A traditional painting of "Maa Kaali" that Bibek Debroy repudiates and, in turn, is patted on the back by OpIndia.
< https://www.opindia.com/2022/08/bibek-debroy-quits-the-week-columnist-offensive-maa-kali-image-article-image/amp/> The OpIndia article, rather interestingly, carried the "offensive" picture - apparently, without any trouble whatever, till this morning. It's, in any case, available at: < https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kali_1800-1825_Kangra._The_Walters_Art_Museum..jpg >. It was painted between 1800 and 1825. A collection of 67 paintings of Kali - including this one and also one depicting Kali mating with Bhairava, is available here: < https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Paintings_of_Kali>. A vivid testimony as regards the artistic freedom customarily exercised within Hindu traditions. The current controversy is, in fact, very much an assault on the Hindu traditions, and nothing less. These traditions, though loosely interconnected, are highly diverse; at the core are great cultures and at the periphery little cultures and both coexist in a state of dynamic interactions. Moreover, the relation between a deity and a devotee is often very informal and even personal - often devoid of the usual reverence. So, caricaturing a deity - in creative works or even popular sayings, is only too commonplace. All these are now under attack from the votaries of Hindutva in their drive to reconstruct and homogenise Hinduism in the image of the Abrahamic religions. The essential argument boils down to: If "they" can enjoy the right to be offended, then why not "we"!!!? Let the traditions go to hell! In the meanwhile, The Week has apologised (< https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2022/08/05/apology-from-the-week.html>) after an FIR having been registered against it. Never mind, the controversy arising unmistakably put the spotlight on the Hindutva gang and its complete lack of inhibition and, in fact, readiness to launch assaults on age-old Hindu traditions in pursuance of its nefarious project. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/greenyouth/CACEsOZgvf61%3D75UTD0DRFpp%2BDgnQ26%2BYU9em0sEX13QztymTSA%40mail.gmail.com.
