Statue-tory Warning:
Mumbai communities condemn statue vandalism trend
For cultures that believe in idolatry, destruction of idols is meant to hit where it hurts the most. Symbolism of statues continues to hold great sway over the mindset of parties and peoples in different countries.
It all began on March 5 when two statues of communist icon Vladimir Lenin were brought down in south Tripura. The men, wearing saffron T-shirts used a bulldozer to raze the statue of Lenin, installed just months ago by the CPM govt in Tripura. The CPM was routed by the BJP in the recent elections in the state, ending 25 years of the Left rule in the state.
Less than a day after, a statue of social reformer and founder of Dravidian movement E V Ramasamy "Periyar" was vandalised in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district. The act of vandalism came just hours after BJP leader in Tamil Nadu H Raja tweeted encouraging vandalism of Periyar statues. Raja has since deleted his tweet.
In what seemed to be a titfor-tat move, the bust of Jana Sangh founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee has been defaced in Kolkata a day after the Periyar episode.
“What goes around will definitely come around. But these things go beyond politics. Such things hurt people from within. Politics has always been infamous for playing with common man's sentiments. But these acts affect us emotionally,” said J V Pawar, a Dalit thinker and writer.
In less than a week, at least three incidents of statues being vandalised have been reported from Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Bengal. But its repercussions were felt in Mumbai.
Although there were no statue vandalism in Mumbai, Christian community Cross desecration has always been an issue and community scholars insist this is not a new trend.
"This is no new trend for us. Miscreants have been constantly desecrating our holy crosses and Mother Mary statues as well. Accidents do not happen only to us. For them, this is the easiest way to harass minority communities like ours," said Father Simon Borges, Parish priest of Mahim Church.
A Cross was sullied by unknown miscreants at Dadar last week. More than seven Crosses were desecrated in less than two years in Mumbai itself.
Experts from other communities condemn the disturbing trend as well. Muslim community members, although they do not engage in idol worshipping, feel such dastardly acts should not be ignored.
“Will they now go after the statues of Queen Victoria, King Georg V, King Edward VII, George Curzon, Warren Hastings, William Bentinck and scores of other British men and women whose effigies have existed comfortably at busy city junctions, parks, museums and colleges in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Chennai or Bengaluru?” asked Javed Anand, a social activist and convenor of Indian Muslims for Secular Democracy.
He added, “Kala Ghoda, which got its horse back sans King Edward, was just a subtle version of this. Will the Gateway of India - a memorial to King George V and Queen Mary – get further Indianised, even as statues of Vivekananda and Shivaji have been put in its vicinity?”