The furore over the alleged derogatory remarks made by rationalist Bairi Naresh against Hindu god Ayyappa has sparked an ideological battle between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its affiliated organisations, and the Dalit-Bahujans in Telangana. Bairi Naresh, who belongs to a Backward Class community and is the Telangana state president of the Bharata Nasthika Samajam (Atheist Society of India), triggered tensions after a video of his speech made at a public gathering in Kodangal, Vikarabad district, on December 19 went viral. Naresh had participated in a programme related to the inauguration of a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar.
In the video, Naresh is seen narrating the tale of Ayyappa’s birth in a sexually explicit language. Taking offence to this, Ayyappa devotees staged protests at several places and demanded strict action against him, eventually leading to Naresh’s arrest.
However, the outrage by Hindu organisations against Naresh, who espouses Ambedkar ideology, has been seen as a targeted campaign against Dalit-Bahujans by Hindutva organisations in the state. In a social media campaign, Dalit-Bahujans are arguing that many dominant caste personalities have made similar observations against Hindu gods, but were never subjected to such attacks and harassment because of their caste privilege. In an earlier interview, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma had faced criticism for the way he spoke about the legend of Ayyappa’s birth. Similarly, Chaganti Koteswara Rao (a speaker known for his Hindu discourses) has also commented about Shiva’s lust for Mohini. Ranganayakamma, a Marxist writer, had written a book Ramayana Vishavruksham (Ramayana The Poisonous Tree), which critically examined the Hindu epic Ramayana.
“The comments made by Chaganti who belongs to the Brahmin caste, Ram Gopal Varma who belongs to Kshatriya caste, about the birth of Ayyappa do not offend these devotees. But the same remark made by a Dalit or Bahujan person would offend their sentiments, because the comments made by Bahujans would pollute even the gods,” wrote activist Vijay Kumar Vangalapudi, expressing his solidarity with Naresh.
Previously, a similar campaign against late Dalit filmmaker and critic Mahesh Kathi by Hindu organisations had led to a ban against him. Mahesh was banned from entering Hyderabad for a period of six months for his alleged derogatory remarks against Hindu god Rama.
Condemning the arrest of Bairi Naresh, Dalit Bahujan Students Association from Osmania University said, “Prove that Naresh was wrong through debates and essays. People will then judge the merit in your argument, but physical attacks and illegal arrests are undemocratic. Bairi Naresh should be immediately released.”
Naresh was arrested on December 31, Saturday, in Warangal district before being remanded for 14-day custody. He was booked by the Vikarabad police under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 298 (uttering, words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person), and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The police have said that Naresh would also be booked under the stringent Preventive Detention Act. Along with him, two others — Dolu Hanumanthu, the organiser of the programme, and Renjarla Rajesh, another member of the Atheist Society — were also arrested.
Making an observation about the political campaign against Naresh by the BJP, poet and critic Jilukara Srinivas, who is also the founder of Dalit Bahujan Samithi, pointed out that the BJP specifically targets individuals who are active in social movements. “They deliberately misinterpret speeches [of individuals] and claim that there is a danger of the extinction of Sanatana Dharma because of them. They argue on YouTube and other platforms, and at the slightest opportunity, there will be an agitation to incriminate a person. Eventually, people start believing in the BJP’s propaganda, and the person behind this propaganda would be elevated as an MLA or an MP,” he said.
Meanwhile, junior artiste and BJP leader Karate Kalyani, who has been leading the campaign against Naresh, reacted to the allegations made by Dalit-Bahujan groups in a Facebook post, stating that a change has begun. “If there had been a retaliation against Ram Gopal Varma or Ranganayakamma [when they commented on Ayyappa], people would not have been able to use the ‘caste card’ today,” she said.
Interestingly, the Bahujan Samaj Party has disassociated itself from the controversy. When there were speculations that Naresh belonged to their party, the party’s spokesperson Kongari Aruna Queen promptly clarified that Naresh was not a member of their party, further adding that the party respects all religions equally.