Communal groups target Assemby Speaker AN Shamseer for his speech on scientific temperament with a reference to Lord Ganapati.
Published Aug 03, 2023 | 11:00 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 03, 2023 | 11:00 AM
Kerala Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer. (File photo/KB Jayachandran)
Hindus consider Lord Ganesha as the remover of obstacles. In Kerala, the elephant-headed god is caught in a crossfire between rationalists — mostly CPI(M) — and right-wing and pro-Hindu community organisations.
The war of words began with Assembly Speaker AN Shamseer delivering a speech at a school in Ernakulam district’s Kunnathunad Assembly constituency on 21 July.
Speaking at the school, he urged students to develop a scientific temper rather than following superstition. He advised them to adopt scientific tools of observation, experimentation, verification, and theorisation to access truth.
He said myths should not be promoted as science, referring to the Pushpaka Vimana in the Ramayana and the birth of Kauravas in the Mahabharata.
“In medical science, plastic surgery is a relatively new invention. But now we are being taught that plastic surgery existed in ancient India. They cite Ganapati, with a man’s body and an elephant’s head, as an example. Such myths are being promoted in the place of science,” Samseer summed up his speech.
Almost three weeks after the speech was made, the BJP-RSS combine is turning it into a powerful tool to invoke Hindu sentiments against a “Muslim” face of the CPI(M), who “deliberately insulted” the Hindu god.
The Sangh Parivar took out protest marches to the residence and office of Shamseer, but their efforts failed to create any political impact.
A Yuva Morcha leader even delivered a fiery speech reminding Shamseer how Islamic fundamentalists severed the hand of a college professor for alleged blasphemy. He added that the Hindu patience has a limit. But even his emotional appeal failed to create any major ripples.
However, the situation changed when G Sukumaran Nair, the general secretary of Nair Service Society (NSS), entered the scene. He stated that the Hindus prefer faith over science.
The largest community organisation that stands for the interests of the numerically strong, upper-caste Nair community, the NSS, on Wednesday, 2 August, observed a “Faith Preservation Day”. It demanded an unconditional apology from Shamseer, apart from his resignation from the post of Speaker.
The NSS’s stand on the issue has landed Kerala’s ruling and Opposition fronts in a tight spot.
CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan and party Central Committee member AK Balan were quick to come out in support of Shamseer.
“Nobody can question the secular and scientific temper of Shamseer. He is a communist with a progressive bend of mind. He never showed any leaning to a majority or minority fundamentalism,” Balan said.
They said the question of apology does not arise as he spoke a scientific truth. However, several other party leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, are keeping a studied silence over Sukumaran Nair’s open endorsement of the BJP-RSS view.
The fast-approaching Lok Sabha polls do not allow the CPI(M) to antagonise the Nair community. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), too, is guarded in its response to Nair’s statement, ostensibly due to electoral compulsions.
They all worried over the possibility of the BJP-RSS getting closer to the NSS, and striking an understanding ahead of the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile, ruling front MLA and Kerala Congress (B) leader KB Ganesh Kumar has made the situation complex for the LDF. He said he would not support any move to weaken the Speaker but would be loyal to the NSS leadership.
Kumar is a director board member of the NSS, and he said it would be natural for him to follow the instructions of the general secretary.
Meanwhile, the BJP is planning statewide meetings to condemn Shamseer as a practicing Muslim who interferes in the matters of the Hindus.
On Wednesday, 2 August, the Speaker told reporters that his speech was in his capacity of a person holding a constitutional post and was meant to promote a scientific temper in students.
When asked about the ongoing attempts to discredit him, Shamseer shot back, stating no one has the right to question his secular credentials. “To be honest…to be frank…I am not a person who hurts the sentiments of any religion,” he said, claiming that devotees and religious believers are on his side.
Shamseer said Hindus in Kerala know well that he didn’t hurt their faith or sentiments. “I never intended to hurt the sentiments of any religion… What is going on in the state is very unfortunate,” he said.
When asked about the NSS’s protest, the Speaker said that, as an organisation, it has the right to protest on any issue. “By endorsing the BJP-RSS agenda, the NSS is creating a bad precedent. It’s dangerous to the inclusive character of Kerala, where people of all communities strive for scientific reasoning,” he said.
“The Speaker was trying to invite the public’s attention to the Union government’s attempts to teach children Hindu mythology instead of accomplishments in science and technology,” academic and thinker Sunil P Elayidam told South First.
On Tuesday, NSS activists made special offerings at Ganapati temples across the state in a bid to mount an offensive against the Speaker.
Talking to reporters, Govindan said there is a political agenda behind the controversy.
“There is a bid to divide society over the Speaker’s speech. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that Ganapati was born out of plastic surgery. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, too, had said that Modi’s statement on Ganapati was wrong. No one should infringe on science on behalf of myths, and one cannot move ahead by rejecting science,” he said.
Elaborating, Govindan said the party believes in seeing science as science, history as history, and myth as myth.
“The party is always for the democratic rights of both atheists and theists. The RSS is trying to make myths a part of history. They are adding Ganapati and Pushpaka Vimana to history. At the same time, they take the stand that the assassination of Gandhi, the Mughal period, and Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution should not be taught,” he said.
Attacking Congress leaders who sought the Speaker’s apology, Govindan said Nehru was a rationalist. “Congress leaders should read Nehru before repeating the arguments of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar,” he said.
The Congress on Wednesday demanded that the Speaker should correct his statement as it would otherwise provide ammunition to communal forces.
Responding to the developments, NSS leader Nair said the Hindu community in Kerala has a tradition of recognising and respecting other faiths and leading a peaceful and harmonious life without hurting the sentiments of others.
But, if anybody tries to insult the beliefs of the community members, they will face stiff resistance without any compromise, he said, referring to the protest.
Reiterating his demand that Shamseer should apologise to the Hindu community and withdraw his remarks, the NSS general secretary also said faith is most important and it guides humans.
Meanwhile, the SNDP Union, which represents the OBC Hindu Ezhava community, is yet to respond to the surging controversy.
Despite having active links with the BJP, SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellapally Natesan refused to comment on the issue, saying he must ponder more before reacting.
SNDP Yogam is always at loggerheads with the NSS.
(With PTI inputs)
