Bhubaneswar: Rastriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) Chief Mohan Bhagwat seems to be a happy man today. Shri Bhgwat, who held a meeting in Rourkela recently, is happy because Odisha has undergone certain changes for which the Sangh Parivar was trying for decades. The state has witnessed a series of activities marking the surge of Hindutva in Odisha. No matter who (BJD, Congress or BJP) is at the helm, the fact remains that there is anti-polarization in Odisha politics. All the three major political parties like Naveen Patnaik headed BJD, Narendra Modi’s BJP and Sonia Gandhi’s Congress, have come to one point and the situation become such that all the parties are forced to project the ‘Hindutva’ in the land of Lord Jagannath, which traditionally remain indifferent to caste and religion politics.
Odisha has all along maintained a different stand and never reacted like other states when there was demolition of Babri Masjid on 6 December, 1992. While many states witnessed communal riots following demolition of the Babri Masjid, it was Odisha alone among the major states which maintained peace and tranquility. The people who believe in Shree Jagannath culture that preaches acceptance of all religious faiths, have this time accepted Hindutva, however, in a different manner. Lord Jagannath is now at the Centre and there is no need for any other factor to cause rise of the religious sentiments among the people.
However, Shree Jagannath culture pundits opine that publicity of Lord Jagannath in Odisha, may not be termed as surge of Hindutva. This is because; people across the state do not consider the Lord as an outsider. The lord is part of every Odia family and the people may not accept that they get introduced to the Lord either through any political party. No party can claim right over Lord Jagannath and Shree Jagannath culture is something not inclined to any particular political party. Like the Lord, people consider its culture for all the parties and faiths.
As the 24 years old Biju Janata Dal Government set to face another election in the first quarters of the year, the ruling regional party this time preferred to ignite peoples’ sentiments through Shree Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor project. This mega project, which was unique on its own and an essential for the temple’s security and devotees amenities point of view, has been undertaken by the BJD Government. This is incidentally the first such major work done around the 12th century shrine in Puri. No other Government in Independent India had ever thought of renovating the outer sphere on Shree Jagannath Dham. Naveen Patnaik has done it and his party is all set to take the political mileage out of the project ahead of the General Elections for the Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly.
The project has also become a major success of the BJD Government’s over two decade rule which may pose problems for the opposition parties like BJP and Congress. Though BJP initially opposed the project, later the saffron party had to tone down its voice against the Heritage Corridor matter keeping in view the possible backlash as the people of Odisha are emotionally linked to Lord Jagannath. Congress has also opposed certain issues, but not directly the developments taking place around the shrine.
It has all been witnessed that people doing politics, caste and religion have utterly failed in Odisha. Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Movement might have helped BJP to raise its seats in Lok sabha from just 02 to achieve absolute majority in the lower house of the Parliament, but there is no such magic in Odisha. BJD, which has already 114 MLAs and 12 MPs, might not gain substantially in terms of seats. But, political analysts opine that the intense campaign over the Heritage Corridor may help the ruling party to check its possible erosion. It may also help Naveen to become Chief Minister of Odisha for the six consecutive time. As such, there was no such threat to Naveen’s leadership. The present Heritage Corridor project, is like a antidote for anti-establishment effect for the regional political party in power for last 24 years, opined another political analyst.
The BJD government has also funded many such projects for the development of several temples and places of worship for different religious faiths. While the shrines of other religions get money from their communities, it is the Hindu temples alone which essentially require government funding. These desires of the poor Odia people have been met by Naveen and there are reasons to expect that the regional party might reap huge dividend.
No governments, neither the State nor the Centre, have ever thought of the development of Puri Dham. Adi Shankaracharya, has established Puri as one of the four major Dhams of Hindus which is visited by millions of people every year. In 2023, more than 10 million people witnessed Lord Jagannath’s Annual Ratha Jatra and around one lakh people visit the shrine every day. However, like in many other pilgrim centres, there are no amenities available for the devotees, the narrow lanes, houses, mutts and ashrams dotting the Sri Mandir periphery. The Heritage Corridor project has for the first time ensured that the devotees get the proper facilities in Puri Dham also.
Though none is opposed to the peripheral development of the temple, both Congress and BJP have strongly opposed the manner in which the “Arpan Rath’ are moving around the state. They alleged that the ruling party was undertaking its publicity under the grab of Lord Jagannath. They also alleged that the ruling party colour (green) is used for the Arpan Rath.
Anyway, the time will tell whether there has been change in Odia mindset and surge of Hindutva in the state. It will also be seen whether the ruling BJD will politically gain from the Heritage Corridor project. Jai Jagannatha!