Shakti in Hindu dharma is a manifestation of divine feminine energy. To equate it with political power is asking for trouble.
Made intentionally or inadvertently, Rahul Gandhi’s controversial remark on ‘Shakti’ (might versus feminine power) at Shivaji Park in Mumbai could not have come at a worse time, what with the general elections just having been announced. Linking Shakti with the Hindu religion in the speech was completely out of context and out of place.
Gandhi’s statement, “Hindu dharma mein Shakti shabd hota hai … hum Shakti se ladd rahe hain,” (Shakti is a word in Hindu dharma, we are fighting against Shakti) referred to a hidden force or power working allegedly for the might of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A simple statement would have sufficed without linking Shakti to the Hindu religion. This much would have been acceptable in a political slugfest. After all, the entire opposition, the Congress in particular, has been accusing the Prime Minister of helping a “select few” billionaire friends like Adani and Ambani and alleging that he is playing into their hands.
There was completely no need for Gandhi to mention Hindu dharma in his statement and then compare it with the ‘power’ working for the Prime Minister. Hindus worship Shakti as a manifestation of divine feminine power, while the ‘power’ behind Modi, which Gandhi referred to, has negative connotations.
Only Gandhi and his media managers will know if it was a mere slip of the tongue or deliberately done for the purpose of reverse polarisation. But this statement could have the potential to boomerang on him and the Congress party, much like Sonia Gandhi calling Modi ‘maut ka saudagar’ (merchant of death) in the past.
Bharatiya Janata Party and Modi are known to deliver devastating counter-offensives, and this is what they have started doing, with the Prime Minister leading from the front to accuse Gandhi of being anti-Hindu and anti-women.
Though the entire rank and file of the Congress has come to his defence and he has tried to explain away his remarks as misconstrued, Rahul Gandhi has been unable to address the core issue of Shakti being clubbed with Hindu dharma.
The BJP is also building up the narrative around the Congress’s earlier silence on remarks by DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin on “eradicating” Sanatana “just like dengue, mosquitoes, malaria or coronavirus,” or DMK MP A Raja announcing publicly that he did not believe in Ram or Ramayana.
Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad has asked Gandhi whether he would dare make such a remark about any other religion. Calling Gandhi an “electoral” Hindu who “posed” as a Hindu during elections, Prasad said the BJP would pursue the matter as it concerned the faith of crores of Hindus across the world.
In all probability, Gandhi remarked without realising its implications, but now it looks as if the gaffe is going to prove expensive as an additional electoral bonus for the BJP to target the Congress and its allies.
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