My views on the Bharat mata picture Controversy in Kerala

A few days ago, in Kerala, a minister refused to participate in a programme at the Governor's office. He said that the Bharat Mata icon placed at the Governor's place negatively affected his conscience in a secular Kerala. Even Gandhiji, the father of our nation, never had a conscience problem with the Bharat mata icon. However, the communists are utterly distraught. In my view, the communists are using Muslim and Christian people's religious sensitivity based on faith in a living God as a tool to divide the society. Why are they doing so? 

If the communists can get 30-40 percent votes, which they think Muslims and Christians would provide, they can still win. No Communists actually believes in the Muslim God or the Christian God. They are atheists, aren't they? Therefore, what we need to do is help people understand that Bharat mata is not about religious beliefs. It is a metaphor we use to represent our country's unity. The British introduced the concept of the motherland. We gave it an artistic expression that appeals to our people's sensitivity. 

The point is we revere our country like we respect divinity. Similarly, Paul calls the heavenly Jerusalem the mother of all those who believe (Galatians 4). It is a metaphor. All Christian people believe in the one living God who came in human form, that is, Jesus. Christians don't think that Jerusalem needs to be worshipped as a mother goddess. They don't consider Jerusalem as a mother deity. Even so, they understand what Paul means. The point is they respect Jerusalem as a place where the divine manifested himself: first in the Jewish Temple and later as Jesus, the Messiah. They are devoted to protect Jerusalem as the mother of those who believe. 

In reality, Maharaj Bharat was a King, a male. Mahabharat is the story of Maharaj Bharat's family. Golwalker and others call Bharat their fatherland based on this understanding. It's not a wrong understanding. Still, comparing one's country with their mother, and protecting one's country as one protects their mother is not a new concept. We love our mothers. We love our motherland also. Therefore, there's nothing wrong in depicting our country in a female form and respecting it. 

If we say India is our motherland in English, the Congress party and the Communist party has no problem. But if we say Bharat is our Amma, they will be up in arms. If you translate *Mother India* into Indian languages, it becomes Bharat-Amma, ഭാരതാംബ, भारतमाता। It seems that to Congis, only English works. *Mother India is now English!* Or maybe, their problem was that in Mother India 'mother' comes before 'India.' In Bharat Mata, Bharat comes first. So, to make it inclusive these days Modiji calls Mother India, Maa Bharati. I hope it will work for them.

For those who are still confused, in Galatians 4:6, Paul calls the heavenly Jerusalem the mother of all believers. Jerusalem does not produce babies or nurture them like a mother. It's a figure of speech. Similarly, Mother India is a figure of speech, a metaphor to describe one's relationship with one's country. It conveys the same emotion as "India is my motherland" translated into Christian categories, "Heavenly Jerusalem is our motherland." Therefore, it is not a Hindu concept of an idea restricted to Bharatiya people. Christians should not find Bharat Mata or Maa Bharati offensive.

Frankly, Christians and Muslims know how to keep the distinction between God and country in their mind for they do it regarding Jerusalem or Mecca also. Jerusalem and Mecca are not God. Still, Many Christians and Muslims know how to respect and protect these places. Likewise, they must know how to respect and protect Bharat also patriotically. In the end, we are Bharatiya Christian or Bharatiya Musalman.