BJP invokes Dinkar with eye on Bihar

A few weeks ago, when former Union minister and Bihar BJP member C P Thakur asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be chief guest at a function to celebrate 50 years of 'Sanskriti Ke Chaar Adhyay' and 'Parshuram Ki Prateeksha' — two very popular books written by Rashtra Kavi Ramdhari Singh Dinkar — the PM readily agreed. The event, being organized at Vigyan Bhavan on May 22, will reiterate Thakur's demand for a posthumous conferring of Bharat Ratna on the legendary poet from Bihar. 

The politics implicit in the move, coming months before the Bihar polls, is an obvious conclusion for many. The legacy of Dinkar, a Bhumihar, has often been courted by parties before polls to rally caste votes. But it is also being seen as the Modi government's continued push in favour of Hindi and co-option of a literary icon simultaneously seen as a secularist and a cultural nationalist -- a term closer to Sangh's scheme of things. 

Speaking to TOI, Thakur said, "Friday's event is part of a series of events being organized in various cities to commemorate the contribution of Dinkar to Hindi literature and the idea of nationalism. Today, Hindi is suffering. We want to re-establish the importance of Hindi." 

Curiously, 'Sanskriti Ke Chaar Adhyay' is often described as the Hindi version of Jawaharlal Nehru's 'Discovery of India' and even the book's foreword was written by Nehru. Considering that the Modi government has been consistently trying to sideline Nehru's legacy and has attempted to own many icons closer to the Congress — Sardar Patel being the most prominent — the PM's participation in an event to fete Dinkar assumes significance. 

Many argue that Dinkar, who became a Rajya Sabha MP under Nehru, drifted away after the Sino-Indian war — 'Parshuram ki Prateeksha' was an angry response to the same — and became very close to Jayaprakash Narain. The JP movement used a line from one of Dinkar's poems — 'Singhasan khali karo ki janata aati hai' — as the clarion call for a nationwide movement against Congress. It ultimately culminated in a government of which Jan Sangh (BJP's mother party) was a part. 

Academic and professor of Hindi at Delhi University Apoorvanand feels BJP has misunderstood Dinkar. "They may feel 'Parshuram ki Prateeksha' (PKP) has same nationalistic overtones as theirs, but Dinkar's nationalism was very different. His was closer to Gandhi's, Nehru's and Tagore's. In fact, he admitted later that PKP was written in absolute angst with little knowledge of the war. BJP is trying to co-opt icons as they don't have their own. BJP has forgotten this is the 50th death anniversary of Nehru. It is celebrating Dinkar, who is inseparable from the idea of Nehru," Apoorvanand said. 

There are others, however, who feel the event is welcome as at least it will get Dinkar his due. Dr Shachi Kant, who has translated Dinkar's 'Kurukshetra' and is now translating 'Sanskriti Ke Chaar Adhyay', said, "Dinkar was much greater than he is considered. His range spanned from 'veer ras' to 'shringaar ras' and also touched upon socio-political issues. He suffered because he was from Bihar, a state looked down upon by much of the nation. Most PMs have come from UP, whose litterateurs undermined Dinkar. Modi is from Gujarat and he is thus impartial." Kant is currently joint commissioner at Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan under the HRD ministry. 

Thakur, however, denied that his attempts were in any way aimed at confining Dinkar as an icon of Bihar or use his identity as a Bhumihar. "This has got nothing to do with politics. We have been preparing for this for quite a while. Dinkar was himself abhorrent of caste politics," Thakur said.