Re: Case for Varanasi. Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together”, said Mark Twain once. Argument 1. Muslims have Mecca, Jews and Christians have Jerusalem, Christians also have Rome. Hindus have Varanasi, which is one amongst seven of their key spiritual places (tirth). By the way, Sarnath is not far away where Buddha gave his first sermon. So it has close ties with Buddhism. The emblem of India, the Ashoka chakra is from Sarnath. It is also home to the 23rd Teerthankar of Jainism, Parshva. Argument 2. It is also the oldest living city in Asia and one of the oldest in the world. Argument 3. It is de-facto cultural and spiritual capital of Hindus. It is the birthplace of great gurus such as Sant Kabir and Ravidas and workplace of Tulsidas, who are amongst the great writers and philosophers of India whose work and legacy embodies many faiths and traditions which are well alive and thriving today. It is said that Guru Nanak Dev also visited Varanasi for inspiration and went on to become the first guru and founder of Sikhism. Argument 4. It is birthplace of Banaras gharana, a rich musical tradition having produced greats such as musicians Omkarnath Thakur, Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Girija Devi, Siddheshwari Devi, Kishan Maharaj, Rajan and Sajan Mishra, Chhannulal Mishra Vikash Maharaj and many others. Argument 5. It is birthplace of great Hindi writers and poets of modern times such as Munshi Premchand, Hazari Prasad Dwivedi, Bhartendu Harishchandra and many others. It has many other great features to the list, but let me stop here, as it should be more than enough already when you compare Banaras to any other major city of India. So summary: Given all of the above, shouldn’t it be recognized as a world heritage site already? The Ghats of Banaras alone can achieve such a feat if not all of the above qualify on exclusive basis. Now, do you need Banaras to become a constituency of a Prime Minister to achieve such a recognition? Heck, doesn’t it enjoy such recognition already? Reverse argument can be also made, that is, if any city were to be the THE constituency of Bharat, then why not Banaras!? Especially when you look at its history and cultural richness. This is where BJP might be sensing an opportunity window to leverage such richness and make it as ‘Hindutatva’ exclusive argument. But remember folks, as discussed above, this great city is linked to many other faiths as well, though does enjoy and offers heavy Hinduism influence. Are you still with me? Lets throw another monkey in the wrench to make it more complicated. It is probably the most important question of the blog so far. Given all of the above, is it proper to associate this great city with politics or preserve it as solid heritage that is ‘a-political’ in nature? What would you do if you were a Banarasi with this much ethos and richness to offer from your city? Do not just rush to a conclusion. Think a bit. Sleep over it if you have to. Why don’t you chime in and let your voices be heard.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 03:32:53 +0000
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