When Amit Shah pissed off Malayalees with his Onam greeting

Onam, it turns out, may not be particularly happy for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah.

The BJP leader wished his followers on social media with this picture:

The minor detail that the North Indian Shah possibly missed (or perhaps chose to airbrush) is that on Onam in Kerala, it is King Mahabali who is worshipped, rather than the Vamana avatar of Vishnu.

Seems like a goof-up, but is there a subtle casteist propaganda in that message?

On Onam, Kerala celebrates the “return” of Asura King Mahabali, who was revered for being wise and just, but was effectively forced into exile because of a conspiracy by the Devtas.  Legend has it that Kerala under Mahabali was a great kingdom with no discrimination amongst the subjects, no poverty, and no injustice.  

As Mahabali became more powerful and popular, Indra got more insecure. He and other Devtas sought help from Lord Vishnu, whom Mahabali worshipped. Vishnu took on the form of a dwarf Brahmin, or Vamana, and visited Mahabali when he was distributing alms.

Mahabali, it is said, knew something was amiss when the dimunitive Vamana said that all he asked of the great king was the land covered by three of the Brahmin’s footsteps. Shukracharya, Mahabali’s advisor, warned the king too. Despite all these warning signs, Mahabali chose to honour his promise: if he had said he fulfil the Brahmin’s wishes, he would do so.

The moment Mahabali agreed to give Vamana his three footsteps’ worth of land, the avatar of Vishnu grew to cosmic proportions. His first footstep covered the entire earth. His second footstep covered the skies. When Vishnu as Vamana asked Mahabali where his third footstep should be, Mahabali offered his own head. And thus, Vamana stepped on Mahabali and pushed him far below into the netherworld of Pataal.

It is a fascinating story of sacrifice and deceit, and by all measures, Mahabali is the hero. It has also been seen as a metaphorical representation of how upper castes dominated those who would be considered below them in the traditional Hindu caste pyramid. Taking that interpretation into consideration, Mahabali and Vamana’s story has a deeper meaning when seen from the perspective of caste.

In Kerala, Mahabali remains a revered king and Onam is the celebration of his annual return, when he comes to make sure his subjects are living happily.

Now, the reason Amit Shah’s tweet comes across as dubious is what the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) – the ideological mentor of BJP – has been trying to do in Kerala in the run-up to Onam. In the special Onam issue of RSS mouthpiece Kesari, a professor of Sanskrit employed at a government college claimed that Onam was originally celebrated as “Vaman Jayanti”. The article also claims that Mahabai was “honourably rehabilitated to a place which is more comfortable than heaven.” Predictably, this point of view triggered a row in Kerala. The state’s Health Minister K K Shylaja called the article an “attempt” bring back “upper class hegemony”.

One could of course argue that Shah is just being an obedient acolyte. It’s simply following RSS and if they have decreed it’s Vamana Jayanti – and not Onam – then who is Shah to disagree?

Malayalis, however, have not borne this silently. Happy Onam.