The pen is mightier than the sword ..

Kanchi Shankaracharya's arrest

Tamil Nadu police arrested the Kanchi Shankaracharya in Mehboobnagar after investigations established that he was a prime suspect in the murder of an employee of Kanchi mutt. The arrest was based on the confessions of 2 of the 14 people arrested in connection with this case. This arrest came as a surprise considering the seers proximity to influential and powerful people like industrialists and the AIADMK administration.
This story, which has the makings of a political potboiler, is on the front pages of all national publications. The self-proclaimed saviors of Hinduism are obviously using media attention to vent their spleen. Here are some of the outraged comments –
Jaideep Patel, VHP state unit General Secretary said “Shankaracharya's arrest is an insult to all Hindus and we will protest this till the end. Revenge will be taken for this act. Is the Central government trying to appease a section of the minority community by doing this?" I’m sure talk of revenge comes very easily to Patel given his background of instigating riots in Naroda Patia , which was supposedly revenge for Godhra.
Not to be left behind ,Praveen Togadia predictably said “this is an onslaught on Hindus". The man seems to think *anything * is an attack on Hinduism. He’s used this line so many times that its become stale. Togadia added "This is for the first time in the history of Hindus that Shanakaracharya has been arrested. Why all of a sudden, the seer was arrested while performing trikal puja.” The logic behind his statement (if there is any) baffles me. Does he mean to say that other shankaracharyas were not arrested inspite of their involvement in crime? Would he have been ok with the arrest had it taken place after the puja? Does he hope (like me) that this "historic" arrest will set a precedent and send a message that religious leaders are not above the law? Or am I reading too much into his statements (whe he's being idiotic like always)?
While protests happened elsewhere and the VHP claimed that this issue was no less serious than the attack on the Somnath temple, the temple town of Kanchi has remained quiet and protest free. The best quote which echoed the general atmosphere in Kanchi came from a taxi driver Saravanan, who said ,“Who cares what becomes of him? If he got a man killed, let him pay for it.” Hear hear ...
Well I for one hope that this really happens and that the case is not swept under the mat because of politics. I hope that somehow justice prevails and if that if the Shankaracharya has committed the crime he pays for it , thereby setting a precedent for the future and showing that no one is above the law , even if they think are “spiritually superior”.

posted by mightypen @ 10:03 PM