'When Kaali Descends: A Poster, a Cigarette, a Film' by Shuddhabrata Sengupta

[Sukla Sen]

The whole sordid din and drama over a film publicity poster - quite possibly meant to have also a shock value, and what Mahua Moitra said about the traditions in Bengal as regards Kali worship is a part of the drive to recast (the hitherto wide basket of highly diverse) Hindu traditions in the mould of Abrahamic religions. (This drive, in turn, is again a vital component of the overall Hindutva project.)

The essential argument of a Bhakt, not to mistake, is that if a Muslim can complain on the ground of "hurt sentiments", why can't we!!!? 

That, actually, is the key.

Christophe Jaffrelot in his seminal study on the RSS had, with remarkable perspicacity, dissected and identified one of its major mobilising strategy as: "stigmatise and emulate".

What we're encountering right now is a textbook illustration of that: Deprecate the Abrahamic religions for lack of plurality; try to make Hindu traditions unilinear - a la those religions. Project upper caste Hindu practices - as "the" Hindu religion, and try to forcibly impose it - all across the spectrum, stripping all other regional and vernacular versions of their customary legitimacy.

That's the essence.

The article below is a highly informed and thorough scan of both the controversies enriched with a good deal of intimate details of the traditions being, in effect, disowned and trashed.

<https://m.thewire.in/article/culture/kaali-poster-smoking-history>

[sukl...@gmail.com]

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