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Reforming Vaishno Devi and a Case for Reformed, Reawakened and Enlightened Hinduism THE author belongs to that rare species of Indian administrators who have, with a judicious mix of thought and action, immensely contributed towards improving the quality of our civic life. After a long and distinguished career that included the office of the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Minister, he now continues to contribute as a scholar and thinker. Naturally, he draws from his experiences as an administrator and with the success that he has achieved, he has earned the right to set the agenda for debate and action for those who are in a position to make a difference between India as one of the many countries of the world and one that is the proud owner of a rich legacy.
Jagmohan, as he himself narrates in the book, experienced all that puts off a pilgrim on way to the Durbar and had in his mind resolved to free the pilgrimage from the clutches of sloth and corruption. He acted swiftly when the time arrived. The book recalls all that and much more for he uses the occasion to expostulate an agenda which he believes will lead to making a better India. Thus, he compresses the philosophical history of the land of Bharat in a manner that it ignores the dark troughs that it encountered in its evolution, nor does he take into account the violent, ruthless and bigoted phases that have led to the shrinking of the Hindu reach much before the evils that Jagmohan describes took root. Ever since the momentous decision to reform the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage, Jagmohan has been brooding over the connection between cultural, social and moral issues and the present book, however flawed, is an honest attempt at setting the reform process rolling. It must though be added that such has been the tumult of the success of the reforms at the Durbar of Mata Vaishno Devi that the distinction between administrative reforms and spiritualism has been blurred. The economy of traders of Jammu and Katra and wayside dhabas depends upon this pilgrimage and therefore, it is incumbent upon those who manage the affairs of the yatra to provide decent facilities. Critics, however, might argue that it was a shrewd move aimed at earning wholesome support from the vocal and influential sections that had developed immense faith in the powers of Vaishno Devi and who helped create a constituency for Jagmohan. The cloak-and-dagger manner in which Jagmohan went about achieving his goal shows his ignorance of the disinterest of the local people in the whole affair, for Vaishno Devi had long been hijacked by consumerist spiritualism and that is why consumer-specific reforms were heartily welcomed. Though much of the book
is a treatise on Hinduism, as Jagmohan understands it, many of us
might feel a little baffled by the number of foreign scholars that
have been quoted by him. Apart from the known names like Vivekanand,
Aurobindo etc., it is only Dr P. V. Kane on whose authority the author
leans and that too in the form of a quote from Dr V. N. Dutta’s
book. Some readers might also find the shadow of narcissism too
overbearing for their scholarly and spiritual tastes and the devotees
cast in the traditional mode might well lament the gradual death of
the ‘Dogri’ paeans in praise of Mata at the hands of bhanjans set
to the tune of the popular Bollywood tunes.
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Those
who have followed Jammu and Kashmir and Jagmohan cannot fail to agree
that his first tenure as Governor of the state gave him unprecedented
success and generated goodwill that can disturb the tranquility of the
yogis. During the eight months that the state remained under the
Governor’s rule not only did the development work gather momentum
and the files refused to let the dust settle on them, the great mess
of the Vaishno Devi yatra was also cleared. This was his crowning
glory that earned him the gratitude of the millions of pilgrims from
outside the state, who made their way to the Trikuta hills, many among
them annually.