections three quarters of Hindus in India have not voted in favor of BJP rather for secular parties”
• 147.5 “Most of the Muslim emperors with passage of time were Hinduised…”
• 147.7 “In recruiting candidates for the Ayodhya movement widespread illiteracy had been exploited by skilful political leaders”
• 148.4 “The recluse or the Sadhus and Sants come to the belief that nothing matters beyond political desirable results however achieved. Politicians had not turned Sants, but Sants turned politicians”

Based on reading this chapter, I am wondering if the report is about the Babri Masjid incident or a “secular analysis” of the BJP & RSS!

Yesterday, we watched a Hindi movie – “Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani”. While the overall movie was really nice and enjoyable, there were some parts of the movie which I found very uncomfortable.

The hero of the movie is a pure vegetarian. His friends convince him that he should take to non-vegetarian food since the Christian girl he is after is “strictly non-vegetarian” (whatever that means). In the next scene, they show an elaborate initiation ceremony where our Hero struggles but somehow manages to eat chicken, mutton, etc. The next scene is where the Hero, after one week, is gorging on a variety of animals! His parents spot him and feel very upset. He then goes to a Church and offers his confession there. He says that since he has broken his “Dharma” by eating non-veg,  Bhole Naath (Lord Shiva) is now very upset with him. He says if Bhole Nath opens his third eye, then he will become “bus bus” (burnt). He requests Jesus to protect him and get him the girl!

In the final scene of the movie, the Hero is leaving the city as he thinks he will never get the girl. The girl meanwhile has a change of heart and, failing to find the hero, goes to a church and starts praying. Our hero is stopped on a lonely road by a truck driver, dressed like Jesus. The driver tells him that he is a stage actor dressed as Jesus and forces him to get into the truck. The driver brings him to the same Church where the lady is praying and lo and behold, vanishes suddenly. The Hero realizes that Jesus himself has brought him to his lady!

Somehow, I couldn’t help but appreciate the skill with which propaganda and comedy were intermixed in this movie.

Yesterday, we all witnessed a total solar eclipse. For devout Hindus, eclipses are a great time to pursue spiritual progress. Many of our scriptures and Puranas talk about the virtues of meditation, prayer, river-bath and Japa during this “Parva Kala” (auspicious time). People over thousands of years have also experienced the benefits of spiritual activity during eclipses.

Our rituals insist that during spiritual activities, one should not be bothered with distractions, including attending to nature’s calls. On the other hand, total duration of solar eclipses could last several hours. If one has to ensure that meditation or prayer could continue undisturbed for several hours without discomfort, it becomes essential to eliminate the possibility of having to address nature’s call. This is the *main* reason why fasting is suggested during eclipse times. For solar eclipses, one is advised to fast starting from at least 9 hours prior to the eclipse. Of course, there do exist religious and ritualistic reasons also behind the fasting.

Over time, people have started to blindly follow this ritual, even though they don’t care to perform any spiritual activity. Wrong connotations have come into people’s minds. Therefore, this custom of fasting during eclipses has become the target of our secular, rational leaders. During yesterday’s eclipse, a team of scientists put in a lot of hard work to discourage people from fasting during eclipses. They went around distributing sweets in the middle of the eclipse! The team also had Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar, who also had, and distributed sweets.

- Fasting during eclipses is sanctioned by our scriptures. Saying that it is a superstition is a direct attack on our religious beliefs.
- Fasting during eclipses cannot cause any serious damage that it warrants the attention of the government and political class. They are almost treating it as a national disaster, that has to be gotten rid of.
- Just like they claim that eating during eclipses causes no harm, eating during eclipses doesn’t really indicate one’s scientific temper towards life.

What irritates me the most is the double standards adopted by these “secular forces”. Muslims fast during the day time for an entire month every year. That custom has an equivalent scriptural sanction (in their scriptures) as does the Hindu custom of fasting during eclipses (and Ekadashis). Even on the measure of scientific temper, it stands no better. But guess what the outlook of our secular leaders is towards that “superstition” – they actively participate and encourage it!! Nitish Kumar himself hosts Iftar parties during the fasting month (held to break the day long fast).

How is it that fasting by one community is superstition while that by another becomes a sacred ritual?

Last week, Samata and I combined a personal visit to Mangalore (to attend a marriage) with some work on the “Temples of Tulunadu” project. I was able to visit Belmannu, Bola, Kandalike and Pavanje. In the coming weeks, I will publish small writeups, as usual, on the Anandatirtha website. Visiting these temples right in the middle of the monsoon was indeed a challenge but the effort left me immensely pleased. In addition, we also visited Nellitheertha, Palimaru, Kulai and a small Mukhyaprana temple in Hosabettu, near Suratkal. I have come back spiritually re-charged

I am closing in on twenty temples now as part of the project. My first milestone has been 50 temples. If I am able to complete this in around 2 years (started sometime September 2008), that will be a great beginning.

In another good development, the Vishnusahasranama portal is seeing some good traction. Madhusimha’s untiring efforts led to the completion of the pages for the 1000 names. We are now full time into developing individual pages for each of the names. Madhusimha has also kindly agreed to contribute to this. In addition, my (e-)friend   Gautham Shenoy has also joined us. I am very optimistic that the portal will now see rapid development.

Last week, there were clashes between two groups resulting in communal tension in Mysore. Result – four temples were destroyed. A former mayor was attacked and property destroyed. The main stream media (MSM) reported about this for maybe …hmmm….let’s see ….two mins?

Read this article here. The report has a few disturbing photographs as well. This incident did not happen in Pakistan, nor did it occur in Kashmir, but in Namma Mysooru.

Where were you, dear MSM?

Varun Gandhi was already in jail….and you still didn’t have the time to cover this?
Sanjay Dutt was already rejected as a candidate…..and you still didn’t have the time?
Rajnath Singh and Jaitley were no longer squabbling (not that they were anytime earlier)….and you still didn’t have the time?
Rahul Gandhi was not even filing his nomination….and you still didn’t have the time?

But maybe….just maybe….you had more important election issues to cover. Like your coverage of…..hmmm….ok….I am sure they do cover important issues….maybe its just my fault that I don’t happen to notice it.

Varun Gandhi has made some really nasty comments against Muslims. He has been charged under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code for “spreading enmity between two communities”. I am reproducing section 153A of the IPC here below.

“Promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.–(1) Whoever- (a) by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste or community or any other ground whatsoever, disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious, racials, language or regional groups or castes or communities, or (b) commits any act which is prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between different religious, racial, language or regional groups or castes or communities, and which disturbs or is likely to disturb the public tranquillity, 2*[or] 2*[(c) organizes any exercise, movement, drill or other similar activity intending that the participants in such activity shall use or be trained to use criminal force or violence or knowing it to be likely that the participants in such activity will use or be trained to use criminal force or violence, or participates in such activity intending to use or be trained to use criminal force or violence or knowing it to be likely that the participants in such activity will use or be trained to use criminal force or violence, against any religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community and such activity for any reason whatsoever causes or is likely to cause fear or alarm or a feeling of insecurity amongst members of such religious, racial, language or regional group or caste or community,] shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both. (2) Offence committed in place of worship, etc.–Whoever commits an offence specified in sub-section (1) in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine”

In the previous quote, I have highlighted some phrases in bold. Essentially, the point I am trying to highlight is that *irrespective* of the intention, if anyone commits any act that disturbs public tranquility or harmony between communities, then it is an offence under 153A IPC.

Now picture this: For the last 3 days, some of the mainstream media news channels have been telecasting the video of that speech by Varun Gandhi repeatedly. It must have been shown over a thousand times by now. The only parts that are edited in the video are specific words that he is supposed to have used. There is a beep during those words. People who see the video can, according to their imagination, place any word in that place. Apart from these two or three words, the entire video is shown repeatedly.

My question – is the repeated telecast of this video not likely to disturb the sentiments of Muslims? Is public, and repeated, telecast of such a sensitive video not likely to “disturb public tranquility“? Is the media not provoking the offended section of society? I would say that they are definitely doing so. In which case, these news channels also need to be booked under 153A of the IPC. After all, the law specifically says “Whoever” right at the beginning.

The media folks might say that they are only showing what Varun Gandhi spoke in order to provide information. But the news media is unlike the Internet, where the service provider does not have control beyond a point. Here, they have complete control over what to report. Would it be ok if a family movie channel said “We are going to broadcast porno movies. If you have a problem, go catch the film makers”.

In India, the media folks are in a league of their own – above and beyond the law. Just like their lawyer brothers.

It had been a really long time since I last visited Mangalore (probably five years ago in 2009) so I decided to get back to my hometown. This time, for a change, instead of visiting the temples in the region, I decided to go on a beach picnic. It was, after all, beaches that Mangalore and Dakshina Kannada are really famous for, among tourists to the region.

I started off on day one from Tannir bavi beach, close to the city. It was amazing early in the morning. There were hardly a few people around, so it was the perfect place for an early morning walk. The serene atmosphere there provided the perfect opportunity for me to relax and reflect upon. An hour passed by and I did not even realize.

From there, I took a bus to Suratkal and then hopped on to a rickshaw. Few minutes later, I was in Suratkal beach. Each beach here seems like a new one. The rocks on the coast, the temple nearby, the kids playing in the water and trying to collect shells. Picture perfect.  I also visited the Sadashiva temple which is very close to the beach.

After lunch, I hopped on to another bus and got down near Malpe. Malpe is one of the oldest ports in the region and is a center of fishing activity. It is also the place where Sri Madhvacharya obtained the idol of Sri Krishna and installed it at the Udupi temple. So much history, so much relevance. I also visited the St Mary’s Island.

In the evening, I visited the Maravanthe beach. I consider this as the most beautiful amongst the beaches of Dakshina Kannada. What picture perfect scenery! The sunset was just superb.

Next day, I headed up north and reached Murudeshwara. Murudeshwara has this really famous Shiva temple very close to the beach. Locals explained to me the history of the place, dating back to the Ramayana. The temple also has a huge Shiva statue. The scenery, the statue, the temple atmosphere and of course the beach provided the perfect setup.

I couldn’t help but think how all the beaches I visited in the last two days had this perfect atmosphere. It was nature’s painting, and it was just too good.

Just then, one of the tourists asked me to visit this beach near Gokarna and mentioned that a modern marvel had come up at the beach. Curious, I decided to make that the last hop in my journey. After visiting Gokarna and the famous temple there, I rented an auto and got to this beach. Locals had named it the “Vidushaka” beach. The beach and the water was very good. But the heat was a little too much. So I decided to rest under the shade of this really huge statue that had been erected there. I recalled the the controversy that had happened about 5 years ago regarding this statue. Just then, a man and his young son came close to where I was sitting. They were tourists just like me, and the curious young boy, probably around 7-8 years or so, was posing a lot of questions to his dad. I overheard that interesting conversation.

“Dad, whose statue is this?”

“Its Charlie Chaplin dear”.

“Who is Charlie Chaplin?”.

“He was a comedian, who made people laugh”

“You mean, like the cartoons that I watch on TV?”

“Yes, yes, I mean, no, not like them. He made English movies full of humor”.

“Did he himself get this statue done?”

“No son, he died a long time ago – about 35 years ago. This came up just about 5 years ago.”

“Who got this done?”

“Some people wanted it put up here and so…”

“Was Charlie Chaplin from Mangalore”

“No son”

“Karnataka?”

“No”

“India”

“No no no….he was from the UK,  and lived in America and then in Switzerland”

“Did Charlie Chaplin love beaches”

“No, I mean yes, I mean not really…maybe…I don’t know”

“Do the people of Mangalore really adore Charlie Chaplin that much”

“Yes son…I guess so”

“How come there is no one here in that case?”

“Well…I guess they must gone for a tea break”

“I think you lying Papa. Tell me who put this up”

“Ok ok. There were some people who made a movie. They wanted the statue here”

“Which movie is that. Is it about Charlie Chaplin?”

“No no, the movie was not about him.”

“Then why did they put this up?”

“Because they wanted to show it in a song”

“Was the song about Charlie Chaplin?”

“Don’t know son. You are asking too many questions”

“Why did they not remove it after the song was done?”

“Because they wanted to create a record”

“What record papa?”

“Its called the Guinness Record”

“What’s that?”

“Basically, you should do something, anything actually, that no one else has done before and they will mention it in a book and give you a certificate”

“Wow, so no one else has put up a statue”

“No no, they have”

“Then what record was this”

“The record is for the ‘Tallest Statue of a Comedian in a Beach’ “

“That’s so cool. I am sure no one can ever beat that”

“Not really son. Two years ago, someone erected a statue of Jim Carrey at another beach 2kms from here. It is 20 cms taller than this one”

“So this statue doesn’t hold the record?”

“No it doesn’t. Now lets go home”

“Wait a minute. Why is this statue so dirty? It is so full of dirt”

“There is no one to clean it son. This statue does not belong to anyone”

“What about the film people. Can’t they clean it?”

“See, this Charlie Chaplin is not from the Kannada or Hindi movie industry. So they cannot clean it”

“Ok ok….papa….why is Charlie Chaplin wearing a white hat?”

“Its a black hat son. Come on son”

“No papa. Its a white hat. See properly”

“No son, the color of the hat is actually black. There are too many birds around here. You know….you won’t understand…chalo lets go”

“Papa, tell me why Charlie Chaplin is holding a knife in his hand”

“That’s not a knife. Its his walking stick”

“No papa, that’s a knife. Look it is so sharp”

“It was a stick son. Some one broke it a few months ago”

“Who broke it?”

“Some bad people, drunken people who occupy this place at night, they did it just to have some fun”

“Why can’t someone repair this Papa?”

“You won’t understand it son..come on…lets go”

And the still curious boy and his relieved father left from there. My trip surely came to an interesting end.

The film stars of Karnataka are going to now protest - against the protest – to install a Charlie Chaplin statue. It does not matter if the only people claiming it as having a communal tinge are the ‘anti-protesters’ themselves. Looks like appropriateness should never be questioned. It does not matter if the statue looks out of place, being close to a temple – or the temple serenity gets destroyed, because of the statue nearby. Opposition because a temple is nearby is communal, according to the anti-protesters.

Now, the anti-protesters also highlight aspects of what Chaplin stood for, in order to make a case against the protests. Here is a quote…

“Film historians find the controversy doubly ironic because Chaplin had repeatedly expressed his opposition to organised religion, including Christianity“

I think its better not to step into that territory – about what Chaplin believed in, stood for, advocated, or got embroiled into. The following are from Wikipedia’s article on Charlie Chaplin….

“Chaplin’s political sympathies always lay with the left”

“For most of World War II he was fighting serious criminal and civil charges related to his involvement with actress Joan Barry”

“During the era of McCarthyism, Chaplin was accused of “un-American activities” as a suspected communist sympathizer and J. Edgar Hoover, who had instructed the FBI to keep extensive secret files on him, tried to end his United States residency”

“During World War I, Chaplin was criticised in the British press for not joining the Army”

“For Chaplin’s entire career, some level of controversy existed over claims of Jewish ancestry”

“Chaplin has also figured in the mysterious events surrounding the death of producer Thomas Ince aboard the yacht of William Randolph Hearst in 1924, one of Hollywood’s greatest mysteries”

“Chaplin’s lifelong attraction to younger women remains another enduring source of interest to some”

The article also details his involvement with at least 12 women in his lifetime, most of whom were very young compared to him.

The only reason for the statue seems to be the goal of obtaining a Guinness Record. Maybe the Guinness folks won’t consider the statue of any other Indian personality. Hmmm…

To top it all, the idea was to show the statue in a song sequence in a Kannada movie. And the movie story is “about two guys who are always stumbling on to new ideas to please their girlfriends”. I am wondering if the statue will be appropriate even in the movie, let alone the beach!

P.S: The movie is called “Housefull”. According to this report, Kannada movies cannot have non Kannada titles.

Recently, a film director had to give up his plan to erect a huge statue of the Hollywood personality Charlie Chaplin at a Mangalore beach. The “Vichara-vadis” are already up against the protest of the locals who have successfully prevented the idea from going ahead.

While the local leader of the BJP has denied that the protest was because Charlie Chaplin was a Christian, the mainstream media is continuously harping on the same topic. Perhaps they have forgotten that Dakshina Kannada and Udupi have the highest density of Christians in Karnataka.

I cannot see how a statue of Charlie Chaplin is appropriate in a beach in South India! If greatness in the movie industry is a qualification, and if an individual’s obsession with a certain personality is allowed to be expressed in the form of a statue in a public place, quite soon our beaches will be filled with statues. We may soon find Marilyn Monroe’s statue in Gokarna beach, Elizabeth Taylor’s statue in Maravanthe beach, Marlon Brando in Suratkal and so on..

The secular forces are questioning the opposition to the statue. Since religion is not a factor in the decision to install the statue, what else could be possible factors that make it a right move?

• Charlie Chaplin had absolutely no connection to India, let alone Mangalore or Dakshina Kannada
• Charlie Chaplin had no (special) connection with beaches.
• Mangalore and its beaches have no special connection with movies, let alone Hollywood.
• The people of Mangalore are not known to have any special love or affinity towards Charlie Chaplin
• Beaches are not a known (nor widely accepted) location for erecting statues of personalities.
• Beaches sync more with the concept of ‘nature’ than ‘art’. An artificial construction made of cement and paint is hardly suitable for a location such as a beach.
• Charlie Chaplin has never had any noticeable impact on our society. His comedy movies are indeed funny and good to watch, but hey, Tom & Jerry are good too! Now, what if we erected a statue of…..
• A 67 ft statue of a relatively unknown personality (I bet most people of Dakshina Kannada are going to fail to recognize the man the statue represents, even if the sculptor does a very good job) is most certainly out of place in the Someshwara beach.

Respect and tribute to art and artists is certainly welcome. But appropriateness is crucial in such endeavors.

Its not the protest that worries me. Its the blind opposition to any form of protest in Karnataka that worries me. A majority of the ‘artists’ who are issuing statements condemning the protests were themselves protesting in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on MG Road in Bangalore about a year back. Take one wild guess at the reason for their protest —- the early closing of pubs, bars and discotheques. They reserve every right, every freedom – including the freedom to protest. Not quite so for others….especially if you declare yourself to be a Hindu……and even more so if you are proud about it……

Different standards for different people, I guess!

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