Even at the risk of contempt of court, I must say that the manner in which the Tamil Nadu courts have conducted proceedings against the Kanchi Shankaracharya has left millions of citizens with the feeling that justice has not been seen to be done. As this is the litmus test of justice, the Chief Justice of India, who recently promised action against bad eggs, would do well to watch this extremely sensitive case.
It has become a political fashion to invoke the majesty of law while launching a trial by organized propaganda through the media. Thereafter, the law is “guided” along a particular course. Tamil NaduPublic Prosecutor K. Doraisamy indicated this course when he called Swami Jayendra Saraswati a “most undeserving criminal,” and fought to deny him bail. The courts acquiesced and extended the judicial remand of the 70-year-old seer by a fortnight, even as the case against him showed holes bigger than lunar craters. I also wonder if Jayalalitha’s award of Rs. Five lakhs to the wife of the murdered man is judicially appropriate at this stage of the case.
If the law is equal for all, we must understand what equality entails. Some years ago, an inebriated young man in a BMW mowed down five or six pavement dwellers in the wee hours of the morning and nearly washed away the evidence when caught by an alert constable. His lawyers managed bail after a fabulous compensation to the aggrieved families, “without prejudice to the case” (whatever that means), and secured the court’s indulgence to send the young man to Colombia University, USA, to complete his education and save his career. The case has never since been heard of and the young man now graces newspaper society columns.
Actor Salman Khan, arraigned in a similar crime, received bail from a compassionate police officer for the princely sum of Rs. 900/-. And the alleged murderer of poor Jessica Lal, who was shot in an illegal bar, chose the day and time of his surrender; the owners of that seedy joint remain the pride of the media. What credibility does media have when it tries to convince us of the Shankaracharya’s culpability in a murder?
Nor does the Tamil Nadu police inspire confidence. Jayalalitha was hustled into prison after Karunanidhi became Chief Minister in 1996; she returned the compliment in 2001. The Kanchi Matham’s bank accounts, from which the alleged killers were allegedly paid, metamorphosed from ICICI to Indian Bank. The key accused told the court he was tortured to confess, but retracted a day later, while still in custody.
While on politics, I must share the anguish of the Hindu community at the Prime Minister’s statement in Hyderabad that “the Centre has no interest in the matter” (of the arrest). As it is now known that the Centre was informed before the arrest, it is just as well that Dr. Manmohan Singh has modified his stance on the matter.
Meanwhile, media propaganda that Hindus are unconcerned about the arrest is questionable. The Hindu Munnani, a largely Dalit group, has protested at several places. Press reports suggest despair among Dalit families of Irulneeki village, the seer’s birthplace, where he had launched several development schemes. The Kattunanyakan scheduled tribe, scavengers by profession, built an Amman temple in 1992 with his help. Village chief Natesan said eloquently: “When many still considered us untouchables, he treated us with dignity.”
It goes without saying that when a dignitary of the Shankaracharya’s status is arrested, there must be a method behind the madness. In this case, there appears to be a synergy of vested interests and given the gravity of the crisis for Hindu society, it is worth placing all floating information on record and giving all concerned a chance to set the record straight. For in fairness, it is difficult to refute subterranean charges.
The most overt reason alleged for the Chief Minister having the gall to order the action is an intimate associate’s pathological obsession to possess all prime estate in the State. The Shankara Matham had purchased two world-class hospitals in Chennai and the Shankaracharya’s refusal to part with one, despite a heavy duty “courtesy call,” caused heartburn.
But the underlying motive is said to be a religio-political conspiracy, with possibly an international angle. His Holiness was a thorn in the flesh of evangelists, and he was reportedly furious when Jayalalitha withdrew the anti-conversion law following her rout in the Lok Sabha elections. Days before his arrest, he had also railed against the Endowments Act whereby government exercised control over temples. He supported the demand for removal of non-believers from temple managements and wanted use of temple finances for purely Hindu religious causes (i.e., funds from Hindu temples should not fund Haj subsidy or Church maintenance).
Swamiji hit the conversion industry where it most hurt. He aimed at building a temple in every Dalit village and in giving personal darshan in each village. His Chandrasekharendra Maha Vishwavidyalaya, a Deemed University, controls several educational and medical institutions, which serve the villages and challenge missionary monopoly in these sectors.
In Tamil Nadu, the cognoscenti feel American evangelists planned the whole sordid affair. Certainly the silence of the Western media over the arrest – like Sherlock Holmes’ dog that did not bark – is eloquent. The American organization that monitors freedom of religion abroad was upset with the anti-conversion law and was dialoguing with the State government to undo it. That President Bush supports vigorous evangelism is no secret. His disrespect for Hindu dharma was on public display immediately after his re-election, when he hosted an Iftaar and Diwali dinner at the White House simultaneously, and attended only the former. The pathetic excuse peddled by his staff was an insult to the worldwide Hindu community and must be perceived as such by Hindus, regardless of ideological predilections.
Within Tamil Nadu, one community reportedly dominated in the arrest drama. Moreover, the Indian Christian Council organized a protest in Bangalore against those who opposed the arrest. MLC L Hanumanthaiah said the Vishwa Hindu Parishat and Bajrang Dal activists were behaving as if the arrest was an offence (wasn’t it?). Janata Dal (S) leader Prof Narasimhaiah said the Tamil Nadu police had enough evidence (Deccan Herald 17 November 2004).
The cognoscenti say that just as Congress Governments are promoting the building of churches even where there is no Christian population, so the former actress wanted to cozy up to the UPA chairperson by cutting the nose of the Hindu community. Possibly she fears dismissal of her government, or desires an alliance with Congress during the next election.
Finally, given persistent fears of a conspiracy to takeover the Matham and its multi-crore assets, some points are in order. Immediately after the arrest, some persons met the seer in jail and pressurized him to abdicate. There is a concerted attempt to make Bal Shankaracharya renounce social activism. When Swami Vijayendra Saraswati was returning to Kanchi from Mehboobnagar, his convoy was stopped by the owner of a reputed newspaper, who personally accompanied him to the city. This gentleman reportedly attended a closed-door meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India in Kerala earlier this year along with the correspondent of a leading news channel. There is something rotten in Tamil Nadu…
The Pioneer, 30 November 2004