Press, pressure; Karuna, Jaya: Who will pay for the truth?

Author: Siddhartha Reddy
Publication: The Asian Age

The arrest of the Kanchi Shankaracharya could prove to be a dangerous turning point for India. Chances are the polity will never be the same again. The incident once again highlighted that India has neither a capable government nor an effective Opposition.

The BJP woke up to respond to the arrest after eight long days, and resorted to, not a fast unto action, but a relay fast for three days.

Hinduism as a religion does not have a single referral point. There is no apex icon or institution like Mecca for Muslims and Vatican for Roman Catholics. While devout Muslims and Christians congregate at mosques and churches on Fridays and Sundays, a Hindu congregation at the temples is not a must. Aham Brahmasmi, God is in me, everywhere, is the fundamental principle. Therefore, an attack on any Hindu symbol doesn't generate as devastating a reaction as it would from any other religion.

However, in recent times the Shankaracharya's high profile has had an impact on large sections of the Hindu population, so hurt and anger can lead to an explosion. Secular Hindus witnessed on live television a Hindu icon's bizarre midnight arrest during Diwali holidays. He was arrested, and made to sit until daybreak without even being allowed to call his lawyer, charged and thrown into jail. Compared to that, even terrorists attacking Parliament were treated with more dignity. After this brazenness can secular Hindus remain secular? Yes. Because secularism is the way of their life.

In this context, it also must be mentioned that pontiffs must behave responsibly for they have an example to set. They should be detached from greedy relatives, materialism and money and banish from the system persons of doubtful integrity. So the Shankaracharya needs to introspect whether any unworthy character influenced Mutt functioning, and thus created a national crisis and embarrassed his devotees.

The Shankaracharya is brilliant. He has widened spiritualism to embrace education, health, relief and social service. He has created world-class institutions managed by the best brains. The assets are worth Rs 10,000 crores, where every institution is audited, even the Mutt. Apex politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists, NRIs, media-barons, judges, scientists, doctors, academicians and celebrities are his devotees. Through him, Atal Behari Vajpayee attempted resolving the Ayodhya tangle. He is respected by leaders of other faiths.

During his arrest, by submitting himself to the process of law and by not making any provocative statements through the media, he has behaved commendably. The Shankaracharya believes he has been framed and that the conspirators will be exposed and pay a heavy political and legal price.

The Shankaracharya has been speaking against conversion. Unfortunately, many religious leaders believe that Sonia Gandhi is unfairly employing governmental power, funds and facilities to change India's demography. Can, in future, church leaders, on trumped up allegations be whisked away from Sunday prayers or during Christmas? Can Muslim religious leaders, possibly on false charges, be arrested during Friday prayers, or during Id? After Shankaracharya, yes.

The attitude of our current rulers is rather disturbing. The positions of the Prime Minister and Congress president are held by non-Hindus. Could a Hindu PM, or a Hindu Congress president have kept quiet on a momentous incident like the arrest of a Shankaracharya?

By not intervening to calm people's nerves, Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi have torn the nation's secular fabric. They should have called an all-party meeting, a meeting of leaders from different religions, and should have addressed the nation on television. Their silence is unpardonable. History will never forgive them.

It is time that national psyche is protected, so it is time that President Kalam stepped in.He should address the nation on live television to help people absorb the shock and to unite them irrespective of religion, caste and politics. He should initiate an investigation to find out whether the Shankaracharya is guilty or whether he was framed. Also, he should stipulate a code of arrest for religious leaders to avoid similar situations in the future.

The Dravidian parties are not anti-Hindu, they are just anti-Brahmin. The Dravidian movement united farmers, backwards and dalits against a Brahmin-led Congress. It is a different matter that the movement fizzled out with the Dravidian leaders proving worse than the Congress leaders when it came to governance, integrity, casteism and nepotism. The rise of Hindu aggressive politics in the national scenario motivated the Dravidian parties to bed the BJP, diluting their Dravidian character.

As for M. Karunanidhi, his last hope is to install son Stalin as chief minister of Tamil Nadu after the May 2006 Assembly election. An impatient Karunanidhi wanted Jayalalitha's dismissal, President's Rule and elections.

The DMK has always been anti-Shankaracharya. It is close to the Nakeeran editor Gopal, who campaigns against the Shankaracharya. The murder victim was close to DMK and Gopal, and was against the Shankaracharya. The temple where the victim was working, had stopped giving business to a DMK contractor. Did this contractor have a motive? Did DMK, Nakeeran Gopal and other anti-Shankaracharya activists have any involvement with the murdered victim? Is the LTTE involved? Investigators might find new clues thus complicating the case.

The police had earlier wound up the case, but it was reopened under DMK's pressure. DMK was threatening a dharna by Karunanidhi on November 13. Jayalalitha got worried that the DMK-Congress would use the fact that the Shankaracharya had not been arrested and would dismiss her government saying it was not functioning in accordance with the Constitution. President's Rule could have been imposed on November 14 itself. Did the change of governor terrify Jayalalitha? Seeing time running out, did Jayalalitha save herself by rushing to get the Shankaracharya arrested?

She definitely used the arrest to move away from the BJP.

Jayalalitha can now claim that she performed her constitutional responsibilities and allowed the law to take its normal course. Sonia Gandhi and Karunanidhi's crude and hasty attempt to marginalise her has made her a secular heroine. She is now the darling of the Communists and the Congress' allies.

After her Shankaracharya initiative, it's impossible for Karunanidhi to defeat her in the Assembly elections. Karunanidhi's anti-Shankaracharya strategy has backfired. He even had to commend Jayalalitha.

The power-equations in Tamil Nadu will now change dramatically. The PMK and MDMK are getting ready to ally with the AIADMK, so is the Dalit Panthers Party. Jayalalitha will get the Dravidian vote. She can now even gun for Karunanidhi and Stalin.

As for the Shankaracharya, whatever be the media attempt to malign him, the courts could proclaim him innocent. Also, the police could finally arrive at the conclusion that he was framed. Then those who framed him will be at Jayalalitha's receiving end. Shankaracharya, if proved innocent, will have a powerful reincarnation and will generate a Hindi belt wave for a new anti-Congress political system. Nationwide, Hindu anger will escalate.

In a democracy the majority mustn't feel that it's in the minority, ruled by an unconcerned establishment. India needs a responsive PM and the Congress needs a genuinely secular president. So Kalam must heal the hurt, before the hotheads engulf the polity.