Lord 'Rama' and the Hindutva Politics in India

1. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) Volume 4 Issue 4, June 2020 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 – 6470 Lord ‘Rama’ and the Hindutva Politics in India Sufal Bepari M.A., Department of Political Science, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, West Bengal, India ABSTRACT The ideology of ‘Hindutva’ is an integral part of Indian politics. Discussion of the ‘Hindu nationalist politics’ in India has become more prevalent in recent times, focusing on different issues. Many new aspects of Hindutva politics has emerged. Especially, after the establishment of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of India in 2014, the Hindutva politics gained new stimulation. Lord Rama is very crucial in Hindutva politics. Different right-wing Hindu nationalist political parties and organizations have repeatedly used Lord Rama as their political weapon to incite Hindu-sentiment and to maintain their vote-bank. Initially, ‘Ram Janmabhoomi Movement,’‘Ram Rath Yatra,’ and ‘Demolition of the Babri Masjid,’ these three events were discussed to understand how Lord Rama is being used in the first phase of Hindu nationalist politics. However, the latter part of this topic focuses on two significant phenomena of recent Hindutva politics. Firstly, it has been discussed how a religious slogan like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ becomes an important political slogan. Secondly, it has been highlighted how the Rama Navami centric ‘Festival Politics’ has emerged in recent times. In this case, for the detailed analysis of these two issues, special attention has been given to the latest developments in the politics of West Bengal. Thus, throughout the discussion, it becomes clear that Lord Rama is intimately connected with the Hindu nationalist politics of India. KEYWORDS: Hindutva Politics, Ram Janmabhoomi Movement, Ram Rath Yatra, Babri Masjid Demolition, Jai Shri Ram, Festival Politics 1.INTRODUCTION The exploration of Indian politics is impossible without a review of Hindutva politics. In the same way, the context of Hindu deity Rama is inevitable when discussing the politics of Hindutva. Lord Rama has been used very efficiently in the Hindu nationalist politics of India. In that case, Rama has a special contribution behind the successful rise of many right- wing Hindu nationalist organizations and political parties. Over time, Lord Rama became one of the weapons of their vote-bank politics. Before entering into a detailed discussion of the topic, it is necessary to know briefly about Lord Rama. Rama or Ram, also known as Ramachandra, is one of the major deities of Hinduism. He is considered as the seventh incarnation of another Hindu God Vishnu. Rama was born to Kaushalya and Dasharatha in Ayodhya. Lord Rama is the central character of the ancient Hindu epic Ramayana composed by Valmiki. There are many versions of Ramayana available in India, but Valmiki’s ‘Ramayana’ is the most popular one. On the occasion of the birth of Lord Rama, Rama Navami festival is celebrated in various parts of India. Festivals like Diwali and Dussehra are also observed in India, focusing on several incidents related to the story of ‘Ramayana.’ Before the advent of Lord Rama in the post-independence Indian politics, his active presence can be noticed in the Indian political thought. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the pioneers of India’s independence movement, expressed his idea of ‘Ram Rajya’ (Rule of Rama) while expressing his political views. However, Gandhi’s concept of ‘Ram Rajya’ and present-day Hindutva politics are entirely different. How to cite this paper: Sufal Bepari "Lord ‘Rama’ and the Hindutva Politics in India" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456- 6470, Volume-4 | Issue-4, June 2020, pp.574-580, www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd31120.pdf Copyright © 2020 by author(s) and International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development Journal. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by /4.0) IJTSRD31120 URL: BY 4.0) According to M.K. Gandhi, ‘Ram Rajya’ does not mean Hindu rule, but it is a kind of ‘Divine Raj’ (Kingdom of God). To him, ‘Ram’ and ‘Rahim’ were one. In his ideal state, genuine democracy would prevail where everyone would have equal rights, and everybody would find justice easily. After the independence of India, several political parties and organizations emerged in the name of Lord Rama. Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad, Akhil Bharatiya Ramayana Mahasabha, Sri Ram Sena, were some of the examples in this regard. Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad (RRP, ‘All India Council of Rama’s Kingdom) was a right-wing-Hindu political party founded by Swami Karpatri in 1948. The RRP won three Lok Sabha seats in the 1952 Parliamentary elections and two in 1962. In 1952, 1957 and 1962, it won several dozen Vidhan Sabha seats, all in the Hindi belt, mostly in Rajasthan. Later, the party eventually merged into the Jana Sangh, the precursor to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Sri Ram Sena (literally, ‘The Army of Lord Rama’), or Sri Ram Sene, is a right-wing Hindu group. It was founded in the late 1960s by Kalki Maharaj. Recently, it has received media attention for its acts of moral policing. However, some major right-wing Hindutva groups and political parties like Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and BJP have played a leading role in bringing Lord Rama into the mainstream electoral politics of India. 2.Review of Literature Kapur (2014) [15] found that the conflict between ‘Hindu majoritarianism’ and the ‘right to religious liberty’ has intensified in the wake of the Ayodhya problem. The ‘Hindu @ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD31120 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 4 | May-June 2020 Page 574

2. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470 right’ has enacted some undemocratic and politically dangerous encroachments on secularism and the right to religious freedom. For this reason, a re-democratized revision of freedom of religion is strongly required. Kaul (2017) [16] states that a very powerful ‘Political Right’ has emerged in India, especially after the establishment of the BJP led NDA government of India in 2014. A mixture of ‘Hindutva’ and ‘Development’ occurred in India in time of Modi-government, and has being continuing mainly because of a ‘Modi myth.’ Mehta (2015) [18] argued that the Ayodhya dispute was one of the most important events that brought about a significant change in Indian politics. The matter of Ayodhya was mainly located at the crossroads of the secular and religious culture of India. Before the demolition, judicial accounts referred to the site as the ‘Ayodhya dispute,’ but after the destruction, this literature named the disputed area as the ‘Babri Masjid.’ In this case, Lord Rama constituted in law as a ‘jural person.’ Srinivasan, et al. (2018) [27] showed how the Babri Masjid demolition triggered a long-lasting conflict between Hindus and Muslims of India. This demolition destroyed the maintenance of peace in a democratic country and respect for all religions. So, the role of the Supreme Court of India is especially important in this regard. 3.Ram Janmabhoomi Movement [Beginning of Lord Rama’s Journey in Indian Politics] The powerful journey of Lord Rama in Indian politics began with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. There is a long historical debate over the birthplace of Hindu deity Rama. According to the Hindu epic Ramayana, the birthplace of Lord Rama was Ayodhya. In present-day India, the city called Ayodhya belongs to the state of Uttar Pradesh. Some local Hindus believe that the now-demolished Babri Mosque site in Ayodhya is the exact birthplace of Rama. They believe that the Mughal rulers of India demolished a Hindu shrine and built a mosque at this place. On the other hand, some opposed this theory and state that such claims arose only in the 18th century, and there is no concrete evidence that a mosque was built there by destroying a Hindu temple. Historian R. S. Sharma states that Ayodhya emerged as a Hindu pilgrimage only in medieval times since ancient texts do not mention it as a pilgrim centre. However, the history and location of the Babri Mosque, and whether a previous temple was demolished to create it or not, has led to a wide range of political, historical and socio-religious debates, which is known as ‘Ayodhya dispute.’ During the colonial rule, conflict erupted in India over this disputed place in Ayodhya. The colonial rulers adopted various administrative measures at different times in this regard. Between 1853 and 1855, there was a controversy over the ownership of the Babri Masjid site and the conduct of religious activities there. For the first time in 1883, the local Hindus demanded the construction of a temple at the disputed area. Although, that time, the demand did not turn into a movement in the real sense. In 1946, an offshoot of the Hindu Mahasabha called Akhil Bharatiya Ramayana Mahasabha started an agitation for the possession of the site. In 1949 some Hindu activists broke into the mosque and placed idols of Rama and Sita inside. People started to believe that the idols had miraculously appeared inside the mosque. The idols remained inside, and the mosque had converted into a de facto temple. Later, the land was declared to be under dispute, and the gates remained locked. In the 1980s, the VHP, belonging to the mainstream Hindu nationalist family Sangh Parivar, launched a new movement to reclaim the site for Hindus and to build a temple there. It can be said that almost with this, Lord Rama made a strong appearance in Indian politics. After the formation of BJP as a political party in 1980, Atal Bihari Vajpayee became its first president. In his leadership, BJP initially moderated the Hindu nationalist stance to gain a broader appeal, emphasizing its link to the Janata Party and the ideology of Gandhian Socialism. But in the BJP, the Vajpayee model completely failed. In the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won only two seats. This led to a shift in the ideology of the party towards a more hard-line Hindu nationalist policy. In 1984, Lal Krishna Advani was appointed as president of the party, and under him, BJP became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. The BJP made extensive use of this movement in his election campaign. This strategy of BJP led by Advani was a huge success. BJP won 88 seats in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, which made its support crucial to the National Front government of V.P. Singh. In this way, the BJP made a strong debut in national politics by using the Ram Janmabhoomi movement as a strong weapon. 4.Ram Rath Yatra [A Masterstroke in the form of ‘Yatra Politics’] From the above discussion, it is clear that BJP already enriched its vote-bank by using the Ram Janmabhoomi movement as their political tool. Further, to implement their strategy more largely, BJP’s masterstroke move was the Ram Rath Yatra. The BJP built a strong base in Indian politics through its new type of ‘Yatra Politics.’ In 1990, the government of India, led by V. P. Singh, decided to implement some of the Mandal Commission recommendations and announced that twenty-seven percent of government jobs would be reserved for people from lower-caste backgrounds. This announcement threatened the electoral constituency of the BJP. The core constituency of the BJP were people from upper-castes. Historically, the upper-castes enjoyed a monopoly over the social, political, and economic spheres of India. Thus, the new policy fed resentment among the upper-castes and raised inter-caste tensions in some parts of the country. After that, the BJP decided to use the ‘Ayodhya dispute’ to unite the Hindu vote by mobilizing anti-Muslim sentiment. To implement this plan, the BJP announced a Rath Yatra or ‘chariot journey’ across the country to Ayodhya. This effort tied in well with the philosophy of the Sangh Parivar, which also believed in the unity of the highly fragmented Hindu population. Since its founding in 1925, support for the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) had restricted to the people of upper- castes. Thus, almost all Hindutva-based organizations, mostly affiliates of Sangh Parivar, was mutually participated in this rally and made it successful. @ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD31120 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 4 | May-June 2020 Page 575

3. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470 150,000 volunteers, known as ‘kar sevaks.’ The rally turned violent, and the crowd overwhelmed security forces and tore down the mosque. There is no exaggeration to say that this incident marked the beginning of a new chapter in Indian politics. The Demolition of the Babri Mosque sparked Muslim outrage across the country. This resulted in several months of inter- communal riots in which Hindus and Muslims attacked one another, burning and looting homes, shops, and places of worship. More than 2000 people were killed, mainly Muslims. There are different opinions behind the incident of demolition. According to some, the pro-Hindu activists spontaneously caused this nasty incident. On the other hand, some think that this is not just a spontaneous act but a pre- planned event. However, in the case of Babri Mosque demolition, whatever the truth is, it must be acknowledged that this event greatly benefited the BJP and other affiliated organizations. In the parliamentary elections in 1996, the BJP capitalized on the communal polarisation that followed the demolition to win 161 Lok Sabha seats, making it the largest party in the parliament. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister but was unable to attain a majority in the Lok Sabha, forcing the government to resign after 13 days. Fig.1. L.K. Advani during Ram rath yatra. Also present, Narendra Modi, then an RSS pracharak, now prime minister. (Photo: Reuters) The Ram Rath Yatra was a political and religious rally that lasted from September to October 1990. It was organized by the BJP and its Hindu nationalist affiliates and led by the then president of the BJP, L. K. Advani. The yatra began at the Hindu holy city of Somnath on 12 September 1990 and, was planned to go through the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, before reaching the city of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. Participants in the procession had two main slogans; ‘Jai Shri Ram’ (Glory to Lord Rama) and ‘Garv se kaho, ham Hindu hein!’ (Say with pride that we are Hindus!). Historian Ramchandra Guha stated that the imagery of the yatra was ‘religious, allusive, militant, masculine, and anti-Muslim.’ That yatra brought out militant sentiments in the cadre of the BJP, VHP, and Bajrang Dal, and there were several violent clashes. These clashes intensified many-fold after Advani’s arrest on 23 October. Riots targeting Muslims occurred in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Hyderabad, and a few other places. Several hundred people died in these riots. Militant sentiments were visible throughout the rally, as L. K. Advani portrayed the Ayodhya dispute as a fight between Rama and the Mughal emperor Babur. Despite Advani’s arrest, many kar sevaks or activists reached Ayodhya and attempted to storm the mosque, resulting in a pitched battle with security forces, which led to the death of 20 VHP volunteers. Following these incidents, the BJP withdrew its support from the Union government. The BJP’s positive electoral result indicates that Ram Rath Yatra was successful. The BJP made the Ayodhya agitation a large part of its campaign in the 1991 parliamentary elections. Relative to the 1989 general election, the BJP doubled its percentage of votes nationwide and made its gains in states like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in the South and Assam in the North-east. It emerged as the second-largest party in the Lok Sabha after the Indian National Congress. It captured a majority of the Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, where it also won a majority in the state legislative assembly and formed the government. The BJP was also able to win a majority of seats in the state legislatures of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh, and made gains in several other states. 5.Demolition of the ‘Babri Masjid’ [A Noon and a New Chapter in Indian Politics] The demolition of the Babri Masjid was illegally done by a large group of activists of the VHP (Vishva Hindu Parishad) and its allied organizations in relation to the ‘Ayodhya dispute.’ On 6 December 1992, the VHP and the BJP organized a rally at the disputed site of Ayodhya involving Fig.2. Demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. (Photo: Getty Images) The final judgment in the ‘Ayodhya dispute’ was declared by the Supreme Court of India (SC) on 9th of November 2019. The SC ordered the disputed land to be handed over to a trust (to be created by the Government of India) to build the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple. The court also ordered the government to give an alternate 5 acres of land in another place to the Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque. Many review petitions were filed against this judgment. However, on 12 December 2019, the Supreme Court of India dismissed all these petitions. Thus, this judgment ended a long- standing controversial problem. 6.Jai Shri Ram [Rise of a Vigorous Political Slogan] ‘Jai Shri Ram’ (Glory to Lord Rama) is a Hindi-language religious expression. It is primarily used for informal greetings and as a symbol of adhering to the Hindu faith. Although it is a religious slogan, its widespread entry into Indian politics has turned it into a political slogan. The Slogan is a weapon that can easily penetrate the psyche of a large part of the people. So not only in the case of political movement or propaganda but also in any kind of rally or procession, the slogan has a significant role. Indian politics is no exception to this. Many famous slogans have appeared in Indian politics at various times. Former Prime Minister of India Lal Bahadur Shastri’s famous slogan “Jai Jawaan, Jai Kisaan” (Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer) and another Ex- PM of India Indira Gandhi’s “Garibi Hatao” (Remove @ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD31120 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 4 | May-June 2020 Page 576

4. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470 poverty), were some notable examples in this regard. But the significance of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as a political slogan is entirely different from these. Firstly, it is an altogether religious slogan that has become a political slogan over time, and secondly, it is completely different in nature and purpose. The spread of any slogan on such a large scale in Indian politics is, of course, the first and the most noteworthy. Therefore, this can be discussed from various perspectives. In the late 1980s, this slogan was popularized by Ramanand Sagar's television series Ramayan. However, the BJP, VHP, and its other Hindu nationalist affiliates collectively popularized this slogan. The ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan began to be used widely as a tool of increasing the visibility of Hinduism in public spaces and went on to use it as a war-cry for the perpetuation of communal atrocities against the people of other faiths. The BJP has used this slogan in various political campaigns, rallies and election speeches at different times. Especially, after the establishment of the BJP led NDA government of India in 2014, this slogan re-emerged strongly. The ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan has mainly become a tool of communal violence in India in recent times. Religious violence has taken place in different parts of India, especially against the people of the Muslim community, centering this slogan. In almost all cases, Muslims have been forced to chant the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan, and if they refused to do so, they were subjected to violence. Thus a new type of Mob lynching was born, the trend of which is terrifying. Such numerous incidents took place between 2014 and 2019. The slogan has also been introduced as a debatable matter in educational institutions mainly by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a right-wing all India student organization affiliated to the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). This slogan is also very relevant in the case of the Delhi riots, which took place in February 2020. The main target of the rioters was the people of the Muslim community. One of the slogans of the rioters was ‘Jai Shri Ram.’ It gained more political significance when the rioters were shouting, “Hindustan me rehna hoga, Jai Shri Ram kehna hoga” (if you want to stay in India, you will have to chant Jai Shri Ram). Shri Ram’ as a political slogan has inevitably come into WB politics. All India Trinamool Congress (AITC or TMC), the ruling party of the WB, had political clashes with the BJP at different times over this slogan. The TMC has alleged that the BJP has turned a religious slogan into a political slogan only for their political interest. As usual, they were trying to divide people by mixing religion with politics. Thus, slowly this slogan has become a ‘Political Identification.’ The central theme of this ‘Identification’ is those who utter this slogan are against the ruling party. There have been several clashes between BJP and TMC workers over the chanting of ‘Jai Shri Ram.’ In May 2019, seven people were arrested in WB for shouting this slogan. The ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan has also raised the cultural question of Bengal in a new way. The TMC party has repeatedly accused that this slogan stands outside the Bengali culture. Even, to counter the BJP’s ‘Jai Shri Ram,’ a slogan like ‘Jai Bangla’ has also emerged. This resulted in a ‘political tussle of slogans’ between the two sides. This ‘political tussle of slogans’ has also entered into the Indian parliament. After the general election of 2019, the oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected Lok Sabha members turned into a battlefield of slogans. BJP members raised slogans like ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Maa Kali,’ some MP’s from the TMC ended their oaths with ‘Jai Maa Durga.’ Even religious slogans like ‘Bismillah, ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim,’ and ‘Allahu Akbar’ were also raised. Such incidents are almost unprecedented in the history of the Indian parliament. This raises the question of how reasonable it is to chant religious slogans in the parliament, which is known as the temple of democracy. So, there is much debate about what kind of message the legislature of the world’s largest democracy is conveying. Some issues come up from the above discussion. ‘Jai Shri Ram’ has achieved considerable success as a political slogan. This is an excellent example of how a religious slogan can be used for religious polarization in politics. The way this slogan is being used as one of the weapons of violence against people of other religions is a cause for considerable concern. Moreover, this slogan has become a cause not only of religious violence but also of political violence. Many political clashes and political murder have taken place over this issue. Among the popular slogans in Indian politics, there is a hidden message of development. But this is not applicable in the case of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ because it has no purpose other than to provoke religious sentiments. 7.Festival Politics [An Extraordinary Strategy of Hindutva] Recently, ‘Festival Politics’ has emerged as a new strategy of Hindutva politics. Discussion of this topic revolves around the Rama Navami festival, dedicated to Lord Rama. Rama Navami is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Lord Rama. The festival is a part of the spring Navratri and falls on the ninth day of the bright half (ShuklaPaksha) in the Hindu calendar month of Chaitra. It typically occurs in the Gregorian months of March or April every year. Rama Navami is an optional government holiday in India. It mostly celebrated in the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. However, in recent times, the celebration of the Rama Navami festival has started on a large scale in West Bengal. There is an enormous political motive behind this. The Rama Navami festival has served as one of the strategies behind Fig.3. Some people with the flag of ‘Jai Shri Ram.’ (Photo: Reuters) In this context, the discussion of West Bengal politics is very much important. West Bengal politics became heated by the ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan in the years between 2017 and 2019. The BJP has never been in a strong position in WB politics. However, the BJP has made a spectacular rise in WB politics in recent times through extreme religious polarization. There has been a new ‘Saffron Wave’ that occurred in Bengal. As a result, along with the BJP, a strong appearance of ‘Jai @ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD31120 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 4 | May-June 2020 Page 577

5. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470 the BJP’s strong debut in the field of WB politics through religious polarization. However, the process of using festivals as a strategy is not new in India. During the colonial period, Bal Gangadhar Tilak started the Ganesha festival and the Shivaji Jayanti festival in Maharashtra. But there was no narrow political interest behind such initiatives. Tilak introduced these festivals to revive and increase the nationalist consciousness among the Indians against British rule. However, in the case of Rama Navami centric ‘Festival Politics,’ it has emerged to serve the ‘Hindutva’ agenda. Historically, there are many incidents of Hindu-Muslim conflicts in West Bengal at different times. But the powerful influence of ‘Pure Hindutva Politics,’ based on Hindi-Hindu- Hindustan, has never been seen in the politics of West Bengal. Since the formation of the BJP-led NDA government of India in 2014, the BJP has started formulating its strategy for empowerment in WB. One of these strategies is the celebration of Rama Navami. The BJP has achieved great success in WB by adopting such tools of religious polarization. In the parliamentary election of 2019, the BJP won 18 Lok Sabha seats out of 42 from WB, which is one of the witnesses to this success. In 2017, the Rama Navami festival was celebrated on a large scale in West Bengal for the first time. Through this, the BJP initiated its own style of Hindutva politics in WB. A large number of people took part in these processions of Rama Navami. Many critics claimed that the BJP had increased the size of these rallies by bringing many people from other states. This claim is not wholly baseless. Despite these criticisms, it must be admitted that a large number of Bengali-Hindus of this state took part in these processions. Through these rallies, the BJP tried to demonstrate its strength on the one hand and sought to exert a deep psychological influence on the other. Besides, in WB politics, the BJP was gradually able to establish itself as an alternative opponent. In 2018, the Rama Navami festival was again celebrated extensively. At that time, there were Panchayat elections ahead in WB. That year, TMC, the ruling party of WB, also started celebrating its own Rama Navami. So the issue became even more significant and debatable. other rallies. This means that the celebration of Rama Navami is not only a spontaneous event but has a specific plan and intention behind it. Most of the participants in these rallies joined in this religious glee with bows and arrows, swords, and even spades in hand. There was a political and religious controversy over this issue of armed Rama Navami rallies. The political battle between the BJP and TMC took religious color when the TMC started celebrating Rama Navami to counter the BJP. During the Rama Navami, both parties organized many processions, bike rallies, and small- scale chariot journey. According to the Bengal-BJP officials, one of the goals of these rallies' was to unite the Hindus of West Bengal. On the other hand, the TMC claims that the BJP is trying to create religious division among the people of West Bengal. Two issues became very important regarding the widespread celebrations of Rama Navami. The first is the appearance of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ as a political slogan into WB politics. And the second issue is the question of ‘Bengali Culture.’ The significance of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ has been discussed in detail above. So how the cultural question of Bengal became important at that time can be addressed now. According to the TMC, the ruling party of WB, the Rama Navami festival, is not a part of Bengali culture. Even they claimed that the practice of worshipping Lord Rama is not very popular among Bengalis. It has been identified as an attempt to impose Hindi-based culture in Bengal. As a result, a ‘Linguistic debate’ has also started between Hindi and Bengali. Basically, the BJP has been trying to turn ‘Bengali- Hindus’ to ‘Hindutva-Hindus’ by replacing Bengal’s cultural fabric. For this reason, the BJP has chosen Rama Navami as its strategy and has started a new kind of ‘Festival Politics.’ There have also been communal clashes in West Bengal over the Rama Navami celebration. During the Rama Navami festival of 2018, several communal clashes occurred in different parts of West Bengal. Communal violence broke out in areas of Asansol, Murshidabad, Paschim Medinipur, and North 24 Parganas. Three people were killed, and many others injured in these religious conflicts. In 2019, scattered communal tensions were also witnessed in WB on the day of Rama Navami. For all these reasons, a new ‘Identity Politics’ has been born in West Bengal. It started with the ‘linguistic debate’ between ‘Hindi’ and ‘Bengali’ in recent times. It needs to be discussed here about a ‘flex campaign,’ which took place in October 2019 in Kolkata, West Bengal. All these flexes written in Bengali started appearing all over Kolkata and its suburbs, with the tagline “bhalo bhasha” (good language) and “nijer bhasha nijer thak” (let your language be yours). “Parota is better than Paratha,” “Bengal is better than Bangal (the way non-Bengalis pronounce Bengal)” or “Swachh Bharater theke poricchono Bharat bhalo, Bolteo, Shunteo” (Clean Bharat is better than Swachh Bharat, be it in saying, or hearing), were some of the lines of those flexes. From this, it can be understood that a new ‘language consciousness’ is awakening in Bengal. Organization like ‘Bangla Pokkho’ has helped further to increase such ‘Bengali consciousness.’ It is a non-profit and apolitical organization dedicated to promoting the interest of Bengalis. The battle between ‘Religious identity’ versus ‘Ethnic identity,’ and even struggle between the ‘Hindutva-Bengali, ‘Hindu-Bengali’ and ‘Muslim- Bengali’ has also started. Fig.4. Rama Navami procession in West Bengal, 2018. (Photo: News18) In 2019, the Rama Navami festival celebrated in various states of India, as well as in West Bengal. The saffron brigade organized more than 700 Rama Navami rallies, over two days, across the state and increased its presence in districts where BJP has seen a support surge. The TMC, on the other hand, took out big rallies with cabinet ministers leading them. VHP, Hindu Jagaran Manch, and Bajrang Dal took out approx 500 rallies in districts. The BJP and the RSS organized @ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD31120 | Volume – 4 | Issue – 4 | May-June 2020 Page 578

6. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470 [4]Bangla Pokkho. (2020). Retrieved 16 May 2020, from http://www.banglapokkho.com/. [5]Bepari, S. (2020). ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN RECENT COMMUNAL VIOLENCE IN INDIA. International Journal of Advance Research and Innovative Ideas in Education, 6(2), 1181-1187. [6]Bharatiya Janata Party. En.wikipedia.org. (2020). Retrieved 20 March wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Janata_Party. 2020, from https://en. [7]Bhattacharjee, K. (2019). The story of BJP's rise and rise in West Bengal: The story starts not in 2019 but 2017 Ram Navami. OpIndia. Retrieved 18 March 2020, from https://www.opindia.com/ 2019/05/the-story- of-bjp-rise-and-rise-in-west-bengal-the-story-starts- not-in-2019-but-2017-ram-navami/. Fig.5. An image of the ‘Flex Campaign’ in Kolkata - October 2019. The message here is, “Saying Parota, is better than saying Paratha!” [13] 8.Conclusion It is quite difficult to conclude the most recent character of Hindutva politics. Earlier, Hindu nationalist politics had a definite shape and purpose. But in recent times it has changed a lot. At present, Hindutva politics has become more aggressive and versatile than ever. New ways of propagating certain ideas into a larger section of the people have emerged. Jai Shri Ram’s significance as a political slogan and Rama Navami centric ‘Festival Politics’ were some of the shining examples in this regard. The new kind of communal violence that has recently emerged in the wake of the Jai Shri Ram slogan is terrific. These events may seem trivial to some, but it is not true at all. In the 21st century, Indian society has undergone many changes. Globalization is happening all over the world. Inevitably, the Internet-Era has emerged. In addition to the print and broadcast media, news of such violent activities spread quickly on social media (Bepari, 2020). A large part of the young generation uses social media, so these violent incidents have a profound impact on the youth’s mindset. As a result, religious divisions are occurring very easily. Even many highly educated youths are straying. Thus, if the youth society is to be divided under the intoxication of communalism, it will bring the destruction of the whole country. Also, Jai Shri Ram, as a newly discovered political slogan, has started a new political struggle, which is not desirable at all. Therefore, appropriate measures are required to be taken to prevent such issues. On the other hand, politicizing a religious festival like Rama Navami can be a strategy of a particular political party. But if it causes communal tension, then it will become a matter of great concern. 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