Kolkata: The city is awash with posters of a benign saffron-clad Narendra Modi with folded hands for an event. And, the stage is none other than the iconic Brigade Parade Ground. Guess what? Not a political rally. On 24 December, Kolkata is hosting a mass Gita recitation programme, which will have the Prime Minister as the chief guest.
Though the event is non-political, its timing and overtones can’t be missed: the general elections are due in four-five months, while the invitees include Shankaracharya Sadananda Saraswati of Dwarka.
Organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Parishad and the Motilal Bharat Tirtha Seva Mission and spearheaded by the Sanatan Sanskriti Manch, the organisers began preparations for hosting this event in July, in which one lakh participants are set to recite the holy Gita.
“This is a first in the country… We are eyeing a Guinness record; their officials will be present. Kolkata being the capital of the state. We selected the Brigade Parade ground, where we will build 20 blocks accommodating 5,000 people. We will also distribute the Gita, at least 4,000 volunteers will be helping us to conduct the programme smoothly. We are expecting people from Bihar, Odisha, Assam to join,” Ek Lokho Konthe Gita Path Committee president Kartik Maharaj told ThePrint.
Apart from Shankaracharya and the prime minister, the list of invitees include West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Governor C. V. Ananda Bose as well as the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, MPs, MLAs, directors and vice-chancellors of educational institutions.
“Gita is a part of life; all the answers to life lie in it. It isn’t without a reason that geniuses like Einstein, Oppenheimer referred to the Bhagavad Gita. We want to strengthen the moral backbone in these times where we see so much corruption, deaths and illegal activities. We want the citizens to adopt the Gita in daily lives. That’s the message we want to send,” Kartik Maharaj added.
Founded two years ago, Sanatan Sanskriti Manch is a registered social organisation in West Bengal — according to Kartik Maharaj — but there’s little information about it online.
“We held a similar programme last year at Mayapur where 5,000 persons recited the Gita on 12th December. We are working towards identifying ancient temples that remain undiscovered or neglected across West Bengal for their revival. Currently, we have around 3,000 ashrams, including akharas in West Bengal, and we are working with Bharat Sevashram,” said Kartik Maharaj.
A delegation led by Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar on 17 November met PM Modi in New Delhi to extend an invitation for the event. The PM was delighted about the initiative and was happy that he would attend the event, Kartik Maharaj said.
“Only Shankaracharya and the PM will be seated on stage. The remaining dignitaries will be seated below. The PM will also speak at the event. It’s a big honour that he will grace the occasion,” he added.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is yet to confirm her presence. Earlier this month at the Vidhan Sabha, she told the media that she would first check the details of the organisers before giving her nod.
Brigade Parade Ground & its significance
For a state considered more politically conscious than others, the selection of the venue has raised several eyebrows in the cultural and political circles of Kolkata. Located in the heart of Kolkata with landmarks such as Victoria Memorial, Fort William and Eden Gardens as its backdrops, Brigade Parade Ground has a chequered history like that of Mumbai’s Shivaji Park and Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan.
It was here that the CPI-M held its first ‘people’s brigade’ in April 1967 urging the then Congress government to implement the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation for the benefit of farmers.
Way back in 1955, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had felicitated Soviet premier Nikolai Bulganin and Communist Party secretary Nikita Khrushchev in front of large crowds. On 6 February 1972, Bangladesh’s first prime minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman delivered a historic speech, hailing India for its role in his country’s liberation from Pakistan.
“It’s not just the Left, the Brigade ground has witnessed Soviet Union leaders hosting meetings in the early 50s. In 1972, Indira Gandhi and Sheikh Mujibur Rehman addressed a rally in Brigade. This ground has a strong political history, and now there is an attempt to turn around history. This is probably the first time a religious event will take place at the Brigade. This is against Bengal’s culture. Gita Path should be done at home, not out in the open. Instead, there should be a ‘Constitution path’ to strengthen the fabric of our society,” CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty told ThePrint.
“Gita path (recitation) is done at home. One doesn’t need to sit out and do it in public to send out a message,” Trinamool minister Chandrima Bhattacharya told ThePrint, adding that she has no personal views on the event.
The BJP, meanwhile, claims that the event is not political. “The Brigade Ground is associated with political events but isn’t earmarked only for that. The Bhagavad Gita is a national heritage, and the attendance at this event isn’t mandatory. There is no explicit political messaging just because it’s being attended by the PM in Kolkata, but there surely is an underlying message of an attempt to save this Hindu symbol. It’s more ethical in nature than religious. This will resonate with the people of the city,” BJP leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta told ThePrint.
Political analyst Udayan Bandopadhay asserted that there is a stronger messaging than what meets the eye.
“This is nothing but a symbolic counter-gesture to the Eid celebrations at Red Road in Kolkata next to Brigade Ground. Swami Shraddhananada of Arya Samaj contemplated this kind of gathering at the dawn of 20th century. His idea was to build up a site for collective gathering. He was in favour of developing Hindu Mandir in several parts of the country. However, in West Bengal, this will enable the communal forces to further polarise the people before the Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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