A wounded state
By L.H. Naqvi

IN a story on American society a young man enters a church and whispers, "Hi padre". As the priest turns around the young man puts a bullet through his head, cleans his gun and walks out.
He tells his mother, "Mom, I did it."
"But why?"
"Because I didn’t like his talk", drawls the young man. The mother gives him a box of cookies and sends him on a "business trip" to another town. She attends the priest’s funeral and joins the community in condemning the police for not doing enough to prevent innocent people from being killed.

It could be the story of Nathuram Godse who was recently offered a "box of cookies" by a Marathi playwright for killing Mahatma Gandhi 50 years ago.It could also be the story of Dara Singh who is said to have incited a group of simple tribesmen in Manoharpur in Orissa to burn alive Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons because "I didn’t like his talk".While the police has rounded up 50 people for the triple murder, Dara Singh himself is in hiding, presumably enjoying the "box of cookies" promised to him by his patrons.

Whatever may be the findings of the judicial commission appointed by the Centre, for the simple people of Orissa life will never be the same again.They are angry and upset because they insist that they have no role in the killing of three members of the Staines family.It is a frame-up. If you speak to them, they will ask you to visit Dhauli Hill, about 80 km from Bhubaneswar, where an elephant stands guard over a rock edict issued by Emperor Ashoka after the battle of Kalinga in 260 BC — much before Christ was born to deliver the message of compassion and human brotherhood.

The killing of Staines and his sons has put an invisible stain on the Ashoka emblem which adorns the National Flag.

Indeed, the people of Orissa had much to be proud of before Dara Singh soaked their hands in the blood of Staines on January 22, 1999. They will tell you about the remarkable work done by Christian missionaries among the tribals of Orissa. In Cuttack one of the main thoroughfares is still called Mission Road in recognition of their contribution to fighting leprosy and spreading the light of learning. Years ago on Leprosy Eradication Day a special postage stamp was issued in honour of Father Lazarus who died serving the poor of Orissa. Can the likes of Dara Singh ever succeed in rewriting the history of Orissa in which Mission Road is not mentioned or which ignores the selfless work of Father Lazarus and other Christian missionaries who spread education and fought leprosy?

How can the likes of Dara Singh make history forget that after the Kalinga war, in which more than a million soldiers were killed and 1,50,000 taken captive, Ashoka had an amazing change of heart?He embraced Buddhism and spread the message of non-violence in his kingdom and beyond.

It is in Orissa that you can read sermons in stones and books and see good in everything. It is here that the 12th century poet, Jayadeva, sang the great love song "Gita Govinda", immortalising Radha’s love for Krishna. Even the devil would have held back his followers from spilling the blood of Staines on this sacred soil. The Fallen Angel could not have fallen so low.

The strength of Orissa lies in its composite culture and the simple tribal way of life. The most powerful symbols of collective celebration of life emerge from the stories woven around Lord Jagannath.

According to popular belief Lord Jagannath is a tribal deity accepted by mainstream Hinduism. Among the many lores associated with the principal deity of this region is the one about Sal Beg. History and myth have got interwoven in this tale of the Muslim disciple of Lord Jagannath. But it is worth telling for putting the interpretation of the Hindu way of life in proper perspective.

Sal Beg was a general in Aurangzeb’s army — the Moghul Emperor remembered for destroying temples and forced mass conversion of Hindus to the Muslim faith. The general was grievously wounded in a battle and lost his way and was forced to halt. A Brahmin widow helped heal his pus-oozing wound by continuously reciting Lord Jagannath’s name for nine days and nine nights. They married but each kept to their own faith.

Sal Beg who belonged to Aligarh wanted to visit the deity for darshan. As it was not possible for a well-known Muslim general to enter the temple he decided to fulfil his wish when the Lord came out. He set off from Aligarh but could not have reached Puri by the appointed time. He nevertheless continued to ride and legend lets know that Lord Jagannath’s chariot did not move for 8 days that year till this particular devotee could reach his destination. Sal Beg managed to reach the spot where the chariot was stuck.The moment he touched the rope and bowed his head in prayer — a Muslim praying to a Hindu deity! — the devotees had no problem in making the chariot move.

According to one account Sal Beg settled down in Puri and composed verses in praise of Lord Jagannath. Even today the Lord stops at the point where the Muslim devotee had come all the way from a distant land for his darshan. The singing of the verses composed by Sal Beg are part of the ceremonies associated with the Jagannath Yatra.

The votaries of religious hatred may argue that they have no quarrel with tradition. Their campaign is against current incidents of religious conversions. Where would they place the family of Biju Patnaik — in the past or the present? However, there may be little disagreement over the pre-eminent position of the Patnaik family in contemporary Orissa.

Biju’s father was a Brahmo Samaji. Of the two paternal uncles one remained a Hindu and the other became a Christian.Those who know the Patnaiks say that there were never any visible signs of tension within the family because of the diverse faiths of the three brothers. In fact, during a wedding in the Hindu side of the family the children of the Christian Patnaik joined their cousins in serving food to the guests. The baraatis took it as a sign of insult to be served by non-Hindus. They were reminded that they had taken the Maha Prasad of Lord Jagannath which is supposed to remove caste and religious differences for the duration of the ceremony. It is rare among Hindus to ask the baraat to leave or accept being served by non-Hindus. The story, of course, had a happy ending.

A question which still remains unanswered is: Why was Orissa picked by the lunatic fringe for committing the ghastly crime as part of the inexplicable agenda of Christian-bashing? A Sarvodya worker who calls himself a "failed Gandhian" had an interesting thesis. (He calls himself a failed Gandhian because "lack the courage of conviction of Mahatma Gandhi to go out unarmed and fight violence and communal hatred"). He pulled out a map of India from his drawer on which he had crossed out states which have a post-Independence history of violence and organised crime. At the end of the exercise only two states remained untouched. But not for long. Himachal Pradesh was the first to be "integrated" with the rest of "violent India" following the killing of labourers in Chamba by suspected Kashmiri militants.

On January 22 the Sarvodya worker put a tick mark on Orissa to indicate its integration with the rest of "violent India". It was the last outpost of sanity of free India.

In the story on American society the young man returns from the "business trip" and walks into the kitchen looking for his mother. She matter-of-factly pulls out another box and says: "You have run out of cookies, son?".

"You can’t survive on cookies alone, Mom. You never gave me a cause to live,".

He puts a bullet through her head.When the police arrive they find three unused bullets next to the body of the young man and a hastily scribbled note which read: "One bullet is for you.The second for men and women like me. And the third for a system which produces such lousy Moms".