The recent opposition and protest from Christian organisations and some tribe organisations against the immersion of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ashes has sent a wrong message to the people outside the state. It is without an iota of doubt that the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre tried to use the demise of one of the tallest leaders of India for vote bank politics. The Nagaland state unit of the party added more fuel to the fire by provoking the sentiments of the Christian-majority state. The party’s state president, who is a Christian, paying respects to the departed soul was seen as if he were indulging in Hindu rituals. It was also probably steered by a hidden hand as photographs purportedly showing acts of Hindu rituals was circulated in social media. It was also circulated that the BJP president himself would be leading the ritual.
As the news went viral, hell broke loose. The Christian clergy reacted as if the end of days had come when one of its professed disciples was to perform a ritual of another religion, and bring about the ultimate shaming of Christianity for the world to see. A church organisation threatened that if any of its members attended the ash-immersion event, they would be doing so “at their own risk.” It is also a wonder why some of the tribe organisations joined the opposition too, and barred the ashes of the late prime minister from being immersed in their jurisdiction.
So AB Vajpayee, the former prime minister of India was a hero for the Nagas when he announced the 300 cr. bailout for Nagaland. He was the prime minister who accepted the unique history of the Nagas. He was the one who allocated the four-lane highway from Dimapur to Kohima after experiencing an arduous journey by road to Kohima. It was also during his time that Nagaland was allowed to have mobile phone service, which he inaugurated during his visit to the state then. Till then, he was a hero for the Nagas.
But after he died, we could not even respect the religion he adhered to and opposed immersion of his ashes in our rivers. For a Hindu, it is their belief that the immersion of the ashes in a solemn way without disturbance is auspicious. It is the reason why the ashes were finally immersed in the state in a secret location. The Naga people should have looked beyond just the BJP and its vote bank politics.
Either the Nagas are still ill-informed or are still quite wild in some ways. Mizoram took the mature approach: The ash-immersion was performed without any untoward incident the day it arrived in the state, with Christian prayers. In most of the towns of Nagaland, there are designated crematoriums. If Hindu persons in Nagaland die, they are cremated, unless it was the last wish of the departed soul, or their relatives, to immerse the ashes either in the Ganges or any other river outside Nagaland.
So, the ashes are usually immersed in rivers within Nagaland. The Nagas not only allowed ash immersion all these years but also immersion of idols in their rivers. If Hindus can allow Christians in remote areas to perform Baptisms in the ponds and rivers, why cannot Christians allow ash immersions? Why the double standard? Yes, the opposition was more towards the BJP’s religious agenda whether perceived or real, and nothing against AB Vajpayee. Consequently, while protesting the intolerance currently existing in the country especially after the BJP came to power, the Nagas ended up displaying for the world to see an image as if the Nagas were more intolerant. These actions demeaned AB Vajpayee although all the organisations clarified that it was not the intention.
As for the BJP’s Nagaland unit, it would have augured well if the president, who is also a Cabinet minister, had decided on completing the ritual as early as possible. The BJP’s state unit scheduled the ash immersion event for August 27, although the urn with the ashes had arrived in the state on August 23 and a prayer programme was held by members of the state’s unit on the same day. The four-day wait was just plain courting controversy. Such an event could have been handled better and all the unwanted controversies curbed. The president could have met with church leaders and cleared their doubts too. Consequently, the president may have ended as a hero to his party’s central command, but in turn demeaned the image of the very people he represented.
