The Congress party, on Saturday, shared a video through its official Twitter handle which can only be described as vitriolic Hinduphobic propaganda. The lyrics of the song in the video, which is in the form of a rap, says, “Farzi hai, nakli hai, yeh Bhakt Charitra.” The imagery of the video reeks of propaganda that is tailor-made to hurt Hindu sentiments and demonize public display of Hindu faith.
This is the modus operandi that Modi gives his blessings for- organized propagation of hate, spreading of fake news, misleading people, rampant misogyny, abusing the Constitution & misuse of religious sentiments to incite hatred. #BhaktCharitra pic.twitter.com/mIVEWBirrE
— Congress (@INCIndia) April 20, 2019
In the video, people dressed in traditional Hindu saffron garb are depicted as malicious, hateful and bigoted. It gives one the impression that people dressed in saffron attire are evil and Rakshasas in the guise of men. The rapper, himself, is dressed in western casuals. It appears, for the Congress party, the colour of one’s clothes is evidence of underlying political opinions and the surest way to fight bigotry is by donning western clothes and singing lyrics which make extremely little sense.
The song begins with the words, “Yeh Kaisa Bhakt Charitra hai?” Since the advent of Narendra Modi in national politics, a concerted effort has been made by the Congress ecosystem to demonize the word ‘Bhakt’. In Hinduism, the word has a very pious meaning. It denotes a person who is consumed by his devotion towards the Gods. That liberals have been working in overdrive to demonize the word only reveals their disdain for the cultural ethos of the country.
‘Bhakt’ does not have any political connotations. But the Congress party and its minions have tainted it with political partisanship and malice. They have attributed bigotry, evil, hatred and numerous other negative aspects to the word when it only signifies a Hindu who has great love and devotion towards the Gods. By questioning the ‘Charitra’ (Character) of Bhakts, they have not questioned the character of supporters of Narendra Modi but every Hindu who is a devotee of the Devas.
The video appears to suggest that Hindus are the driving force behind religious fundamentalism. The 2 minutes 16-second video does not make a single mention of the Hindu victims of Islamic fundamentalism in the past 5 years. Throughout the video, religious bigotry has a colour and the colour is saffron.
Numerous leaders from the BJP make an appearance in the video. Yogi Adityanath, Vinay Katiyar, Maneka Gandhi are shown making controversial remarks. Images from communal riots are shown as well and in every instance, Hindus are depicted as aggressors and Muslims as victims.
One particular line stands out for its rabid Hinduphobia. The rapper says, “Dhongi hai, Dikhava hai yeh astitva (This existence is an imposturous, pretentious.” One wonders exactly what the Congress party means when it says such a thing. Given the context of the song, it appears that according to the Congress party, a Bhakt’s existence is imposturous and pretentious.
Why is the existence of someone who worships the Gods and is completely devoted to Them imposturous? Why is it pretentious? It’s a grave insult to the faith of millions and millions of Hindus but given the history of the Congress party, it appears hardly surprising.
The symbolism of the video is particularly distasteful. Towards the end of the video, the Tripundra and the Bhagwa Dhvaj are shown with ‘Bhakt Charitra’ emblazoned on the screen. For devout Hindus, these are sacred symbols which represent the very ethos of our great civilization.
The Bhagwa Dhvaj is the colour of our civilization. It’s the banner under which our great ancestors fought for to rid our great land of foreign-born pestilence. It’s the banner under which Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj dreamt of his vision if Hindavi Swaraj, it’s the banner under our ancestors marched for justice, vengeance and Dharma. Associating the Bhagwa Dhvaj with bigotry and religious fundamentalism is a grave insult to the sacrifices made by our ancestors on the battlefield and the hardships they had to endure so that we could live as free men and women.
The Tripundra, which the Congress party has associated with fanaticism, is a sacred ritualistic Tilak integral to Hinduism associated with Shiva. Once upon a time, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had called himself a Shiv-Bhakt and here he is, associating the Tripundra with bigotry and fanaticism.
The Congress party cannot get away with saying that the video is intended to target the Bharatiya Janata Party and its workers. The Tripundra and the Bhagwa Dhvaj are not associated with the BJP. The Tripundra is a symbol of our devotion towards our Gods and the Bhagwa Dhvaj is as much a symbol of the serenity of our Hindu civilization as it is that of our resistance to invaders. They are the heritage of every single Hindu, maligning them is attacking our Hindu faith, not the BJP. But for the Congress party, it seems they are one and the same thing.
Shri Rama, too, was not spared by the Congress party. Rama appears in the video quite randomly, the scene doesn’t appear to be from any riots or communal violence. From the picture it appears that the scene is either from Ram Navami or Dussehra although it’s impossible to say with certainty where it’s actually from. But what can be said for certain is that the image doesn’t seem to depict any religious intolerance. Thus, it appears, for the Congress party, the King of Ayodhya Himself has become a symbol of intolerance.
The video comes across as less of political propaganda against a political opponent and more of laying the framework for the re-ignition of the Hindu Terror theory should the Congress party return to power. It’s quite clear that the Congress considers the Tripundra, the Bhagwa Dhvaj and Shri Rama as symbols of intolerance. Such hatred has very little to do with politics, it only shows the hatred that the Congress party has in its heart for Hinduism and the culture of our land.
