Gujarat Cong MLA embarks on mission to revive aarti tradition
AHMEDABAD: This was also part of my campaign and people have whole heartedly accepted it. This is why I am beginning the drive from Amreli.
PARESH DHANANI, Cong leader
After Rahul Gandhi visited over two dozen temples in Gujarat ahead of the assembly polls, the new Congress legislative party leader, Paresh Dhanani has embarked on a mission to revive the “dying” aarti tradition in more than 100 Ram temples in his constituency, Amreli.
Rahul’s temple run had triggered a debate that the party was trying to play the soft Hindutva card in order to woo voters in the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
The move by Dhanani — who is also the working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee — should further cement that idea, especially in view of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Through his NGO ‘Parivartan’, Dhanani plans to provide nagaras (drums), shankh (conkshells) and flags to each Ram temple in Amreli district to restore the age-old practice of manual aarti.
Dhanani, who at 41 has became the youngest to lead the Congress in the Gujarat assembly, said he aims to revive the tradition wherein temples in villages and towns served as the spot for cultural get-together.
“This is a social mission to revive tradition. This was also part of my campaign and people have whole heartedly accepted it. This is why I am beginning the drive from Amreli,” he said.
The Congress leader, who has emerged as a powerful Patidar leader for the party, represents Amreli constituency in Saurashtra district where, along with Morbi and Junagadh, the BJP had faced a total wipe-out in the December polls.
Defeat at this otherwise traditional stronghold in Saurashtra limited the BJP to 99 seats, its lowest tally since coming to power in the state in 1995.
Explaining about the shankhs and nagaras, Dhanani said, “Earlier, the aarti, where someone would play shankh and nagara served as a social gathering at the end of every day. But now, with mechanical nagaras in temples, aartis only mark the end of the day. This has resulted in social isolation for many people which can be seen as a reason behind the increasing cases of suicide.”
Though he maintained that the Congress is not involved in the drive, he said, “Whoever wants to take this idea further in his or her area, we will support them.”
To the attack on Rahul over his temple visits, Dhanani hit back at the BJP for “ignoring dying traditions” at Gujarat temples.
“The BJP talks of building Ram temple at Ayodhya before every election. But the party is not bothered about the threat of dying tradition that every temple in Gujarat is facing today,” he said.
The Congress, which has extended support to Dhanani in his work, also hit out at the BJP over Ram Mandir issue.
“The BJP has cheated devotees who offered bricks and money for the construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. Even Nirmohi Akhada had asked the BJP to explain what happened to Rs 1,400 crore raised for the construction of temple at Ayodhya,” said Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi.
The BJP, on the other hand, accused the opposition party of dividing people on religious lines. “Congress had denied the existence of Lord Ram and tried to put a legal hurdle in the construction of temple at Ayodhya. The Congress knows nothing other than dividing people on religious and caste lines,” said BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya.