Chhava: Yet another attempt to widen the gulf between the Hindus and Muslims

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 24 Feb. 25 Modi's super charged Hindu India is going gaga over a film ' Chhaava.' The movie is based on Shivaji Sawant's eponymous novel that depicts the life of Sambhaji, son of Maratha king Shivaji. The over-patriotic Hindu India's favourite pastime of Mughal-bashing and Aurangzeb-lambasting is obvious in the whole movie. Like Agnihotri's 'The Kashmir Files', this movie also seems to be a sponsored one, promoted by the current political dispensation. Readers may have noticed that after 2014, Shivaji became an icon of militant Hinduism. His projection as a hero who thwarted the juggernaut of Mughals in the Deccan is being eulogised, romanticised and glamourised. History thrives in perpetuation. It also gets distorted when praise degenerates into cloying plaudits, paens and panegyrics. The successful saga of Shivaji's exploits is being extended by the fictional stories of intrepid and valorous Sambhaji. When this so-called valour is pitted against the might of the Mughals, Hindus feel vindicated from within and the chasm between the two communities gets widened. This is what the government wants. Decades ago, the legendary historian Sir Jadunath Sarkar wrote about the possible pitfalls of iconisation and over-glorification of historial characters. Arguably the greatest-ever authority on Shivaji, Sir Jadunath admired Shivaji but didn't iconise or extol him to the cloud nine. He vividly described Shivaji's coronation but never called him Shivaji Maharaj. That's a political construct. He also put Sambhaji's role in perspective and never considered him to be a superman. But today's Hindutva forces have turned Sambhaji and Shivaji into mythical figures, endowing them with incredible strength and power. Unemployed Marathas recite Shivaji Chalisa and Sambhaji Chalisa as if father and son are new Hindu gods. Polytheistic Hindus are still not happy with their 33 crore gods. They want more! So, a variety of gods will always make them happy. More the better. Shivaji's idols can be seen installed inside temples in Maharashtra. His deification process is almost complete. Now his son is being divinized. This is all exaggeration. But who cares? So long as these characters help the ruling party and religious outfits garner votes, idiocy idiosyncrasies and idolation are perfectly acceptable. We're living in a Hindu Rashtra. Love it or lump it. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL:https://www.newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/chhava-gulf-between-hindus-muslims/d/134708 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism