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OPINION
BJP Idols - Political Poster Art in Rajasthan
June 08, 2007
Amrita Rajan
Amrita Rajan
It’s an ill wind that blows no good, as Rajasthan BJP legislator Suryakant Vyas found out recently. Had it not been for the late Gujjar-Meena crisis that swept Northwestern India, Vyas, a state legislator, would have been knee deep in trouble over an outstanding act of sycophancy: he and fellow BJP member Hemant Bohra printed a poster depicting Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje as Goddess Annapoorna accompanied by other “deities” such as AB Vajpayee, LK Advani and Rajnath Singh in their roles as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Vyas and Bohra were only doing what apparently comes naturally to others in the state unit. Raje is already worshipped by at least one member of her cabinet and has a hymn, the Vasundhara Chaleesa, to her name.
But other people seem less inclined to join the cult.
I think they’re just jealous. The Congress guy is probably kicking himself for not having thought of it first – imagine the brownie points he could have scored by putting Sonia Gandhi in similar fancy dress. As Supreme Leader or Big Honcho or Queen Bee or whatever it is they call her nowadays, she could even have had the whole poster to herself! As for Singh and his wife, they’re probably pissed that a leader of his “national stature”, as they call ‘em in political circles, got left out when relative unknowns like Pratap Singh Singhvi (who?) received a place in the re-imagined pantheon as Indra. Unfair!
But seriously speaking, apart from the issue of freedom of expression, there are two things to ponder upon here.
The first is the attitude of the media and the police. When Chandramohan, a poor art student in Vadodara, stood accused of “hurting religious sentiments” by a member of the BJP only a few short weeks ago, not only did the police lose no time in clapping him up in jail but the media didn't lose any time in turning the events into a circus either.
Here, however, matters are exactly opposite. Not only is the police taking its own sweet time investigating matters, but the media barely reported the incident. One could say the mainstream press has had other matters on its mind – such as the Gujjar riots – but those channels run for 24 hours a day, mostly telling us which fascinating celebrity will now come on to put us to sleep on Koffee with Karan. Could they not find two minutes out of 1440 to defend the right of these men to print one bloody poster?
Not that Vyas and Bohra really need any “defending” given that the police are yet to even register a complaint. A striking difference when compared to Chandramohan who was beaten up and put in jail before he could so much as blink. And please, don’t tell me how the cases are so different because of the amount of clothing involved. The charge is exactly the same: “hurt religious sensibilities”, both leveled by people with links, direct or indirect, to the BJP. What was that line about equality in the Indian Constitution?
The second issue here, of course, is the confusion within the BJP.
Courtesy: Tribune India
The BJP is often described as a party on the Right of the political debate. The religious right, the social right, the economic right. But are they really? When even people as committed to the party as Swapan Dasgupta begin to talk about the lack of clarity in the BJP’s ideology, it is time for someone to pay attention.
It seems to me that the BJP and those who follow its politics have spent more time and effort on defining themselves in “anti” terms than actually establishing what it is that they stand for. They’re anti-Left, anti-Congress, anti-pseudo-secularist (oh, how they love that word!), anti-this and anti-that. Sometimes different parts of the larger organization are pro and anti the same things, like liberalizing the economy for example.
Even the one issue that they’ve hugged close to their bosom these many years is confused: how Hindu is Hindutva after all?
India needs a Right of Centre political party. But the BJP needs to figure out whether it wants to be that party or just go along with the label, as it has for a while now.
Keep reading for comments on this article and add some feedback of your own!
BJP Idols - Political Poster Art in Rajasthan
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beachbong
URL
June 8, 2007
01:50 PM
I am glad that they didn't follow MF Hussain and take their clothes off as well. My sore eyes thank them for that... :)
Amrita
URL
June 8, 2007
01:59 PM
lmao! my sides are already split thinking of those three oldies buzzing about Raje's giant head in their teeny spacecraft.
Atlantean
URL
June 8, 2007
06:07 PM
Nice analysis Amrita. When I saw the bit about the poster and the protests that followed in the news, I was really amused. I said to myself - "Of all the issues in the world..." The BJP has become one big comedy show.
Man singh
URL
June 8, 2007
07:48 PM
Yes you are right Amrita.
People of India voted BJP for three reasons:
1. Removal of Article 370 from constitution to make kashmir integral part of India an act of national integration.
2. Uniform civil code for all Indians again an act of social integration.
3. Removal of symbol of slavery to enhance nationalistic feelings among Indians. Starting with Ramjanambhumi movement. (of congress n commies changed the issue of religious fight in a notorious manner)
People liked the struggle, clarity and consistency of the party and voted them. Today BJPabandoned tehse very issues and now people see no difference in it or any other sadakchhaap party and dumped it.
BJP today is as characterless as any other party. To come to power it has to play the same gimmics as congress commies or any other secular goons are playing.
Yes BJP has lost credibility in its attempts to achive a certificate of secularism.
Man singh
URL
June 8, 2007
07:55 PM
Yes you are right Amrita.
People of India voted BJP for three reasons:
1. Removal of Article 370 from constitution to make kashmir integral part of India an act of national integration.
2. Uniform civil code for all Indians again an act of social integration.
3. Removal of symbol of slavery to enhance nationalistic feelings among Indians. Starting with Ramjanambhumi movement. (of congress n commies changed the issue of religious fight in a notorious manner)
People liked the struggle, clarity and consistency of the party and voted them. Today BJPabandoned tehse very issues and now people see no difference in it or any other sadakchhaap party and dumped it.
BJP today is as characterless as any other party. To come to power it has to play the same gimmics as congress commies or any other secular goons are playing.
Yes BJP has lost credibility in its attempts to achive a certificate of secularism.
Amrita
URL
June 9, 2007
11:05 AM
Thanks Atlantean!
Man Singh - i think there are deeper issues at hand there but yes, they have some thinking to do.
Chandra
June 12, 2007
02:49 AM
The BJP have been a confused party for the last many years. No wonder they lost the last election. To start with they will need smarter politicains who have a track record of producing results. In that context Arun Jaitley is a the most important component of the party's success in the future. He has consistently produced results (Gujrat, Bihar, MP, Karnataka and Punjab)They also need to have less of neo liberal nuts like Arun Shourie and maharajas like Jaswant Singh. These two combined (along with late Mr. Mahajan) to lose the election the last time around.
Having Yashodhara on a poster like that is totally embarassing. I agree with your assessment that there is hypocrisy here- both by the media and right wing groups.....
rgds
Amrita
URL
June 12, 2007
11:21 AM
Hey Chandra - I never really understood why Arun Shourie joined the BJP. he always looks so dukhi about the whole thing. He should really get out of politics. The problem with Jaitley is electability. These days it seems, unless you're part of a dynasty and can appeal to a predetermined votebank, it's all caste and religion that get you elected more than anything else.
bharat
June 12, 2007
07:45 PM
You are dead wrong amrita about comparing raje's picture and chandramohan's picture in baroda. Raje's painting as a godess is a sycophany. But it's not indecent, it's not porn. Chandramohan was drawing something utterly nonsense. That was erotic art about god and godess. This is a basic and fundamental difference. That's why police waste no minit in arresting that chandu. BJP was my favourite party, but it has become joke now, that assessment, I can't agree more. But it's still better than congress on any given day.
Jay Hind
Amrita
URL
June 13, 2007
12:44 AM
Bharat - its people like you who'll always stop the BJP from contributing anything meaningful to the discourse. And saying Jai Hind doesnt change that.
Chandra
June 16, 2007
12:26 PM
Amrita
Arun Shourie indeed looks dukhi.
When we were little ones...his newspaper was that tremendous anti-establishment etc etc, we loved reading it!!......once he became a minister he began to behave like somebody from the Syndicate (1969) who suddenly had so much power in his hands. The BJP was just a media, he cares two fig for their ideology.
rgds
rgds
Amrita
URL
June 16, 2007
01:23 PM
Chandra - good point. I don't remember his editorials but my dad remembers him as a college student and he could never figure out where he fit into the BJP and neither could I. Still, I'd be shocked to learn he had any sort of say in the party proper. I think he was just another "face".
Chandra
June 17, 2007
02:54 AM
Amrita
In late 90s a whole host of 'characters' joined the BJP with a view to benefit from the possible Government formation. Some of us with centrist leanings believe that Arun Shourie and Jaswanth Singh moved many neutral voters away from the BJP. Arun Shourie for his mad privitization program and Jaswant Singh for travelling with terrorists to Kandahar. Personally, I think Kandahar was the biggest disaster by the BJP Govt.
rgds
The Itinerant Indian
URL
June 22, 2007
05:50 PM
RE: Arun Shourie. The success of rebellion defangs a rebel.
Lech Walesa. Vaclav Havel. Nelson Mandela. They have all become wallpaper in their respective countries.
Che Guevara lives on in tshirts and caps and anyone who wants to let on he/she is a rebel even if there is no cause.
And Arun Shourie as a minister is precisely that: a defanged rebel.
For those of us who remember his writings and what he stood for, Arun Shourie as a part of the establishment is a contradiction in terms.
He however has documented the story from within for those who have read atleast an excerpt of his post-ministerial book. The babus tied him in redtape.
The BJP: sigh. What an opportunity lost!
On the petty matter of sycophancy: BJP has nothing to fear with the congress there to save it from embarrassment. In a party office in UP, Durga with ten hands has the face of Sonia.
The hands are labelled for different forces aligned with her.
The crown is labelled secularism.
The tiger is labelled India. (This is the only part of the poster that resembles reality. She is taking us for a ride!)
I have no information on whether the prasadam offered in pooja is a pizza, albeit vegetarian (or would that be non-secular?)
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