Maharana Pratap, BJP’s latest icon

JAIPUR, June 17: The state Bharatiya Janata Party unit has found a new icon. After Ram, it is now Maharana Pratap. Exactly four centuries a...

JAIPUR, June 17: The state Bharatiya Janata Party unit has found a new icon. After Ram, it is now Maharana Pratap. Exactly four centuries after his death, the party is now seeking to resurrect the Hindu king.

The choice of their latest idol is probably deliberate since the Maharana is said to be a descendant of Ram. Indeed, Maharana Pratap, also known as Hindwa Suraj (Sun among Hindus) has all the trappings of a cult figure for the saffron party with his reputation as a brave warrior who symbolised the successful Hindu resistance to the Mughal empire during its zenith. The modern day Hindutva slogan is reminiscent of Pratap’s state insignia proclaiming Jo dridh rakhe dharm ko, tihi rakhe kartar (He who protects the faith, is protected by God).

The state BJP unit has embarked on a year-long high-profile programme to mark the 400th year of the Maharana’s death. Opposition leader and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee set the mood with the inauguration of a bridge to Maharana Pratap’s chhatri (cenotaph) near his capital, Chawind, 60 km from Udaipur.

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BJP president L K Advani’s recent rath yatra through the state was marked by a rally at the Maharana’s birthplace, Kumbhalgarh on June 8. Besides Advani, party leaders including Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, BJP vice-president Madan Lal Khurana and general secretary Pramod Mahajan tried to stir the patriotic sentiments of the predominantly Bhil gathering.

On his homeground, Shekhawat, who is usually identified as one of the party liberals, made an impassioned speech. “But for Maharana Pratap, there would have been no choti (tuft of hair) or janeu (sacred thread) today,” he declared, pointing out that though the country had named roads after Akbar and Aurangzeb, the Hindu king was yet to be similarly honoured.

Shekhawat’s aggressive stand is seen as an effort to outbid his detractors both within and outside the party. By using the Hindu king as his secret weapon to play on the Hindu ethos, Shekhawat hopes to silence his rival party colleagues, identified with the RSS lobby.