When United Colours Of India Came Alive In Kashi
For students of India and those interested in mapping the changing contours of India’s politics and society, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the inauguration of Kashi Vishwanth Dham in Varanasi, on December, 13 is a must-read, must-follow document.
The speech outlines how India has married Tradition and Modernity, and how India has been on the move, unitedly, hand-in-hand, in the last seven years. The event was followed by a conclave on good governance of BJP Chief Ministers of twelve States, and nine Deputy Chief Ministers.
There were several takeaways in PM Modi’s speech. Some of them merit special attention.
One, the PM said in the context of Varanasi (at Vishwanath Dham Complex) that ancient traditions and modernity came alive at the same time. Two, Varanasi has seen history getting made and rewritten. For every Aurangzeb, the city has seen a Shivaji rise -- such has been its character. Three, Adi Shankar took inspiration from Shridom Raja here.
Four, Varanasi, or Kashi, has always united India, or Bharatvarsha, in more ways than one. When Vishwanath Temple was damaged, it was Maharashtra-born Ahilyabai Holkar, with Indore-Maheshwar as her “karmabhoomi”, who got the Temple reconstructed. From Shivaji Maharaj to Guru Nanak Dev to Maharaja Ranjit Singh to Bengal’s Rani Bhavani to Kings from South India, to Rani Laxmibai to Chandrashekhar Azad, Kashi’s pan-India linkages truly represent United Colours of India.
Five, Kashi has always had a deep impact on the South. Similarly, Kashi has been deeply influenced by the cultural traditions of the South. For iconic Tamil scholar-poet Subramania Bharati, a stint in Kashi was a turning point in his life.
“The confluence of different, divergent strands from various parts of the country gives rise to the spirit of ‘Ek Bharat, Shrestha Bharat,” PM Modi said.
The PM said that New India had “virasat” and “vikas” in equal measure. He then gave a clarion call to adopt three resolutions – on “swachchta” (cleanliness), “srijan” (creation), and continuous endevaour of one and all towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat.
“Cleanliness is a way of life,” he said. He then exhorted countrymen to “create and innovate”. In the 75th year of the nation’s independence, the PM repeated the call to everyone to join forces to work towards building India@2047, while stressing on the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Mission.
Some have been quick to see shades of particularism in the two-day affair, with the Kashi Vishwanth Temple as the backdrop. Such a reading, however, would be flawed and misplaced.
When Kashi becomes an emblem of United India, and when the ancient marries the modern, universalism is only the way forward. The ancient civilizational ethos and the quintessential Indian thought, after all, is all about “Vasudhiav Kutumbkam”.
Adi Shankar, who has been quoted in the PM’s speech, is as much a tribute to our ancient knowledge traditions, as also to the idea of United India, and also a culture of debate.
It would be pertinent to debate if our commentators have devoted enough attention to the phenomenon of integration of farthest corners of India, in the last seven years. In his Kashi address, the PM invoked Subramania Bharti. An empirical study would corroborate that Tamil cultural icons, cultural values and symbols have often found place in national discourse, in the last seven years, thus bringing Tamil Nadu closer to the national core, and also making it a dominant part of collective consciousness. And, what is true for Tamil Nadu is also true for all other states, whether in South or North-East.
Today, governmental vision, ideas and actions are inspired by the idea to make India@2047 a nation of our dreams. At a larger level, this is also a behavioural change that has been brought about in India after the PM outlined his vision for the next 25 years, in his Independence Day speech this year.
As India marches ahead, with a renewed sense of purpose and resolve, there will also be challenges. The PM had once said, we may have a million challenges, but we also have a billion people to solve them.
One particular challenge that will demand policymakers’ attention in future is Delimitation. As when compared to several northern states, southern states have generally been more successful in encouraging family planning measures and controlling population increase. They fear that this could adversely affect them, as and when a new delimitation exercise gets underway.
In Amrit Kaal, it would be fitting if the South is assured that as and when a delimitation exercise is carried out, a just formula, acceptable to everybody, will be arrived at unitedly and amicably, which will only further the spirit of United India.
The message from Kashi is to unite and embrace, rediscover civilizational moorings and move forward with a renewed sense of purpose. In 2047, the Government at the Centre will invoke the Modi years as an era that, among several other measures, united and integrated, from East to West, and from South to North, thus strengthening the idea of India, and laying the foundations for long-term transformational changes.
(The author, a JNU alumnus, is a political analyst. Views are personal)
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