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3 Explaining the Communal Shift While reflecting on the syncretic tradition of Odisha and the success of the Hindutva narrative vis-à-vis Muslims and Christians, the question arises as to why the state succumbed to communalism despite having such a laudable past. It would be naïve to conclude that Hindutva would have succeeded without a congenial context. Majoritarian construction is always fuelled by a perception of threat, real or imaginary – the fury of the Kandhamal riots certainly signalled this. Christianity’s contentious past and proactive present in Odisha became handy for Hindutva to construct Christians, particularly dalit Christians, as the enemy other and unleash unprecedented violence against the community. Kandhamal made an unambiguous statement – Odisha has turned communal. True, Hindutva provides the major communal text, but there are many related subtexts that explain the communal shift. First and foremost, despite the criss-crossing and intermingling of various theologies, discourses, and practices within Hinduism and the eclecticism of the Jagannath cult, an inviolable core of Hinduism runs through the state – Hindus are superior and their hegemony should not be challenged. In concrete terms, this Hinduism endorses the superiority of brahminical values, which are very intolerant of non-Hindus and the lower castes. While the culture of Jagannath stands for syncretism in one sense, its racial overtone is unambiguously exclusionary and discriminatory – yavanas, mlechhas, firangis, foreigners (Christian/white), and non-Hindus are not allowed to enter the temple. There have been innumerable instances of foreigners being humiliated and ill-treated at the two grand temples – Jagannath at Puri and Lingaraj at Bhubaneswar. The second aspect of Odisha’s Hinduism is its treatment of the lower castes – the former untouchables. Even today, social conservatism and the caste hierarchy are very entrenched, and despite the transformation of caste dynamics, discrimination is evident, particularly in coastal Odisha. Purity and pollution greatly matter in villages and former untouchables are not allowed to enter temples – from Keradagarh to Nuapada. Despite Gandhi’s laudable attempt in the 1930s to allow the entry of harijans to Hindu temples, their humiliation has continued. In the Jagannath temple of Keradagarh, dalits could only see the idol from a distance through nau kana (nine holes). When they asserted their rights, the caste Hindus yielded – not by giving them access to the sanctum sanctorum, but by restricting everybody’s entry, including the upper castes, by installing an iron gate. This clever move, in connivance with the state, enabled continuing with the practice of denying entry to the dalits. In the Kali temple of Nuapada, even the chairman of the National Commission for the Scheduled Castes, a dalit, failed to enter the sanctum sanctorum. The Jagannath culture is so hegemonic that these humiliating exclusionary practices have been normalised and occasional resistance to them has been subsumed. Though a section of dalits raise their voice against humiliations by threatening to desert Hinduism, following the path of poet Bhima Bhoi and B R Ambedkar, many others think they can come closer to Jagannath by emulating the legendary devotee Dasia ODISHA Bauri. Thus, resistance has been feeble and conformity strong. A large section of adivasis believe Jagannath to be their own deity. Hindutva has been focusing on these integrative aspects of the Jagannath culture while carrying forward its Hinduisation agenda among adivasis and dalits. Its “reconversion” rituals invoke Jagannath and seek the blessings of Shankaracharya and other Hindu seers for legitimacy. While Laxmanananda’s co-option of the Kandhas became a success story, his politics of mobilisation turned the Kandha- Pana divide into a Hindu-Christian conflict. When the Panas, former untouchables, decided to end their humiliation by embracing Christianity, they consciously defied the caste hierarchy of Hinduism. Empowered by the state and Christianity, they competed for political and economic power, occasionally displaying some aggression. The proliferation of new Christian sects further complicated the picture. To counter Christianity, Laxmanananda built up a cadre among his followers and fostered an alliance of the Kandhas and powerful upper-caste migrants against the Christian Panas. Laxmanananda’s death not only gave his followers an opportunity to avenge it, but also retaliate for every act of violation they believed the Panas had committed against the Hindu social order. A second explanation relates to the changing character of Odisha’s civil society, which represents various shades of ideology – social conservatism, liberalism, modernism, secularism and radicalism. A strong section that is committed to modernity, progress, and secularism has always appreciated Christianity’s contributions to the formation of modern Odisha, acknowledging how Christian missionaries brought the first printing press, compiled Odia dictionaries, opened schools, hospitals, and orphanages, and tirelessly worked in the most inhospitable terrain serving the poor and the destitute for more than a century. Christianity was so influential among the leading intellectuals that two great literary figures of colonial Orissa, Fakirmohan Senapati and Radhanatha Ray, considered embracing it. After Radhanatha backed out at the last moment, Fakirmohan decided not to go ahead alone. Barrister Madhusudan Das, one of the founding fathers of modern Odisha, embraced Christianity. Despite being a Christian, he publicly asked lord Jagannath to protect Odisha and Odias and fought the famous Jagannath case against the British to defend the rights of the temple and the king of Puri. Thus, a large section of Odisha’s civil society was not hostile to Christianity. At the same time, as mentioned earlier, the RSS began its journey in Odisha with the active support of some notables, whose caste composition reveals an interesting coalition of social forces. While Nilakantha Dash and Godavaris Mishra belonged to the powerful brahmin community of Puri, Mangaraj was a militant Khandayat (kshatriya) and Laxmi Narayan Sahu came from a resourceful trading community. These notables were influential in politics and they had a powerful presence in civil society as well. So another prominent section of civil society was, from the very beginning, pro-Hindu in belief and practice, if not communal. In the postcolonial period, Hindutva worked on this branch of civil society and brought it closer to its world view. The RSS focused on the two issues that Economic & Political Weekly EPW APRIL 5, 2014 vol xlix no 14 53
ODISHA always bothered this section – cow slaughter (go hatya) and religious conversion (dharmantikaran). Thus, a major section of literary and cultural figures in Odisha gradually tilted towards Hindutva. For instance, Ratnakar Chayani, a respectable writer, became the president of an RSS front organisation that was created after Laxmanananda’s death, thereby legitimising anti-Christian violence. The benign role of Christianity, which had once been a part of Odisha’s popular discourse, has been systematically erased by the RSS. With the support of this section of civil society, the Sangh parivar’s anti-Christian campaign has harped on the largescale conversion of adivasis, creating communal tension in the state. Along with this, there is a widespread belief that Christian organisations receive funds from abroad. For instance, when World Vision’s premises were ransacked during the 2008 riots, the Odia intelligentsia did not sympathise with this “dubious” non-governmental organisation (NGO). It is true that Christian institutions are among the highest recipients of foreign donations, but Sangh parivar organisations in Odisha like the Utkal Bipanna Sahayata Samiti (UBSS) have also received donations from overseas organisations like the India Development Relief Fund (IDRF) and Sewa International, UK, for postcyclone reconstruction and other welfare activities. Besides funds, the emergence of new churches in the coastal areas in the post-1999 super-cyclone period has raised the fear of conversion and created resentment among the middle class. Their anger was manifested at Kilipal where converted dalit members were forcibly tonsured. Finally, the cow still has great symbolic and emotional value for Odias in general. Incidentally, the present Gajapati King, the representative of lord Jagannath, takes a strident anti-Christian stand on conversion and cow slaughter, conveniently forgetting the role played by Madhusudan Das, a Christian, in defending the rights of Jagannath and the Puri king. Another explanation pertains to the role of the middle class and the media. Along with the communalisation of civil society, there has also been a steady communalisation of the middle class and the media. While the old middle class came primarily from the upper castes, a new middle class has emerged from the middle and backward castes, who are well disposed to Hindutva. While the old middle class was mainly educated by secular state institutions, a large section of the new middle class is the product of the RSS educational network. Around 750 Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandirs in Odisha impart education to 1,80,000 students from kindergarten to Class XII, and 11,000 dedicated teachers, steeped in the Sangh ideology, teach these students as a mission. These schools are very popular among middle and lower-middle-class parents as they provide “quality and value education” for a moderate fee. In 2010, of the first 100 rank holders in the Class X examination, 55 were from Saraswati Shishu Vidya Mandirs. Moreover, the BJP, which was a partner in the state government for about a decade, had access to both material and cultural resources. For instance, it strategically retained the education portfolio to carry out its indoctrination in educational institutions. The print media, which was once secular, has by and large internalised the Sangh discourse. Leading newspapers like Samaj, which played a historic role in the freedom struggle, now give generous space to Hindu communal writings and even black out secular articles. There has been a proliferation of Odia vernacular newspapers and many owners and journalists are Sangh parivar sympathisers. A similar trend is seen in the electronic media. Besides, the RSS has a strong publication wing, which disseminates Sangh literature across the state. Neo-liberalism, Communalism and the New Middle Class Yet another explanation makes a connection between the neoliberal economy, communalism, and the new middle class. Odisha’s new middle class, consisting of engineers, computer and banking professionals, financial managers, doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, contractors and middle men, by and large welcomes corporates and multinationals, hoping to get generous employment packages and business opportunities. They believe that while Hindutva will give them social recognition, neo-liberalism will empower them economically. Before the coming of a neo-liberal economy and the entry of corporates, REVIEW OF URBAN AFFAIRS March 30, 2013 (Un)Settling the City: Analysing Displacement in Delhi from 1990 to 2007 Revitalising Economies of Disassembly: Informal Recyclers, Development Experts and E-Waste Reforms in Bangalore Biometric Marginality: UID and the Shaping of Homeless Identities in the City Protest, Politics, and the Middle Class in Varanasi Revisiting the 74th Constitutional Amendment for Better Metropolitan Governance Urban Multiplicities: Governing India’s Megacities –Gautam Bhan, Swathi Shivanand –Rajyashree N Reddy –Ursula Rao –Jolie M F Wood –K C Sivaramakrishnan –Ashima Sood For copies write to: Circulation Manager, Economic and Political Weekly, 320-321, A to Z Industrial Estate, Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013. email: circulation@epw.in 54 APRIL 5, 2014 vol xlix no 14 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
Page 1 and 2: ODISHA Shift from Syncretism to Com
Page 3 and 4: ODISHA supported the Congress. Simi
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