The Public Relations department of the MP government has recently published a book titled Sankatmochak Hanuman (Hanuman: the panacea for all ills). The cover page of the book carries a photo of the Lord carrying a mountain and has “Madhya Pradesh Jansampark ka prakashan” (A publication of the MP Public Relations) written in bold relief.

This publication, to the say the least, is highly objectionable. Use of government funds for financing the glorification of the God of a particular religion goes against the Secular spirit of our Constitution and polity. The publication is unconstitutional in another sense too. Our Constitution enjoins upon the State the duty to discourage superstitions and to promote scientific temperament. This book is a veritable storehouse of superstitions. And moreover, the government has put its seal of approval on the irrational beliefs touted by the book. For, admittedly the Public Relations department is meant to act as a channel for communicating government policies, programmes, decisions etc to the people at large and it is the official voice of the government.
The book declares that Hanuman has the power and the ability to solve each and every problem being faced by individuals, the society and the country as a whole. “Hanuman is the enemy of ghosts, vampires, demons and evil spirits. He squashes them under his feet so that they cannot trouble anyone”, it says. The book gives a detailed explanation for how and why Hanuman is relevant in today’s society. “Hanumanji can solve all the problems besetting India in a jiffy”, it claims. According to the writer, “today we lack the spiritual depth needed to invoke the Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. Given this fact, in the Kalyug, Hanuman is our only saviour. We can fulfill all our wishes and get rid of all our troubles by worshipping Hanuman”

The message of the book is loud and clear. If we want to fight corruption, Hanuman and not the Lokpal is the answer. If we want to combat terrorism, there is no need to improve our security paraphernalia. Handing over the job to Bajrangbali would be enough. The writer, however, seems to have forgotten that Hanuman has been very much there in the collective psyche of the India society for centuries and is being worshipped by crores of Indians. Despite that, India was enslaved by the British, it witnessed gruesome bloodsheds, saw innumerable scams of all hues and colours and its teeming millions are still languishing in poverty and ignorance.

This, however, is not for the first time that the dividing line between what the Government should promote and what the Sangh brotherhood wants to promote has become so blurred in the state. The process of Hinduisation of the MP is underway for quite some time now. Thus, almost all the government schemes and programmes are named after Hindu Gods and rituals, government employees have been permitted to join the RSS and the Chief Minister has publicly invited government staff to attend the Sangh Shakhas. “Surya Namaskar” is performed in schools and “Bhojan Mantra” is recited before the midday meals. All the stanzas of “Vande Mataram” (the entire song is not the national song) are sung in government offices. And the Chief Minister openly declares that “the Sachar committee report would not be implemented in the state under any circumstances”.

Apparently, the flag bearers of Hindu Rashtra were still not satisfied. Hence, now the government has decided to appoint Lord Hanuman as the guardian-in-chief of the state. (IPA Service)