Why Kaveri wears saffron -- Tarun Vijay

Why kaveri wears saffron?

Tarun Vijay says,

"Karnataka results have defied the pettiness of the polity we had been
witnessing over water sharing and language–regional conflicts and have
proved that merger with the nationalist cause is worthier than
asserting parochial and smaller identities. It's also a verdict
against hate and ideological apartheid."

(Tarun Vijay's article is given below.)

In my opinion, as one who lived in Mysore for sometime, the reason for
saffron surge is truly saffron! That is about the urge to stick to
saffron tinge of Hinduism.

The Kannadigas seem to have been worried by the idealogical apartheid
committed by the Congress against the Hindus.

Even in the last elections, a considerable section expressed
disappointment that the BJP failed to muster a simple majority though
it managed to bag more seats than others.
The recent election is a logical culmination of that concern.

The common man of Karnataka - read voter - is very much devout,
god-fearing and god-loving one.
Look at their temples at any place in Karnataka. You can roll on the
floor at any place in their temples. Also one must see them in their
temple behaviour to know that their devotion is superior by not
exhibiting any expectation in return.

In fact many of my friends in Karnataka used to ask me why the Tamils
care less about maintaining their temples neat and clean, why they are
not a devoted lot inspite of having many ancient temples and why they
gave space for anti- god parties like the DMK.

I had some experience about their devotion.
I had some difficulty in getting a domestic help for sometime after I
shifted to Mysore.

It is because they could not know that I am a religious person, for I
did not have a linga tied in my chain as they have. The language
problem also added to my woes.
Only after getting myself certified by a friend that I am a devout
person, could I get one to help me. This person was a lingayat, who
swore to work only for devotees of Shiva.
My friend convinced her that we are in no way inferior to them in
our devotion as Vaishnavas.

After the tsunami, I heard many educated ones and elites of Mysore
tell that such mishaps would not happen to believers. More than me
(from Tamil nadu) they seemed to know many instances of survivors who
attributed their escape from tsunami to God's providence.

Such people would surely gravitate towards a party which stands by
religious sentiments.
Congress's outward exhibition of care-less attitude to issues of
Hinduism, particularly in the Ram sethu issue would have gone deep
into their minds.

Added to this is the callous attitude of Congress high command towards
Karnataka.
There has been a seething anger that Karnataka has not be represented
well in the union ministry.
Many kannadigas whom I met, after knowing that I am from Tamil nadu
used to ask me if it was fair to allot so many ministerial berths to
DMK and allies, when not even a few are there from Karnataka in the
Union ministry.

The comparison used to move to film stars too and there was palpable
anger against Ambareesh, who they felt was either ignored by Central
command or was incapable of impressing the congress bosses at the
centre.

Dayanaidhi maran (those times) was a much hated person when he was a minister.
Even a flower vendor used to pour scorn on Maran on how he was
diverting everything for Tamil nadu and how Karunanidhi was calling
the shots.

Coming to Hogenakkal, more than the morality / right or wrong of the
issue, it is Karunanidhi's
"veera- vachanam" that provoked them. The tacit understanding between
him and Sonia is another irritant that shapes their views against the
Congress.

Karunanidhi is a liability to Sonia.
She will realize it after elections to other assemblies also are held!

- jayasree

****************************************************

Note from Dr S. kalyanaraman on
'Why Kaveri wears saffron ' by -- Tarun Vijay

"Congratulations, Tarun Vijay ji, for the impassioned article. Yes, it
is sangha s'akti which has won. Narendra Modi ji talked of jyoti punj.
You refer to Yadavrao Joshi, HV Seshadri, Suryanarayana Rao. They are
the jyoti punj who give us a glimpse of Maa Bharati. With dedication
and blessings of Maa Sarasvati everything is possible.

namaskaram. kalyan"

http://hindutva97.blogspot.com/2008/05/why-kaveri-wears-saffron-tarun-vijay.html

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Why Kaveri wears saffron
28 May 2008, 1943 hrs IST,Tarun Vijay (Times of India)

The saffron Karnataka wears is aglow with the sacrifices of the
anonymous workers who lived with a reason, for a cause. Who sowed
saffron in Karnataka's soil – like Yadav Rao Joshi, H V Seshadri,
Suryanarain Rao, often going to sleep on an empty stomach but worked
day and night to spread the message of a strong nationalism,
motherland first and foremost. Everything else was secondary.

When Seshadri breathed his last, he was listening to the Sangh prayer
– namaste sada vatsale matribhume (Salutations to thee, O beloved
motherland...) But Vidhan Saudha was never on their radar of
achievements. Their mission was and remains a total transformation of
society into a proud, strong, self-reliant, knowledge reservoir with
character which would lead Bharat, which is India, into the highest
ranks of the comity of nations. Political power is just one small step
in that direction.

The people who remember their past have a future. The saffron we see
blooming in the South is powered with the ideas of a man whose birth
anniversary would largely go unnoticed today. Veer Vinayak Damodar
Savarkar was the name of the man who shook Hindus from their lethargic
and self-demeaning attitude and who put the word Hindutva in vogue.

I remember Madhumangal Sharma who was killed while reading a book by
Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya in his Imphal house. The day bullets pierced
his heart, through the book, happened to be 11th February, 1995. It
was also the martyrdom day of the author he liked most, Pt. Deen Dayal
Upadhyaya, who was murdered mysteriously on 11th Feb 1968 on a moving
train.

One could wonder in these times of extreme parochialism why a Manipuri
in Imphal would be reading a book by a northerner? The same Manipur
has banned all books of Hindi writers, Hindi movies, and finally the
national anthem now.

The martyrdom of Pt Upadhyaya and Madhumangal and many others for a
cause energised a collective will to bring change in polity. That's
what nationalism is all about. Different parts, one body. There are
youngsters who still have the courage to stand for a broader, Indian
nationalism in Manipur facing foreign-funded extremists who have
otherwise succeeded in silencing all other voices reflecting
Indianness.

What makes them brave the bullets? Love for motherland, and that's
saffron unquestioningly.

Shyama Prasad Mookerjee was born in Bengal and became the youngest
ever vice-chancellor of Calcutta University at the age of 33. He was a
close friend of Kaji Nazrul Islam, helped him when he needed most, was
a part of the family of Rabindranath Tagore, became a legendary figure
in his life time, inherited a legacy Bengal is justifiably proud of,
and he died for Kashmir. His mysterious "death" in the jail of Sheikh
Abdullah, in Srinagar on 23rd June 1953 raised questions that are
still unanswered. The only reason for his untimely death was his
demand that Kashmir be assimilated in India like any other state. And
there should not be two flags, two constitutional provisions and two
heads in relation to Kashmir. He was arrested for entering the valley
without a permit, in his own country and jailed where he met a sudden
death.

Mookerjee's mother, Jogmaya Devi wrote to Nehru on 4 July 1953: "His
death is shrouded in mystery. Is it not most astounding and shocking
that ever since his detention there, the first information that I, his
mother, received from the government of Kashmir was that my son was
'no more', and that also at least two hours after the end? And in what
a cruel, cryptic way the message was conveyed! '. A fearless son of
free India has met his death while 'in detention without trial' under
most tragic and mysterious circumstances. I, the mother of the great
departed soul, demand that an absolutely impartial and open enquiry by
independent and competent persons be held without any delay. I know
nothing can bring back to us the life that is no more. But I do want
that the people of India must judge for themselves, the real causes of
this great tragedy enacted in a free country and the part that was
played by your government."

Nehru gave a short reply on 5 July 1953: "l did not venture to write
to you before without going into the matter of Dr Shyama Prasad
Mookerjee's detention and death fairly carefully. I have since
enquired further into it from a number of persons who had occasion to
know 'some facts'. I can only say to you that I arrived at the clear
and honest conclusion that there is no mystery in this and that Dr
Mookerjee was given every consideration."

This was really rude and Jogmaya Devi replied on 9th July, 1953: "Your
letter dated 5th July reached me on the 7th. It is a sad commentary on
the whole situation. Instead of helping to clear up the mystery, your
attitude deepens it (further). I demanded an open enquiry. I did not
ask 'for your clear and honest conclusion'. Your reaction to the whole
affair is now well known. The people of India and I, the mother, have
got to be convinced. There is a rooted suspicion in the mind of many.
What is required is 'an open, impartial, immediate enquiry'.

'Your experience in jails is known to all. It was at one time a matter
of great national pride with us. But you had suffered imprisonment
under an alien rule and my son has met his death in detention without
trial under a national government. It is futile to address you
further. You are afraid to face facts. I hold the Kashmir government
responsible for the death of my son. I accuse your government of
complicity in the matter."

Nehru never cared to reply.

Shyama Prasad's martyrdom too has added to the saffron we see in Karnataka.

The Kothari brothers and others who died facing brutal police
repression in Ayodhya during their satyagraha to demand a Ram Temple
in 1990 is a scar on India's body that would hardly be forgotten. The
other side of the secular Talibanism creates ghettoes of Gulags and
Siberia-ism for votebank politics. Hasn't the accumulated angst
against these discriminations fuelled a change in the Indian political
scene? Remember the best of Indian soldiers, editors and actors like
Gen Candeth, Gen. Jacob, Girilal Jain and Victor Banerjee joined the
saffron side in the aftermath of Ayodhya. And who were those who died
demanding a ban on cow slaughter? Were they simply an expendable crowd
of illiterate, empty-headed buffoons, trampling on other's rights in
times when editors love to write about restaurants serving the most
tasty beef?

Those teachers and truck drivers and auto-rickshaw owners who were
killed in Kannur and Palakad just for wearing saffron have also
contributed to the Karnataka victory.

And those hundreds of highly qualified selfless workers who lived and
died anonymously for seeing saffron bloom, did help in paving the way
for the leaders who rule today with a broad smile on their faces,
though they never aspired to work for a political fortune.

Who were those workers who dedicated their lives for a cause that
would never provide them comfort or fame? What was that magic bond
that bound them in a solidarity that would not be shaken under any
circumstances. They first fought the British, then the Communists and
their political mates in Congress and progressed astoundingly well in
spite of a collective media assault and opposition that would surpass
every logic and sense of balance. Today the saffron brotherhood is
running the largest number of successful schools, has the highest
number of service projects in slums and tribal areas across the
country from Port Blair to Leh and Naharlagun to the Nilgiris, runs
centres to train Scheduled Caste youths as priests and computer
engineers and provides the nation the sinews it needs during any
crisis. None will see these elements of fire and light but will only
comment frivolously on the electoral underpinnings and caste-religion
equations. The saffron we see blooming over the Vidhan Saudha in
Bangalore is the result of a collective will engulfing the grand
Indian picture we worship as mother incarnate.

Those who occupy the plush chairs inside must remember this and the
responsibility that comes along with wearing colour. The land of Hampi
and Basaveshwara and Kanak Dasa wants to see that the polluted Kaveri
(Cauvery) of public administration, behavior and accountability be
cleaned and Sanskrit and Sanskriti (culture) flowers unhindered.
Always remember why Hampi was razed and for whom. Should the children
of that past forget their ancestors and get glued to elements that
negate the fragrance of the land?

Karnataka results have defied the pettiness of the polity we had been
witnessing over water sharing and language–regional conflicts and have
proved that merger with the nationalist cause is worthier than
asserting parochial and smaller identities. It's also a verdict
against hate and ideological apartheid.

Media with seculars of the red variety have turned saffron into a term
of abuse and derided its use as if belonging to saffron is a sin.
Today with Karnataka, saffron rules over seven states on its own. The
red smart seculars, self-obsessed "upholders" of the peace marches and
candle-burning rituals for Afzals and betrayers of faith, find
themselves completely marginalized and shrunk. Naturally so. As the
grand Indian vision expands, the myopic market managers of Marx and
Macs will have to squeeze into a smaller space.

I have always maintained that the hate factor in Indian politics is a
contribution of the left and alien thought processes. Swami Dayananda
fiercely attacked the practice of idol worship among Hindus but he was
accommodated and respected, not turned into an outcaste and fatwa-ed
to death. Guru Nanak and Kabir criticized ritualism and the blind
faith prevalent among influential Hindus. But they were revered and
adored. Hate and animosity on the basis of beliefs is alien to Hindus
and was introduced by those who are inherently intolerant to the
different viewpoint.

There is no reason for the hate between various political parties in
India – after all they all swear to work for the good of India and
Indians. The polity must play on the foundation of a pan-Indian
vision. Programmes may differ but the fragmentisation must come to an
end giving way to fraternisation. Seculars have so far invested their
pride in being backward, most backward and other backwards. Yet they
call themselves as most progressives. See what's happening in
Rajasthan. A matter of pride?

It's the dharma of all Indian political organisations to see that
India prospers and doesn't fall prey to divisive and mutually hateful
policies to nurse vote banks. The nation must stand taller than the
South Blocked ambitions.

The author is the Director, Dr Syamaprasad Mookerjee Research Foundation.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-3080819,flstry-1.cms