Debating the relevance of rituals

JAY JOSHI

Recently, India secured the first of its Rafale fighter aircraft from France on the eve of Dussehrs. The Rafale deal itself had been surrounded by controversy as the opposition alleged that there was corruption in the deal. Now, warplanes have again become the centre of attention amidst a new storm.

Upon receiving the warplane, defence minister Rajnath Singh performed ‘Shastra Puja’ in accordance with the HIndu tradition on Dussehra. However the action was criticized by certain sections of Indian society. The critics held that the ritual was not needed and was a part of theatrics, while the defence minister defended himself stating that it was a matter of faith. Even so, the recent controversy has once again ignited a debate on what value such rituals hold. 

“Shastra Puja is a tradition from ancient times. Lord Ram is said to have performed the first Shastra Puja. Today, not just Indian households but also Indian armed forces also perform Shastra Pooja.The intention behind the ritual is to honour the arms and get them blessed by Goddess Durga,” says Hemant Adhyapak, a priest and a student of Hindu scriptures, from Ponda. “I do not see anything wrong with the tradition. It’s a way we show gratitude towards the tools of our trade. Today, psychologists ask people to keep a ‘gratitude diary’ to feel happy and relieve stress. Well, this is sort of the same. However, since it is cloaked in religion and faith, many people who consider themselves modern tend to look down upon it. This is wrong,” adds Adhyapak.

On the other hand, Dr Vitthal Thakur from Marcel states that the whole controversy has more political undertone rather than religions. “There are two aspects to the criticism,” says Thakur. “Firstly, there have been instances where PM Modi has himself mocked hanging lemon and chillies. Now, his own ministers are engaging in such practices. So, it exposes the hypocrisy of the PM in a way. On the other hand, it is also believed that many sections of the opposition would not have criticised it if some of their leaders had done this. I cannot say whether this is true or false,” says Thakur.

Shailesh Tanpure, a scholar of Political Science from Goa University, who now works as a journalist in New Delhi also toes a balanced line. “‘A Shastra Puja’ is part of our tradition. Some people follow it while some people don’t. At the end of the day it’s about personal choices. If the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh wants to perform ‘Shastra Puja’ in France, I feel it’s his personal decision. He has performed the Puja in the past while he was the Home Minister. Just because people disagree with the exercise, it doesn’t make it wrong. I feel it was a harmless exercise. Just Indians being Indians. What’s wrong with that? There are other genuine things to criticise the government. ‘Shastra Puja’ isn’t one of them,” says Tanpure. He also observes that the ceremony garnered so much attention because Rafale was one of the talking points during the general elections and is part of the public consciousness.

Raj Salgaonkar, a journalist from Vasco highlights a different angle of the issue. “If we consider the Hindu thought, nothing is good or bad in itself. It is the degree up to which we are dependant on something that defines whether it is harmful for us. Rituals, if they don’t harm others and are conducted with good intention, are ertainly good. Shastra Puja is done as a mark of respect for the weapons, and is good. The real problem arises when someone is unable to proceed without the ritual, and begins to feel uneasy if it is not done. That is when faith turns into superstition. A harmless tradition should not be a big issue,” says Salgaonkar. 

Shreyas Desai, a student from Pune however has some objections about the incident. “India is a democracy, and government and religion should be seperate. I do not have any issue with an individual performing Shastra Puja at their own home, but when the defence minister of a democratic country does ir, he is bringing in religion into politics-not to mention defence deals. This really sets a bad precedent, considering that we are a secular and multicultural nation,” says Desai. 

However, Raju Kundaikar, a corporate employee from Panaji presents a counter-view. “Even if India is a democratic country, it has a deep Hindu influence, and many of its simple traditions have arisen from this philosophy. The Indian armed forces have had the tradition of Shastra Puja since a long time, and no one has objected to this. When the defence minister was performing the ritual, he was merely observing a tradition within the armed forces that he leads. Traditions carry a lot of importance in the armed forces, and something like Shastra Puja which is connected to weapons is certain to invoke the spirit of valor among our troops. Hence, we need to look at this only as a tradition, and not something connected to religion. 

History researcher Dr Rohit Phalgaonkar from Porvorim mentions that there is a subtle line between tradition and ritual when it comes to India. “In my opinion, what the defence minister did was an Indian tradition, and not a ritual. India is known for its traditions, and many of these have come from our faith,” says Phalgaonkar. “Certain practices which were rituals before have now matured into traditions that give India its unique character. An example of this is the lighting of the lamp. No matter what religion they belong to, Indians will always light a lamp before a formal function. Similarly, when they buy anything new, they will perform a small pooja. Traditions give us our identity. If you take them out of India, there will be no difference between Indians and Americans or British,” says Phalgaonkar. 

As religion, faith, and tradition are deeply intertwined in India, it is indeed difficult to judge whether the defence minister’s actions were right may not have a clear answer.