Muziris an Enigma

‘’ Flowing waters have their truth and untruths. In the great flow of waters, new shores are formed. This is the rhythm of nature where new shores are formed and old ones vanish. When maps are tempered by water, new shores break out, new pieces of land new contours and new settlements are born “
                         

 Excerpts from the ‘’Saga of MUZIRIS’’ by SETHU

History is akin to the flow of the waters; it traverses its path. We only look back and assume, the contours of evidence left by those flow of events. Somewhere before or maybe a few decades after the Christian era, Greek vessels set sail to coastal India taking advantage of the monsoonal winds that flow towards the southern coast. A secret, hitherto held by the Arabs but revealed to the Greeks by Hippalus. (Hippalus did not discover the monsoon winds as claimed by many Western literature. He just got hold of an Arab Secret) Monsoonal winds helped the masted vessels flow fast. As a result, hordes of high-mast wooden ships with multiple oars flowed with the wind with gold on board searching for the black gold and ivory traded by southern kingdoms.

On one of those vessels traveled an unknown sailor who wrote about the circumnavigation of the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf, which was then called the Erythrean Sea. His work was later known as the ‘’Periplus of Erythrean Sea and it described ports and sea routes starting from Berenike (Egypt) to Taprobane (Sri Lanka), He wrote about the markets of Damirica (konkan) and after reaching the kingdom of Tyndis the land ruled by the Cerobothra (Cheras) they berthed at a riverine port called Muziris beyond which is Colchi (Cochin) and Komori (Kanyakumari). During the same period Pliny, the elder was writing his Natural History at Rome lamenting at the women at Rome for their desire for muslin from India and the consequent flow of Roman gold to India. He too wrote about a riverine port called Muziris. Decades later perhaps even a century ago, Claudius Ptolemy was writing “Geography” of the region vividly mentioning the ports, kingdoms, and markets of Southern India and mentioning a Port called Muziris. Long before that Megasthenes, the great ambassador in the court of Chandragupta Maurya wrote about an emporium of trade ruled by the charmae (read chera) inferred as  Muziris. But before all that Sugreeva and his team is said to have passed a town called Murachipattanam on their journey to Lanka in search of Sita (Ramayana)

Soon later the travelling minstrels of the Sangam Era were singing melodies on the beautiful ships of yavanas (Greeks )embarking at muciri (Muziris), coming with gold and going away with pepper.

                                                                

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Sitting in front of the Marthoma Church at Azhikode near my hometown of Kodungalore in the Thrisoor District of Kerala  ( St Thomas is believed to have arrived here which led to the emergence of Christianity in Kerala ) and looking at the fishermen and women in the vicinity cleaning their woven fishing nets in their hamlets, I was imagining about merchants and sailors unloading gold sacks and loading sacks of pepper into roman ships while waiting for the retreating monsoonal winds to sail back. Not that far away from my location at an estuary called Pattanam archaeologists from the Kerala Historical Society were digging hard in search of a port from a bygone era remnant of which they think lies somewhere beneath. Where was this port exactly?

The anecdote of the Muziris saga was first documented in a historical context by none other than Nilkanda Shastri in his magnum opus ‘’ History of South India" where Muziris was identified as a port in the Chera kingdom which traded with the Western world. Cheras had their capital in Mahodayapuram or present-day Kodungalore during a period named the Sangam period, referring to a time when the then eminent Tamil scholars assembled and prepared their choicest literature which was rendered like anthologies. The trinity of the Sangam period were the kingdoms of  Chera, Chola, and Pandyas who ruled -both with matrimonial alliances and with mutual wars- in an area south of the Krishna River. Commerce in these kingdoms depended on fishing and sea-borne trade and thrived over what we today call a Blue Ocean Economy. Merchandise was carted through the Palghat pass of the Western Ghats to Muziris port in Malanadu (Kerala) for onward shipments which included ivory, rice, and woodwork. Spices abundant on the hill slopes prominent among them being the black pepper was the most demanded due to its culinary and curative use.  As barter for this  black gold, the yellow metal flowed  into the coffers of merchants and kings 

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All prominent historians in Kerala like Shri K P Padmanabha Menon, Rajan Gurukal, MGS Narayanan, and KM Panikker to name a few, have all written about the genesis of this port in the annals of Kerala’s ancient maritime history with consensus about the location of the port being somewhere near the present Kodungalore where the Periyar River flows into the Arabian Sea. There is also folklore in Kodungalore about a tsunami or flood that destroyed the city and its trade center sometime in the 13th century. However, excavations have only revealed materials like potteries from the 13^th century in addition to a  Portuguese trade Centre. Kerala Historical Society through the Pattanam archaeological research project is excavating the Pattanam area south of the present kodungalore for clues on where the port was. This has also not prevented authorities from planning for the Musiris heritage project with the firm assumption that the port is indeed in and around Kodungalore

The prime hypothesis is that Musiris is indeed at the present Kodungalore, historians both amateurs and professionals did come up with alternate locations as well. As per SW Hunter, the Musiris could be anywhere from the current port of Goa to areas in central Kerala. Though a wild assumption. based on this, some historians have claimed that Muziris is the present Old Mangalore Port. Citing the unknown sailor’s account called the ’Periplus of Erythrean Sea about the location Tyndis (northern Kerala) they argue that Muziris is Mangalore. Some historians and academics argued this port was never on the western coast but on the eastern sea near the Kaveri River. However, a document discovered in 1985 called Muziris papyrus something like today's charter party agreement, proves beyond doubt that the place was factually on the western coast only.

 

In this context, a new argumentative assumption is now brought forward by Anto George a Kerala-based amateur historian through his book ‘’ Discovery of Muziris’ where he tries to establish a new antiquity to the ancient port. His book is based on the hypothesis that Munchirai near the banks of the west Tamraparni River near Kanyakumari is the real Muziris. Taking inference from Ptolemy’s Geography the book makes a convincing argument of this new hypothesis.  He refers to an ancient text Tamraparni Mahatmyam devotional literature in Sanskrit, which mentions the flow of five rivers from Gupta Sringa - Potigai malai in the Kerala Tamil Nadu border- from where Tamraparni river flows to the southeastern coast. He claims that the Culli River of the Sangam literature and the river named by Ptolemy as Pseudostomos may be the same. Through that inference, he points out that Munchirai near the banks of this river may be the original Muziris. However, he humbly admits that his hypothesis needs more research to be proven right or wrong.

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As we ponder the enigma of where and how we lost MUZIRIS, maybe oceanographic archaeology could find an answer.

Sethu concludes in his novel “An artist is somebody who sees something not easily visible…. In a moment a new  Mucheri will fill him... 

Well Muziris is not artistry but history, till then let's believe that Muziris was Kodungalore 

Why the Leftist Ideology is Antithetic to Nationalist Aspiration in a Neo-Globalised World

The '50s of the twentieth century was the romantic period of the communist movement. The reasons were many.  In geopolitics, the Soviet Union with the communist bloc held sway. For the first time in India, a communist government came to power in a tiny state in southern India -Kerala under EMS Namboodhirpad. The Kerala Agrarian Relation Bill which the first communist State in India enacted took away ownership rights from landlords having excess land and transferred the same to the tenants and agriculture labourers.  In the same period, the communists got the West Bengal Land Reforms Act 1955 passed with a similar ceiling on landholding. Both these Acts were enacted based on contemporary Marxist narratives to give land to the land less a good intention. However, history proved that land reforms did not create an inclusive industrial development in both states but only trade unionism and lack of capital formation. In Kerala, land reforms had a retributive reaction in the form of '' Vimochana Samaram'' a larger movement led by the Nair/Menon community in Kerala under the able leadership of their leader, Sri Mannath Padmanabha Menon and duly supported by the Congress Party and the influential church. The outcome- The Nehru government dismissed the EMS Govt in Kerala in 1959. However, the communists held themselves as a National Political party since then running governments in West Bengal, Tripura, and intermittently in Kerala, much propelled by the proximity of the Indian State to the Soviet Union in the Cold War era. 

The 21st Century was a period of nemesis to the Marxian narratives. Dismantling of the communist bloc and the emergence of a globalized world order, the triumph of the free market economy, and communists in China leading a market-led growth, among many, progressively resulted in a situation where the communist party was disqualified from the label of a National Party in 2023 by the Election Commission of India. Currently, the leftist doesn’t have any double-digit representation in the Lok Sabha

After the first decade of the twenty-first century, a new form of nationalist aspirations started sweeping the world marked by nativism, protectionism, and right-wing narratives began sweeping the world with its reflection in India under the leadership of Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Interestingly western intelligentsia and press, tacitly observing nationalist re-assertions in Western democracies were the first to cry foul on nationalist reassertion in India which echoed with the slogan Sabke Saat Sab Ka Vishwas and sab ka Prayas, an inclusive political narrative albeit centered around the Hindu cultural and civilization pride. Sensing this the Economist wrote “All societies draw on nationalism of one sort or another to define relations between the state, the citizen, and the outside world, and new nationalists are riding high on promises to close borders and restore societies to a past homogeneity. The Western press laments this so-called ‘'de-democratization of India'' and the essence of this rhetoric is only due to the loss of a soft power that they enjoyed by creating convenient narratives piggybacked over the so-called intellectual left in India. This was well articulated by India's foreign minister to the Western press when he said "The West has a bad habit of commenting on others and they somehow think that it is their right".

It is in these contours that we need to understand the antitheism of the left narratives against nationalism and understand its genesis. The origin of the disinterest of the Left in national aspirations through cultural revival starts with Antonio Gramsci who developed the concept of ‘’cultural hegemony’’ as a derivative of the Marxian theory of ‘’dominant ideology of society’’ which reflects the beliefs and interests of the ruling class. The hegemony of a singular culture as a ‘’ superstructure’’ above that, is according to Gramsci the greatest impediment to establishing the rule of the proletariat. Hence unless cultural hegemony is challenged there is no loophole for a revolution in the society. In India, the earlier communists had realized India’s long-connected history. They knew that it is the soul of the nation that acts like a superstructure of its existence. Later years Deen Dayal Upadhyay a nationalist ideologue in India called this wholeness CHITI which forms the essence of our nationhood, Chitti is nontangible and is indeed the personality of the nation, and destroying this superstructure is indeed the first step to be taken for a revolution of the proletariat in India.

The superstructure named CHITTI being nonphysical and composed of beliefs attitudes emotions and feelings can be dismembered only through an ideological narrative of redefinition of whatever contributes to CHITI. Here comes the Marxian view of India of defining our society culture and history through a dismantling narrative which was first attempted by Marx himself but later carried on by his comrades in India. It is this strategy of dismantling the superstructure through newer narratives is the genetic code of all leftist analysis be it sociological historical or political.

On the political side, it has two objectives. Firstly, it was through affiliation with a movement of Islamists in the early 20s of the centuries called mujahirs who believed in creating the Islamic State of India and fighting colonial rule. MN Roy the earliest communist ideologue was instrumental in assimilating disgruntled mujahirs who left India and formed the communist party. Since then a global unholy alliance of leftists with Islamists is now well-researched and documented which was started by MN Roy in India and the Bolsheviks in Russia. The best alliance that can happen in a country like India, is an alliance with a counterforce that successfully ruled the Indian subcontinent for 500 years. 

The communist support for the division of India where PC Joshi declared that an anti-imperialist organization like the muslim league expressing the freedom urge of the Muslim people that its demand for Pakistan was a demand for self-determination is another example. This unholy alliance was very much reflected in the later writings of communist ideologues when they were caricaturing Maplah's Violence of the genocide of Hindus in Kerala into a freedom movement of Muslim peasant struggle against the British. Sir C Shankaran Nair in his book Gandhi and Anarchy systematically explains the atrocities committed against Hindus, particularly from Nair /Namboothiri communities. I also recall the oral testimony of my paternal grandfather whose family history traces forced migration from Malabar to Kochi. This unholy alliance continues even today and the central government's banning of the PFI and the tacit communist backing for them is well known through the media

The second political narrative is in dismantling the idea of a singular nation. In 1942 the communist party while supporting the two-nation theory of the Muslim League,  declared that India couldn’t claim to be a single nation. Later published by its general secretary G Adhikari the narrative goes that every section of the Indian society has the right to self-declaration ‘’ based on common language culture and psychological makeup”

Creating a history that emphasizes India’s underbelly to be hollow, with the systemic glorification of invasion and negation of local resistance is one aspect. Defining Indian feudalism through the prism of Marxian definitions, and undermining the developments of science and philosophy in India was another. Securing positions in academic institutions and self-proclaiming itself as Liberal left and ensuring those narratives be part of the national curriculum was indeed part of this counter to the hegemony of the culture

Since this is not a research paper, covering enormous such cases of dismantling the hegemony systematically asserted by the left is beyond the purpose of this essay. However, what is significant is in the era of neo-globalization and as we have seen in the COVID times enhancing the CHITI and converting that energy to national development and reasserting our nationhood is paramount as human existence is under threat from pandemics and climate change.  A strong nation with hard and soft power and a civilizational history of amalgamation of cultures and considering the world as one as Vasudaiva kudumbakam is the need of the hour. Political and Social movements irrespective of the party in power should be singular in protecting our national oneness and ensure we move away from the left narrative of our culture religion and ethos. Dismantling the leftist ecosystem in India is hence should be the priority of each citizen

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Rajesh Menon is an educationalist, infrastructure professional, and author

 

Judge in the Bedroom

 

In his judgement on Section 497 in 2018 Justice Chandrachud spoke on the autonomy on women’s sexuality which is currently based on treatment of women as chattel. He said that it perpetuates the subordinate status of women, denies dignity, sexual autonomy and is based on gender stereotypes. His recent comment that married women can make her own choice and she is not consented to refrain from sexual relations outside marriage and that husband is not the owner of her sexuality did evoke a lot of criticism from majority of conservatives.

As a society when we evolve, breaking of stereotypes is bound to create ripples in society and in the context of the above statement by Justice Chandrachud he in fact has created a debate. Marriage as a traditional instrument was more than the sexual freedom but on the need for responsible childbearing and rearing. Religion and society hence gave primacy to monogamy and ensured that sexual attraction between genders outside of marriage is a taboo. Adultery is viewed even today as the most inglorious activity. Even in the sexually free society like in the US, we are aware of the Monica Lewinsky controversy which affected then then president of the US

While this remains so it is pertinent to investigate the gender stereotype associated with the chastity theory propounded by cultures everywhere. In traditional and ancient Indian literature, a Pativtra like Sita is a goddess while Draupadi is not so. Recollect the mythical story of Bhargava Rama in the bhagavatum follows the orders of his father Jamadagni and kills his mother Renuka who was late fetching waters from the river for having seen and desired a charming gandharva. Many such stories of married men taking on the sexual right of their women is depicted in various stories among all religions. The strenuous conditions imposed by Abrahamic religions especially Islam on women’s sexuality is much worse than any contemporary cultures and religions. Even in the Victorian ages masculinity was synonymous with sexual control of women. It was having seen the weak control that men in Bengal have over their women folk that they often referred the Indian male as effeminate

In a politically right leaning contemporary society when a judge makes such an observation it is bound to create the ripples that we often see in the public space. In the context of this statement if the same freedom is applicable gender neutral and to all religions and culture then I would regard it as progressive. However, in a country currently without a uniform civil code, if this is applicable only within the Hindu Marriage Act but not impactful to the civil and religious laws of other religions then I have an issue. Till now it remains as only an observation or comment by the judge but hence we need not do a detailed pondering into statement.

However, the statement is significant to do an analysis of gender mismatch in sexual preference within marriage. Friedrich Engels in his ‘’ Origin of the Family, Private property, and the State ‘’ mentions that matriliny and consanguinity ran amok in ancient societies which eventually ‘’ narrowed the circle’’ where marriage becomes a ‘’molecular pair whose dissolution itself ceases’’. Human sexuality and its naturality was undermined in the process.

Impact of Brahmanical and Victorian patriarchy was one of the main reasons for traditional Indian matrilineal systems which gave a higher freedom for women , giving away of women’s control over sexuality in marriage . Abolition of the sambandham among the Nairs and their strenuous efforts, in the beginning of the 20^th century, to adopt the Malabar marriage Act was perpetuated  due to  ‘’  being a father less child’’ in British India. The intelligent Nair’s ‘’social inadequacy ‘’ was a serious impediment while competing with Brahmins to the lucrative colonial bureaucratic and legal positions.

Controlled sexuality in patriarchy was further implemented as per Engels ‘’as men won wars and acquired private property’’ while women hitherto bread winners becoming child bearers in the changed power hierarchy and again female sexuality takes the hit. As social psychologists points out domestic violence and intrigues is much linked to the physical disharmony among the couples in marriage unable to escape this imposed bondage in marriage.

While patriarchy takes its animistic lineage from the kingdom of lions where the dominant male takes control of its lioness who in fact bear the cub and feeds it. But it also needs to be noted by the patriarch that when a new lion steps in the old one retreats. that’s the rule of the jungle. Well, that is too crude to portray but a successful marriage and monogamy should rest on mutual love trust and respect but not on imposed sexual ownership be it a male or female

These matters   still remaining contentious but the judge’s statement has opened a pandora’s box of arguments for and against the issue and will pave way to fresh thinking. However, for many effeminate men in our society Justice Chandrachud has created a nightmare in their bedrooms.

 

 

 

Kerala's Sheshan

 

As we are surpassing the 75^th year of our independence, there are discussions on sanctity and working freedom of constitutional authorities . While corrupt politicians are now being chased by the Enforcement directorate and CBI, a section of the media has alleged that Institutions are politically managed. However it is also a fact that constitutional institutions have consistently shown us through effective leadership, that authority of those Institutions can be well exercised in delivering effective justice to the public.

Take in the case of the election commission. When the late TN Sheshan took over as the Election commissioner in the mid-nineties, brazing all political pressures he ensured that the  code of conduct of elections are enforced, resulting in free and fair election. It can be recalled that the political establishment then, finding the powers of the election commissioner was  beyond their control,  trifurcated the institution as we see it today. However the legacy set henceforth by the late TN Sheshan  still continues with each subsequent election commissioners strictly following the rule book even while disgruntled politicians, when they lose an election, murmurs about fake voting machines .

The second instance of effective leadership of uploading constitutional authority was during the coal scam which was reported by the office of the then Comptroller and Auditor General impact from which the then ruling party is still struggling .While all these development took place in the domain of central administration, little is being reported by the mainstream media of a similar exercise of enforcement of Institutional authority against political nepotism happening in the case of Kerala. Governor Dr Arif Mohammed Khans strict tirade against the politically backed nepotism of appointment of Academicians in State Universities is the case in point.

One of the reasons for higher education in India being in shambles is the excessive politicization   of its governing senate which is the key decision body involved in selection of academicians and giving contracts. In most cases in the States, the senators are camouflaged academicians with political colors or loyalty , giving  the political parties concerned   direct influence in decision making  .  Selection to academic positions is mostly met not by merit but by political consideration. Cases of giving lakhs of rupees for posting have been reported in many places. The recent teachers recruitment scam in West Bengal is an example.

In the case of Kerala, the governor being the chancellor of the Universities refrained from blindly signing the senate recommendations. In the current case the wife of an officer of the State CM is alleged to have been recommended, which the governor has objected to. In order to circumvent this  objection, the State Government made efforts in bringing an ordinance, to curtail powers of the Governor. When the governor did not approve of the ordinance , it is now contemplated that a bill may be brought in this regard to curtail his powers

While this political imbroglio goes on what need to be noted is on the relevance of the role of a governor in a federal set up. Position of the governor have often been criticised as a gubernatorial position and in this case, Governor of Kerala has aptly demonstrated that constitutional authority and morals can be enforced and institutions protected. By doing so the name of Dr Arif Muhammed Khan goes into the lore of those leaders who held India high in spirit

History of Rightwing movement in India

 

Ancient period:

The term Hindu was an abbreviated form for reference of people living beyond the Sindhu River named by contemporary communities especially that of the Arabs and Persians who had trade relations with them. The term did not then signify any monolithic religion but was a general reference name for identity of region and people. The religious beliefs of people during those times were related  to various sects  and philosophies  but was either related to the vedas (vaidikam) like Brahmanism, Vaishnavism , Shaktism and non vaidic (avaidikam) like Ajivikas, Charvakam,Budhism and Jainism . Shaivism had much variants which were either in the vaidikam or  avaidikam tradition but later forms part of the larger vaidika dharma . However there seems to exist a rudimentary form of socio-cultural identity structured under a caste system which could be inferred from the term ‘’ Mlechas’’ which were referred to immigrants into the landmass who did not assimilate into the common culture of the region.

Medieval period:

Prior to the Islamic Invasion of India in the 7^th Century by Arabs and in the 12^th Century by Turks, a political Hindu Identity was absent. A identify formed from the differentiation of idolators and iconoclasts emerged since then mainly from the political fallout from the conflicts of Islamic Sultanates and Kingdoms in India from the 12^th Century onwards with the Hindu Kings. The resistance of Rajput Kings Like Pritviraj Chouhan and Rana Sangha and Marathas under Chatrapati Shivaji testifies a religious angle to the conflict much reflected by Idolatry, iconoclasm and  religious taxes

The religious angle to conflict against Islamic forces can be best cited to the emergence of Vijayanagaram Kingdom in the Deccan. The traditional account referred in Nilakanta Shastri’s History of South India is that of the capture and conversion into Islam of the local chief tons Harihara -1 and Bukka by the Delhi Sultan in the 13^th century and their escape and reconversion into Hinduism done and establishing a mighty empire which spread all over south India. The medieval period of Hindu Consciousness can also be connected to the bhakti movements which evolved in the South and later spread to the North of India. However, during this period a consolidated Hindu political Identity was absent in the sub-continent.

Modern Period:      

While it can be mentioned that the first war of Independence of India of 1857 was triggered primarily by religious offences faced by both Hindus and Muslims from British Officers, the rebellion was conspicuous of a collective Hindu -Muslim onslaught on the British empire. This necessitated a narrative of division and creation of a  Hindu-Muslim dyad  as part of policy by the British Administration . This strategy eventually resulted in division of Bengal on religious lines in 1905 and the communal constituencies created through the Minto Morley reforms in 1906. The British policy of divide and rule had a strong bearing on emergence of religious identity formation and nationalistic aspiration both among Hindu as well as Muslims.

The Hindu identity politics initially emerged as a resentment to the passive Hindu aristocratic affiliation of the moderate congress to the British empire. This was led by Balagangadhara Tilak who looked into Hindu and maratha  traditions as sources for nationalistic aspirations. The prevalent religious reforms movements especially the formation of the Arya Samaj did create an impetus to Hindu nationalist aspirations .  However the formation of the Punjab Hindu Mahasabha in 1909 through Lal Chand and UN Mukherji ,focussed on creating a Hindu centric political movement  was mainly guided against the conciliatory politics of the congress which eventually resulted in the formation of the All India Hindu Maha Sabha in April 1915 during the Haridwar Kubhmela and  was ironically facilitated by Mahatma Gandhi himself.

The emergence of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who started the Abhinav bharat society (young India movement) in 1904 and that of Aurobindo Ghosh who joined Bengal National congress and his association with anushasan samiti till 1910 was focussed on a revolutionary approach to the freedom movement. Both their political leaning was inspired by a collective Hindu Identity. Influenced by their writing and political thinking,  Kesav Baliram Hedgewar started an organisation called Rashtriya Syamsewak Sangh in 1925 on a Vijayadashami day along with  his similar ideologues prominent among them being Guruji Gowalkar for ‘cultural and spiritual regeneration of Hinduism’. The organisation did not actively associate with the freedom movement and instead focussed on activities which imbibed a strong Hindu consciousness among the youth. His activities were followed by Guruji Gowalkar who succeeded him in 1940  and under whom the a political Hindu consciousness movement started developing a political ideology as referred through his book ‘’ We or Our nationhood defined’’ . Govalkar spoke of cultural nationalism and a Hindu Rashtra incorporating the ancient Hindu civilisational cradle as Akhand Bharat.

The pre independent modern period had do academic and educational development which has propelled the development of Hindu consciousness. In 1938 a educationalist turned politician Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi started the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan a series of educational establishment to promote Indian culture based education. Prior to that Swamy Vivekananda founded the Rama krishna Mission and spread the values of Hindu religion through his famous speech in the parliament of world religions held in Chicago in 1893. Vivekananda remained a cultural icon to the Hindu nationalists and his work significantly contributed to the concept of cultural nationalism in India. Additionally the works done by British Indologists like William Jones, Henry Thomas and among Indians notably being R G Bhandarkar in addition to the Archaeologists and Historians of the period have created a consciousness of a prideful past of the nation. The works of Alexander cunningham who found the Archaeological Survey of India, John Marshel credited with the discovery of the Indus civilisation, Motimer wheeler and James Princip among other. This was followed by many woks on archaeology mainly led by Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankhalia , Dayaram Sahni etc which re interacted the intelligentsia about a strong linkage to India’s cultural continuity.

Post Independent Period:

The independence of India which was followed by the division of the nation, the communal backlash and notably the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, by Nathuram Godse ,  a Hindu Maha Sabha activist submerged the Hindutva movement . However, the Fabián socialist and secular principles of the new congress led government was opposed by a new leader , a critic of Nehru , a member of his first cabinet and a dropout from the Hindu Mahasabha, namely Shyam prasad Mukherji . In 1951 with the support of the RSS, Mukerji started the Bharatiya Janasangh as a Hindu nationalist alternative to the Indian national congress . This was also followed by R Rajagopalachari disguised by left socialist leaning of the congress formed a party called Swatantra Party in 1959. Both these parties  formed the initial right wing alternative to the congress party under Jawarlal Nehru with the former on Hindutva ideology and the latter with an anti-socialist ideology .

The Bhartiya Jan Sangh could win only 3 seats in the 1952 Lok Sabha elections and remained in the fringes of Indian political till 1967 , heavily dominated by the Indian National congress and also due to the sudden death of Shyama prasad Mukherji in 1953 under suspicious circumstances .  Deendayal Upadhyaya re defined the Jan Sangh ideology under a principle of Integral Humanism which he propounded against western individualism and Marxian socialism, which later echoed as Swadeshi Sagran Manch and most lately as Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat. The principle takes cues from Gandhian ideologies of Swadishi, Sarvodaya and Gram swaraj and under his leadership JanSangh got 35 seats in the lok sabha elections held in 1967. After his untimely death in 1968, Atal Bihari Vajpayee become the President of Jan Sangh till 1972 which was followed by LK Advani till 1977. The Jansangh’s association with Janata Party resulted in its participation in the Morarji Desai cabinet from 1977 to 1979. However the issue of being a political party member and a member of RSS jointly was opposed by the Janata Party in 1980 after its poor performance in the national elections . this led to Bharatiya Jan Sangh breaking away from Janata Party and forming the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980 under the president ship of Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

In 1984, the moderate Vajpayee was succeeded by LK Advani a hardliner who vehemently criticised the practice of secularism in India naming it as Pseudo secularism. According to LK Advani, the practice of secularism in India was for minority appeasement. The immediate political opportunity for the party under LK Advani was the promulgation of the Muslim Women (Protection on Divorce Act), 1986. This law overturned the Supreme Court’s verdict in the Shah Bano case which allowed continuous maintenance to Muslim women . The 1986 Muslim Women (Protection on Rights of Divorce) Act diluted the Supreme Court judgment and allowed maintenance to a divorced woman only during the period of iddat, or till 90 days after the divorce.

Meanwhile in 1964 the Viswa Hindu Parishad was formed by Guruji Gowalkar and  S S Apte under the able guidance of the Pujniya Swamy Chinmayananda the founder of Chinmaya mission and one of the post independent global  exponent of Gita and Upanishad philosophies . The VHP which aims to consolidate, serve and protect the Hindu Community, under the then leadership of Ashok Singhal decided to take up the issue of Ram Janmabhoomi in its Dharma Sansad held in Delhi in 1984. In 1989 in its Palampur,Kangra Resolution the BJP under LK Advani took a resolution to fight for the cause of Ram Janmabhoomi which resulted into his rath yatra which resulted in a political consolidation of the Hindus . In the elections that followed after the BJP has consistently outweighed the congress party and in 1998 the party along with like minded groups formed the National democratic alliance which came to power in 1998 to 2004 being the first non-congress political dispensation which completed  its 5 year tenure.

Twenty first century and Hindutva movement:

Emergence of the twenty first century saw the coming  of a new generation technologically enabled and highly networked through a burgeoning social media. By the second decade of this century conservative nationalism started emerging across the globe with individual leaders leading youthful movements. The Hindutva movement quickly moved into the digital platform and found centrifuged under a leader named Narendra Modi the then chief minister of Gujarat. The digital Hindutva movement under Mr Modi focussed not only on the national but also on the global Hindu diaspora. Unlike the focussed religious agenda the digital Hindutva campaign was on development christened ‘’ sab ke saat sab ka vikas’’ a term which reverberated among the youth and middle class Indians paving way for the second NDA government under Narendra Modi as PM in 2014 .

Legend and mystery of Mahabali: My historical musing

 

Onam festival is around the corner. People from Kerala around the globe await the arrival of their mythical king Mahabali, to his erstwhile kingdom of prosperity and equality. Similarly during Diwali times, on the fourth day, in parts of Maharashtra, South Gujarat, and Goa, people celebrate the Bali Padiyami or Bali pradipada meaning the coming of Mahabali. These are the two known festivals celebrating the coming of a lost King. Both these festivals have the common factors of flowering one’s houses, making special foods and dances, signifying welcoming of a guest. On a rational mindset, we can say that the guest here is, the coming of the spring season, the time to sow the seed to bring in wealth and prosperity. However, how do these two festivals echo the same spirit?

The legend of Mahabali which is common in both festivals comes from the same puranic story of The king of the asuras, grandson of King Prahlad, and son of King Virochana, who defeated Lord Indra. This righteous king was pushed to a lower world called pataal none other than Lord Vishnu during his Vamana avata. However, the King was permitted to visit his kingdom once a year marking the start of the above festivities both Bali pradipada and Onam

Setting aside the myth associated with the legend, a rational mind will try to unearth the historical significance of Mahabali which this article strives to do. Any historical deductions have to be based on, archaeological, numismatic, epigraphic, and literary sources and pieces of evidence.  Unfortunately, a major part of our ancient history is shrouded in myth and mystery, and modern historians due to lack of evidence have not unearthed the stories of many such historical characters and not much scholarship has gone into that area. In such a scenario what is only possible is a historical deduction from a set of references.

Looking into the geography of the Mahabali legend, there are few places where names associated with the king are still prevalent. Mahabalipuram in Chennai and Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra are examples signifying at least the commonality of this name. In a book named ‘’Mamalapuram’’, its author S Swaminathan discounts the claim that the city derives the name from Mahabali but from the word Mamallan which means wrestler. It is also to be noted that King Narasimhavarnam-1 who founded Mamalapuram alias Mahabalipuram was a wrestler. On the other hand, Mahabaleshwar is a hill station in Pune, and the name Mahabali, according to locals is the name of Shiva and is the deity of the Mahabaliswar temple there. However, the available records in the local gazetteers do not mention that the name has any historical link with Mahabali the king.

Epigraphically there is mention of ‘Mahavali’and bana kings in a few inscriptions from the Kolar region deciphered by Benjamin Lewis, the British historian in the 19th century. Banas claimed they are descendants of Mahabali and his son Banasura and later banas were vassals of the Chollas and the Pandhyas ruling the present north Karnataka. In the Girnar Jain inscriptions in the Junagadh district of Gujarat, the Chalukyan minister Vastupal is compared to ‘’Bali’’ because of his benevolence in making temples in the region, which means that the legend of a benevolent king called Bali existed in those times.

The only direct mention of Mahabali the king is in the Bhagavat, Vishnu, and Matsya Purana. Ironically in Bhagavatpurana Mahabali ruled near the Narmada River and his son Banasura ruled Shonitpuram which is present Tezpur in Assam while the place associated with Mahabali’s father Prahlad and grandfather Hiranyakashapu is in Prahladpuri near Multan which is in present Pakistan leaving a large geography to trace the lineage of Mahabali.

According to NV Krishnawarrior the Malayalam polyglot in an essay written in 1960 called Kalotsawam compares Onam to an ancient Sumerian New Year festival and the lineage of Hiranyakaspu, Prahlad, and Mahabali to that of Sumerian immigration to Southern India. Assyria was a Sumerian kingdom ruled by the Asurs deviated as asuras in the Purana. In an article published by the Indian archaeologist AM Kurup in 1966 titled Sociology of Onam, he opines that Mahabali may be a pseudonym of an early Chera king who was a Shiavaite and defeated by the immigrating Vaishnavite Brahmins.

Besides these anecdotic references, king Mahabali is shrouded in mystery but few historical deductions can be made

·        Based on the Puranas and legends King Mahabali was the powerful and benevolent ruler of the Dakshina pada the region south of the river Narmada comprising regions of Gujarat, parts of Madhyapradesh, Maharashtra, Konkan region, and habited regions of southern India. His benevolence was so intense that his glory of governance was passed over to generations resulting in folklore and festivals which included Onam and Balipradipada which were intermingled with local agrarian traditions.

·        The myth of his association with the devas and Indra becoming jealous of him and in the ensured war with India where he defeated Indra can be construed as expansionism of Mahabali to regions beyond the Narmada and the resistance from early Janapada rulers of the Indo-Gangetic plains.

·        The myth of the Vamana avatar and the engagement with Mahabali signifies the Vaishnavite religious expansion to the south of Narmada reaching up to Kerala.

·        The territorial expansion of Mahabali was carried forward by his son Banasura, but on his defeat by Krishna ( Yadav King of Dwaraka) the kingdom declined to certain peripheries in southern India and their decedents re-emerged as the Bana kings of Karnataka

How is then the Mahabali in the Onam tradition so intense in Kerala? According to Keralolpathi ( A book written by ancient Kerala brahmins on the origin of Kerala) brahmins and their dependent castes immigrated to present Kerala, under the leadership of sage Parasurama who is said to have carved out a landscape for his tribe settlement. Parasurama is considered a Vishnu avatar and manifested after the Vamana avatar, which is a contradiction but traditional hearsay goes that Onam was started as a festival by Brahmins in the early Christian era upon their settlement glorifying the Brahmanic boy avatar Vamana portraying Vishnu’s dominance over the non brahmanic asura king Mahabali.

Literary reference to Onam is there in Madurai Kanji one of the poems of the Pattupattu a Tamil Sangam era literary source ascribed by historians to the 2nd century AD. The next source is the 3rd Century Malayalam era inscriptions discovered from the Trikkakara temple (9th/10th Century AD) about the details of the festivities called Onam in the chingam month in the temple attended by the local chieftains.

The Malayalam era started in 825 AD which was the period from which the distinctiveness of the Malayalam language and culture started deviating from its parent Tamil culture and language mainly ascribed to Brahmanic sanskritisation. Onam and Mahabali evolved as a significant social festival after this period only but the central question of who Mahabali was still remains in mystery.

In our culture where myth and reality are not distinguishable, beyond the image of a mustached potbellied king there lived a glorious and benevolent king somewhere in peninsular India.

Happy Onam to all my readers: