the_moderator2001 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
From: "the_moderator2001" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 19:48:20 -0000
Subject: [india-unity] Rise Of A God Woman And The Right To _expression_ [By Sidharth]
Rise Of A God Woman And The Right To _expression_
By Sidharth
The Kerala Chief Minister has ordered the prosecution of Sreeni
Pattathanam , the author of the controversial book, "Matha
Amruthananthamayi - Mysteries And Realities" on the God Woman, Matha
Amruthananthamayi
http://www.countercurrents.org/comm-sidharth180304.htm
Rise Of A God Woman And The Right To _expression_
By Sidharth
18 March, 2004
countercurrents.org
The Kerala Chief Minister Mr. A. K. Antony is at it again. Antony,
who had been toeing the Sangh Parivar line ever since he came to
power has ordered the prosecution of Sreeni Pattathanam , author of
the controversial book, "Matha Amruthananthamayi - Mysteries And
Realities" on a God Woman, Matha Amruthananthamayi, who collected a
huge number of followers in Kerala, all over India and abroad,
including top government functionaries like Chief Ministers,
Ministers, Governors, top bureaucrats and leading business persons.
Mr.Sreeni Pattathanam is being prosecuted under section 295 A of the
Indian Penal code. Section 295 A is the legal code providing
protection against deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage
religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or
religious beliefs. To give this issue a sense of history, this is the
first time in the history of independent India, an author is
prosecuted under section 295 A of the Indian Penal code.
It would be interesting to find out why the Kerala Government is
resorting to such an obscure rule, which, not even the infamous
Narendra Modi government did not find fit to use in their crude
definition of democracy.
Section 295 A is safeguards against "outraging of religious
feelings". No one has ever heard of a religion founded by
Amruthanantha Mayi. "Amruthanantha Mayi Math" is a charitable
organisation registered under the charitable societies act. By the
math's own admission, it is a non religious organisation where people
of all religion are welcome. Moreover, a "Universal Mother" as
Amruthanantha Mayi claims herself, cannot be the mother of a
particular religion, cast or creed. in his zest to please the Math
authorities and the large train of the militant Matha devotees ,
Antony has looked over all these obvious facts. In this election
year, may be he is hoping to win the support of the RSS, who are the
patrons of the Matha and the Math, which came under under cloud of
suspision following the mysterious death of a string of devotees and
the dubiousness of financial deals, including untraceable foreign
funds. The RSS has found the Matha a prop to get its foot hold for
Hindutwa politics, in a slippery Kerala political climate.
It was in 1933 that Section 295 A was last used . But the case was
dismissed unfounded. Now, the author Sreeni Pattathanom who is also
the general secretary of the Indian Rationalists Association,the
publisher P.S. Kumar and the owner of the printing press S. Saji will
be prosecuted under this obscure act.
To understand why A.K. Antony resorted to such an extreme step to
please the Matha, her devotees, the Math and the RSS, we need to
understand the phenomenon called Amruthanantha Mayi, her past and
present, the political clout she (with her cronies) holds in Kerala
society, and the political leanings and ambitions of Chief Minister
Mr. A.K. Antony.
Matha Amruthananthamayi's real life name is Sudhamani. She was born
in 1953, in the small village - Parayakadavu near Kollam to a family
of fisher folks. She did not have much of an education to talk about
as she dropped out in the primary school itself. At the age of 17 she
went to a bhajan, and during bhajan the she broke into a frenzied
dance claiming , she was Krishna . The next day she danced and said
she was Kali (Durga). And that was the beginning of the journey of a
young fisher woman on the path of universal Motherhood, that took her
even to the UN general assembly where she addressed the world.
The Matha's growth was phenomenal. The little girl who danced to the
small community of villagers grew virtually into an industry worth
hundreds of crores of rupees. Politicians and bureaucrats poured in
from all parts of the world and fell upon her feet. Donations flew
from everywhere, and the political connections made sure that none of
this was accounted for. Charity institutions and educational
institutions sprouted all around the country in her name. It makes
sense to spend a portion of money on charity!!!!! The charity worked
as bait to rope in potential devotess. Those who need charity had to
get certified by the net work of Amruthananthamayi Math branches
sprouting in every nook and corner of Kerala. And the "Amma" had no
shortage of devotees from a state economically ravaged by a failing
agro economy, accentuated by the arrival of globalisation and
stressed to the limits by a rampant consumerist lifestyle. People
were ready to fall upon any shoulder that was offered to cry. And she
had able managers to run the show exceptionally well. The "Universal
Mother" was packaged and marketed using the latest management
techniques.
The Matha's 50th birthday celebration in , "Amruthavarsham 2003", was
a show of might. It was designed to show the world the reach and
power of the Matha Amruthananda Mayi industry. The president and the
Vice President of India, the Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Ministers
and governors of several states, high court and supreme court judges
and several high ranking bureaucrats, top businessmen and several
artists attended the celebrations. The Jawaharalal Nehru
International stadium in Kochi was rented several months in advance
and the four day show was attended by as per the organisers claim by
one lakh devotees everyday.
Sudhamani's growth to "Universal Motherhood" was not a smooth ride
though. It was mired in deceit and violence. A path strewn with dead
bodies as the law of the land and the state machinery looked away.
Someone had to track down this path and count the bodies. This is
exactly what Sreeni Pattathanam has done in his book. Mr. Sreeni
diligently trace the trail of Amma and digs out the dead bodies. He
reproduces the police records, FIRs, and press records which directly
link the deaths of several adversaries and devotees with the
Amritananthamayi Math. He records nine such deaths in this book
including that of the Matha's elder brother who vehemently opposed
the young Sudhamani's hysterical dances.
The book raises question marks against the conduct of the Matha's
father Sugunananthan as well. The book brings out several incidents
where Sugunanathan threatens to kill his adversaries, boasting that
the law won't touch him as all the government functionaries are the
devotees of his daughter.
Mr. Sreeni reproduces in the book a complaint filed to the
Superintendent of Police, Kollam district by A.K. Manimallika, a
former devotee of Amruthananthamayi. She was living with the Matha's
parents and Sugunanathan approached her for sexual gratification, on
being refused she was beaten up and thrown out of the ashram. In the
complaint Manimallika accuses Sugunananthan of threatening to kill
her by saying, â�,��" Even the Prime Minister , and the ministers
come and fall upon the feet of my daughter. No one is going to raise
a finger against us. Even if we kill you, no one is going to take
action.(Page 139) In June, 1998 she filed a complaint to state
women's commission as well, but no action was taken so far.
Mr. Sreeni, who is a rationalist himself, also tears apart the
mysteries and miracles associated with the Matha. It is the nature of
these kind of findings that have infuriated devotees of Matha,
including Chief Minister Antony himself, who rushes off to hug the
Matha whenever she comes visiting the state capital Trivandrum , or
to goes off to her ashram at Vallikkavu whenever there is an election
in the offing.
It is not the first time that the devotees of Matha turned against
those who questioned her divinity and the misdeeds of her followers.
Last year, eminent writer Paul Zakaria was issued a death threat for
criticising the godliness of Amruthananthamayi.
The racket has virtually made the local media the kitchen servants of
the Math, with a combination of collective bargaining, abuse and even
threat. The news coverage received for "Amruthavarsham 2003" has to
be seen to be believed. Almost all main stream papers brought out
special supplements and editions to please the Math, television
channel's devoted hours of airtime to show the gala affair. In a
public show of arrogance one Swami tore away a leading daily, which
he perceived was not up to his mark in coverage as all the scribes
looked on. All this in a state known for its secular and literary
traditions.
It is not just the issue of religious obscurantism associated with
public celebration of magic and miracles, and the marketing of
nirvana that is worrying us but the hijacking of such massive
gatherings and sometimes innocent devotion of thousands of devotees
by fascist forces. The "Amruthavarsham 2003" was a show run
exclusively by RSS volunteers. It is not a secret that the Math is a
brand by which the RSS is trying to market its Hindutwa in Kerala.
This book does not shed light into the secret society of
Amruthananthamayi Math nor the financial empire which runs into
hundreds of crones of rupees. This book also does not shed light on
the flow of funds from inside the country and abroad.
The chief Minister A.K.Antony who became the darling of the Sangh
Parivar by accusing the Minorities of the state of misusing their
minority status to gain undue privileges found it a good opportunity
to please the Hindutwa camp again, as another election is close at
hand. But by doing so he is threatening the basic democratic values
ingrained in our constitution. And in the process he has put Mr.
Narendra Modi to shame.
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