C'da: I was trying to find what message the writer wants the reader to get. Is it - The Shabari Kumbh mela should not be there? - The only backward place in India? - The organizer is RSS or affiliated organizations?
Have the writer ever visited 'Sahitya Sabha Odhibexon' in Assam? It is the same case. The place gets a face-lift. That is the reason why a place wants to organize such a MELA. Ganesh --- Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > When It Comes To Power The RSS Knows Its Gods > > Why this hostility around an inspirational story > from a great epic? > > By Dilip D'Souza > > Dilip D'Souza > The road to Ahwa gets worse as we get closer to the > little town. We > can tell as much by the light of a full Sankrant > moon, playing > peekaboo as we wind through the hills; brilliant > burnt orange when we > first see it low on the horizon, gleaming silver > high into the sky as > the night wears on. Though really, I don't need the > moon to tell me > how bad the road is. The bumps suffice. > > On the right along one stretch, there's nothing > between us and the > dull gleam of a river. But wait, what are those > flickers of orange > just beyond the road's edge? Small fires. We've seen > plenty of those, > clumps of people huddled around them warding off the > January Dangs > chill. But here the fires seem...well, constricted. > These are fires > inside small shacks. > > These are labourers working on the road, living > beside it for the > duration, as migrant labour does. Labourers, come > 'home' for the > night. Shacks like these, all over the Dangs. > > So what's cooking here? The Shabari Kumbh mela, > 500,000 pilgrims > expected. Roads are being improved, but there's > more. Long tracts of > empty fields have sprouted poles, by the thousands, > for tents to > house pilgrims. Troughs have been dug and lined with > multi-coloured > toilets. Large plastic water tanks stand on concrete > platforms. > Electricity is making its way all over the district. > The Purna river > has had 22 check dams built on it to form > Pampasarovar, where > pilgrims are supposed to bathe. > > All this, because for years, tribals in the Dangs > have quietly > venerated a spot on top of a hill near dusty Subir. > Kumbh organisers > say this is where Shabari sat Ram and Lakshman while > she fed them > berries. So they are building a temple here, and > decided to hold this > celebration. > > > Hyper-reality: Shabari Kumbh poster > > Witness this inscription: We will remove > conversions and jehadi mentality from this > world...What does such > hostility have to do with > a tender story from a > great epic? > February 11, 12, 13, 2006: likely the most crowded > days the Dangs > will ever see. Yet, if faith is to be served, if > pilgrims are to find > spiritual fulfillment in the gentle waters of > man-made Pampasarovar - > why the things you hear about the event? An RSS > activist at the mela > office, Mahesh Daga said, "The main objective is to > put a full stop > to conversion of tribals." > > The Kumbh mela's website, shabarikumbh.org, has a > section, 'About > Kumbh'. The second paragraph there is a denunciation > of the Christian > church. You learn that the slogan Hindu jagao, > Christi bhagao has > become 'popular' in the Dangs. You learn that Swami > Aseemananda, one > of the moving spirits behind the mela, told > Christians here, "I have > come here to drive away those who have come here to > serve." > > What does such hostility have to do with a tender > story from a great > epic? 'About Kumbh' has more of interest. > "Organising a Kumbh in a > remote, heavily forested area is a nightmare," it > says. "The 352 > villages in Dang district had no electricity or > roads ... There are > no medical facilities or eateries in the vicinity. > ... Realizing the > importance of (the Kumbh) the state government of > Shri Narendra Modi > has extended full cooperation (and) has undertaken > construction of > roads on a war footing. All the 352 villages of Dang > have got > electrification." > > Good. But consider: if the state government has > done so much since > the idea for the Kumbh, why was the Dangs deprived > before? After all, > Modi has been in power for several years. Why did it > need a Kumbh for > his government to bring electricity here, to > construct roads "on a > war footing"? > > The irony goes deeper. We drove between the > Navsari border and Ahwa > one night, between Pampasarovar and Ahwa the next > night. If you > discount Ahwa, the number of electric lights we saw > could be numbered > on two hands. Oh, but plenty of village homes were > lit by fires and > oil lamps. Some families used to have electricity > and meters but > could not pay their bills. Why? One farmer told us > that bills only > came once in two years, thus for large amounts like > Rs 12,000. Unable > to pay - they could have managed smaller monthly > bills - their meters > and supply were taken away. > > So I have no idea what shabarikumbh.org means by > claiming that all > 352 villages have been electrified. > > What is electrified, of course, is the temple. > Sited on top of a > hill with a magnificent view of forested slopes, the > Shabari Dham > temple promises to be a spectacular tribute to a > charming story. Yet > here too, there is hostility. To one side is a large > concrete water > tank, with this inscription: Dharmantran aur jehad > ke vichaar ko > vishwa se nirmool karenge (We will remove > conversions and the jehadi > mentality from this world). > > And later, as we drive past dark villages like > Mukhammal and Jarsol > where meters were installed, then ripped out, we can > see brightness > on that hill. Yes, the not-yet-finished temple has > lights at night. > The villages don't. Welcome to the Kumbh mela. > > > The writer is a Mumbai-based journalist > > > Feb 18 , 2006 > > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > assam@assamnet.org > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
