Kumaraswamy’s new love for Hindutva invites ridicule in Karnataka

Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy’s decision to wear a ‘Dattamala’ and take part in Datta Jayanti celebrations has ignited accusations of political dishonesty at the former Karnataka chief minister.

In his new avatar as a foe-turned-ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Kumaraswamy has done a complete U-turn on issues on which his earlier stance was in total contrast to that of the Hindutva camp.

His ideological shift has become a subject of mockery both on and outside social media. Dattamala is a Hindu ritual of wearing holy beads around the neck and climbing the Baba Budangiri hills near Chikkamagaluru to pray at the Dattatreya shrine in the biting December cold.

For someone who once ridiculed aspects of Hindu religion, Kumaraswamy has made it clear to the media where he stands now.

“Wearing Dattamala is godly work and it is not anti-law. I will do anything legally to save my religion and culture. For having been born in Hindu religion, it is our responsibility to protect Hindu religion and culture.”

And for good measure, he asked: “Should we support ‘their’ religion by sidelining ‘our’ religion?”

Kumaraswamy flayed

Within hours, Kumaraswamy came under attack.

First, a video of him criticising Dattamala and Datta Jayanti in the run-up to the 2018 Assembly elections went viral.

At a campaign meeting at Mudigere in Chikkamagaluru district then, Kumaraswamy criticised Dattamala and asked people: “Will you support those who do politics in the name of religion by wearing a mala and taking out a procession?”

His statement apparently angered many Hindus, and the JD(S) candidate in the area suffered a miserable defeat.

While the Sangh Parivar is elated with Kumaraswamy’s new posture, his critics both inside and outside the JD(S) are contemptuous of him. They are calling him an opportunist.

“What matters to HDK is political power, and secularism is just a tool for him to meet his political ends,” said a senior JD(S) leader on the condition of anonymity.

Kumaraswamy’s support to the Hindutva agenda is aimed at pleasing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, said a senior Vokkaliga leader in the JD(S) who had opposed the party’s political marriage to the BJP.

Disputed shrine

Dattamala and Datta Jayanti events are part of the Hindutva agenda in Karnataka.

Wearing Dattamala and visiting the holy shrine — a confluence of Islamic Sufism and Hindu Avadhuta tradition in Baba Budangiri hills — has become a political affair over the past 20 years.

Terming the place of worship as “south India’s Ayodhya”, the Sangh Parivar has been championing the “liberation” of Baba Budangiri from its Muslim links.

Baba Budangiri, the abode of Sufi saint Baba Budan and revered by both Muslims and Hindus, has been a symbol of Hindu-Muslim amity for centuries. It turned controversial after the razing of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in 1992.

The Sangh Parivar transformed the syncretic symbol into a supposedly disputed one and now calls Baba Budangiri as Datta Peetha.

Leading this campaign are leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajarang Dal and Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), the fountainhead of the Hindutva ideology.

Former BJP general secretary CT Ravi exploited the issue for his political ascendency.

Now, for some two decades, the area has become a flashpoint for both Hindutva and secular forces in Karnataka.

Under attack

Political sources say the BJP and its allied groups are planning to make Baba Budangiri a political plank in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections next year.

“We will invite Kumaraswamy to Chikkamagaluru and ask him to wear Dattamala,” said a VHP leader when asked to comment on the JD(S) leader’s latest stand.

A BJP leader who did not want to be identified admitted that Kumaraswamy had started speaking the Sangh Parivar language after forging an alliance with the BJP.

“His bond with the BJP was further consolidated after (BY) Vijayendra became the BJP state president,” the party leader said, referring to the son of former chief minister and party veteran BS Yediyurappa.

Former JD(S) president Adaguru Vishwanath called Kumaraswamy a political chameleon.

Saying the JD(S) lacks ideological commitment and principles, he told The Federal: “It practises backdoor politics for the sake of power.”

BJP’s foe-turned-friend

Vishwanath added: “Kumaraswamy once criticised Amit Shah as a political chameleon and a reincarnation of [Nazi leader] Joseph Goebbels. He called Modi an RSS puppet. He took a jibe at (BJP leader) Prahlad Joshi’s caste. He criticised even Dattamala and Datta Jayanti. I am not surprised by the ideological shift of Kumaraswamy.”

Kumaraswamy’s move has not surprised the Congress either.

“Kumaraswamy is a rank opportunist. He changes his colour with time. Let him wear Dattamala. We have no objection. But let him not hurt the sentiments of other communities in his enthusiasm to please the BJP brass,” said Congress spokesperson Ramesh Babu.