Kerala: Chaos Reigns as Traditions are Wiped Out

How concerted and systematic onslaught on Hindu traditions and customs by Marxists leads to anarchy and savagery in party strongholds in Kannur 

Recently, a CPI(M) worker was killed and two of his ‘comrades in arms’ were injured in the bomb blast that took place at a marriage celebration at Thottada, a party village in Kerala’s killing fields of Kannur. Interestingly, it was not the handiwork of CPI(M)’s political rivals; the tragic episode was plotted and executed by a set of comrades who had a dispute with some of their colleagues over vulgar dance performances played out at the marriage celebration held at the bride’s house the previous day. By the quirk of fate, Jishnu, a member of the assault team, ended up as the victim of the botched plan after a bomb hurled at rivals by his accomplices hit his head, blowing it into smithereens. 
The Root Cause
There’s more to it than meets the eye. One can’t dismiss the tragic incident as an isolated criminal act carried out by a group of overzealous youth to settle scores with their disgruntled colleagues. It is the result of a systematic and concerted onslaught on Hindu traditions and customary practices carried out by the CPI(M) in the name of progressiveness. To overwhelm their minds with Communist ideas, gain control over their actions and bring about intellectual dependence, the Marxists launched a war on the age-old Hindu traditions, customs, and ritual practices which had a powerful sway over the people for generations and used to keep the cultural and moral fabric of the society intact.

There have been similarities in the strategies adopted by the British imperialists, fascists, communists,and evangelicals to alienate society from its cultural roots for establishing their hegemony. As Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, in the context of European imperialism, noted: “The mighty European civilisation, with its multiplicity of powers, has overwhelmed our minds easily. That mind is the brain of society, if it submits to foreign influence how will society retain its own independence? Because the educated segment of society has allowed its mind and heart to be overwhelmed by foreign education, some abuse them, some satirise them through farce. But no one considers coolly why this is happening.” 

The tragic part of the gruesome incident was that it took place during a marriage. As stated earlier, it is not an isolated incident. Of late, in many of the villages of Kannur, especially party villages, vulgarity, and violent antics have replaced the necessary religious and spiritual practices associated with marriage. 

The Marxists have been running a campaign against the institution of marriage. The Hindu marriage, one of the sixteen samskaras (shodasasamskaras),takes place in presence of Agni (fire). The party discouraged its cadre and family members from using traditional lamps or performing pradakshina or tying mangal sutra during marriages in party villages. The Marxists converted the marriage into a party programme, wherein the bride and groom exchanged red garlands while others shouted InquilabZindabad.  But it did not get much tractioneven among the cadre, though it managed to obliterate the traditions. 

Bereft of the sublime spiritual content, marriages have become theatres of absurdities and banalities where brides and grooms are subjected to inhuman and gut-wrenching vulgar actions by comrades. For instance, there have been incidents, where, in the name of merriment, food prepared for guests is emptied on the heads of the bride and groom turning the most important day of their lives into a nightmare. Those who resistedwere silenced using brute force. 

Marxist Savagery Knows No Bounds 

In party villages, the Communist party bulldozes its dictates on residents. Residents have no right to stray away from the party line. Even in death or marriage, it is the party goons who decide how to conduct events or what customs to be followed. For instance, in a party village in Panur, the Marxists created a ruckus when a man tried to conduct pujas for the salvation of his deceased father. Incidentally, the deceased man was a local party leader. The party did not allow the family to perform last rites, saying that rituals are prohibited in party villages. Unhappy with the party’s encroachment into the personal space, the son, Manish, called a priest to perform puja. But when the Daivadasakam, aprayer written by reformer-saint Sree Narayana Guru was being recited, the Marxist goons created problems. 

In Mattannur, when a member of the women’s wing of Nair Service Society died, a group of people belonging to that community came to place a wreath. The Marxist goons threw away the wreath and manhandled them, saying, “your community’s wreaths are not required”. The victims had to be admitted to a hospital.  

When a resident of Poovode in Thaliparamaba who was the president of 'Elaneer Sangham', a socio-cultural group associated with the famous Kottiyoor temple, died, other members of the group came to place a wreath. Incensed by the name of the organisation, the local party leader dragged the leader of the team and brutally attacked him. 

There is no dearth of stories of the savagery of Marxist goons. There were instances when party goons forcefully took the bodies of the deceased and cremated them without the participation of family members. 

Only Hindu Customs Targeted 

After gaining control over an area by stifling opposing political views and indulging in violence, Marxists not only wiped out old cultural traditions but launched propaganda against temples and Hindu belief systems. The assault on the Sabarimala shrine should be viewed from this perspective. Animosity towards Hindutva is very well expressed in this Leftist slogan, “Temples and groves are to be ploughed and tapioca be planted there, then only the country would prosper (Ambalangalumkaavukalumkoththikkilach kappa nattaalenaadunannaavuu). So they destroyed many temples. Usually, temple-related art forms such as Thullal, ChakyaarKooth,Kathakali used to be staged during Hindu festivals. Communists campaigned against such art forms, saying they are bourgeoisie arts and in their place they promoted anti-Hindu, atheist, Left propaganda-based programmes. 

In Kathakali, most of the stories are drawn from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The Marxists encouraged some Kathakali artistes to create new stories on the Bolshevik revolution and other mundane themes. The same thing happened with Harikatha and Theyyam, a ritualistic art form. They brought Theyyam out of the sacred surroundings and used it in party demonstrations. Even as they were doing this to the Hindu traditions, they were very sensitive and protective ofthe belief systems of Semitic religions although many of them are medieval and reek of misogyny.  

Once P Parameswar Ji made an observation about this phenomenon. He said, “Communists removed the divine symbols from the minds of Hindu youth but failed to replace them with proper alternatives. So the minds became vacant. There is a rule that ‘Nature abhors a vacuum’. Hence the vacant minds were filled with negative dirt.Kerala is facing this crisis.” 

When traditions and belief systems are annihilated, anarchy and chaos take their place. The traditions and ritualistic practices, although seemingly outdated and archaic, have a positive purpose in society: they bring solace to the minds of people and have a calming effect on them. The Marxist campaign has resulted in people viewing them with suspicion and derision.  

More importantly, such a situation provides a fertile ground for predatory Abrahamic religions to indulge in massive conversion activities. Reports suggest that a majority of Hindu girls who were trapped in love jihad cases came from Communist families. The Christianity Today, in one of its articles, claimed that the obliteration of old Buddhist traditions by the Communists in China has helped the Church to present itself as a ‘humane’ alternative to the regime’s materialism. Today, Christianity is the fastest-growing religion in China. 

Notwithstanding centuries of invasions and subjugation, Bharat had managed to stonewall Abrahamic religions, thanks to our vibrant culture and traditions. The Communists and Left-Liberals are trying to strike at the root of our traditions. In Kerala, the hotbed of Communism, this tendency is increasing. If we depart from the path shown by Sree Narayana Guru and ChattambiSwamigal, our future will be in dire straits.