Naga sadhus to march for Nepal king
Feb 12, 2007 - 12:06:23 PM
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Dr Umesh Khanal, HSS' national general secretary, told the meet that the saffron brigade should dissociate itself from the king and support the cause of a Hindu republic in Nepal.
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By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
[RxPG] Kathmandu, Feb 12 - As Nepal began the countdown to Shivaratri with fear of violence in the capital, India's Hindu organisations said they would have nothing to do with the extraordinary march of sadhus planned by King Gyanendra's supporters.
On Friday, Kathmandu's famed Pashupatinath temple will be the destination of thousands of devotees from home, India and other places abroad to celebrate Maha Shivaratri, the festival dedicated to Hindu god Shiva.
Each year thousands of holy men from India gather at the temple to join in the celebrations. They include hundreds of Naga sadhus from India, ascetics who roam around all through the year wearing just a loincloth or at times, not even that.
This year, a former Nepal Army general and aide de camp to the palace, has announced his pro-king organisation will Sunday lead a procession of about 2,000 Naga sadhus from the temple to the Prime Minister's Office complex, raising slogans for the restoration of Nepal's past unique status as the only Hindu kingdom in the world.
Bharat Keshar Simha heads the World Hindu Federation, a controversial organisation that supported the king's power grab two years ago. After the king's ouster, he began frantic campaigning in India to get pro-Hindutva parties to come to the monarch's rescue.
Simha's plan has created a fear psychosis in Nepal with leading parties, including the Maoists, suspecting the march will snowball into violence, instigated by royalists.
There is also mounting fear that royalists will target Indian businesses to create an India-Nepal rift, like the Hrithik Roshan riots in 2000 when anti-Nepal comments falsely attributed to the Bollywood hero triggered anti-Indian frenzy.
However, India's leading pro-Hindu parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party -, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh have distanced themselves from the king, whom they had earlier supported.
The Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh - of Nepal, that is closely associated with the VHP and RSS, told IANS Monday that no heavyweight sadhus from India would be taking part in the pro-king march in the capital.
'The king has lost the support of pro-Hindutva groups since he did nothing to further the cause of Hinduism during his 15-month direct rule,' HSS officials said.
'On the contrary, Pakistan's influence increased with the ISI operating freely on Nepal's soil and madrassas - mushrooming across the Indo-Nepal border.'
According to them, Simha went to a conference in Gorakhpur last year to try whip up support for the king, who faces the axing of his crown after an election in June.
Cold-shouldered by Indian allies, even Simha has been growing disheartened.
When he first announced the Naga march, he had boasted he would bring 50,000 naked holy men to Kathmandu. However, after his India trip yielded little fruit, he told his organisation at a meeting last week that there would be about 2,000 Nagas.
Nepal's home ministry said they would not stop a religious march. However, the administration would not allow any untoward incidents.
After the fall of the royal regime last year, HSS leaders went to New Delhi to take part in an RSS conference where they briefed the delegates, including BJP, VHP and RSS heavyweights, about the rising clamour in Nepal for the abolition of monarchy.
Dr Umesh Khanal, HSS' national general secretary, told the meet that the saffron brigade should dissociate itself from the king and support the cause of a Hindu republic in Nepal.
His recommendation was endorsed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and since then India's right parties have stopped issuing statements in support of the king, HSS officials said.
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