Colors of Holi, Prayers of Ramzan: A Nation’s True Spirit vs. Divisive Politics

The peasants of the Hindi heartland, usual to their centuries old culture, will greet their Muslim brethren with “Eid ke Ram Ram” on Eid at the end of March this year. The Hindutva zealots will try to drown this loving salutation in the cacophony of “Jai Shriram”, which will be raised with much ferocity. But this column will keep returning to amplify the raga of “Eid Ke Ram Ram”.

Renowned writer and journalist Nalin Verma presents his column “Everything Under the Sun” with this passionate assertion of secularist ideals. This is the 8th article in the column.

Alakh Niranjan, ek hi shabd, Koi kahe Ram, koi kahe Rab.

(“The divine is formless, a single word, Some call it Ram, some call it Rab.”)

– Saint Gorakhnath

When Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath declared that believers of ‘Rab’ should pray indoors so that those of ‘Ram’ could freely celebrate Holi—falling on the same day as Ramazan Friday, March 14—he undermined the very spirit of the 12th-century saint Gorakhnath, founder of the Nath sect. Ironically, Adityanath is not just an ordained member of this sect but its Mahant (head) at the Gorakhnath temple.

Ajay Singh Bisht renounced the name given by his parents and adopted ‘Yogi Adityanath’ after initiation by his guru, following Nath tradition. In this sect, a disciple receives a new name upon renouncing family ties and worldly associations to embrace sanyasa. (a life of renunciation and dedicated spiritual pursuit). Clad in saffron—the color of fire—he symbolically cast his past into the funeral pyre, embarking on a new life dedicated to the Almighty and the liberation of mankind, in the spirit of parmarath ke karan-e sadhu dhara shareer (“For the emancipation of humanity, an ascetic takes form”). As Adityanath, he was expected to follow the path of Baba Gorakhnath, practicing yoga to attain spiritual realization.

Yet, Adityanath not only takes offense at being addressed as Ajay Singh Bisht but also insists on adhering to Nath traditions outwardly—keeping a tonsured head and donning saffron robes—while contradicting the very teachings of Gorakhnath. The great saint, who inspired later mystics like Kabir and Bulleh Shah, stood against obscurantism, fostering inclusivity and spiritual unity.

Adityanath’s call for Muslims to stay indoors on Holi and Ramazan Friday was not just a betrayal of Gorakhnath’s legacy but also a direct violation of the Indian Constitution. As a Chief Minister sworn to uphold the Constitution, he disregarded its fundamental tenets, which grant every Indian—irrespective of caste or creed—the right to practice their faith and celebrate their festivals in harmony.

Holi Revelers—Namazis’ Bonhomie

While Adityanath buried the ideals of both his faith and the Constitution under rhetoric and bulldozers, it was the common people of Uttar Pradesh and beyond—uneducated peasants, struggling industrial workers and professionals, street vendors, and small-time shopkeepers—who offered a true glimpse of love and brotherhood during Holi and Ramazan Friday.

Heartwarming scenes unfolded across India: in Seelampur, Delhi, Holi revelers showered flower petals on namazis exiting mosques; in Allahabad—renamed Prayagraj by Adityanath in a bid to deepen religious divides—revelers and namazis embraced in celebration. In Barabanki and Lucknow, people exchanged festive greetings, while in the remote village of Rosera in Bihar’s Samastipur district and in Barmer, Rajasthan, love and camaraderie transcended differences.

Amidst an atmosphere poisoned by hate, fanned by those in power in Delhi and various states, ordinary Indians demonstrated that unity and brotherhood endure beyond political machinations.

It, of course, looked ugly to see that mosques in Sambhal and some other parts of Uttar Pradesh were covered with polythene sheets and sporadic incidents of skirmishes here and there on Friday. The ugliness was the part of the design of the hate-mongers populating the Indian polity and administration like never before. But, the purpose of this column is to show how the common people largely love to live together in the spirit of unity in diversity despite the politicians from the stock of the sangh Parivar in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan leaving no stone unturned to fuel hatred in the society.

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha’s Dhammapad , the message of which inspired the architect of the Indian Constitution, B. R. Ambedkar, doesn’t deny the existence of gods and goddesses—they are described as powerful beings who can bring rains and victory. But the gods and goddesses have no influence on what Gautama described as “craving” and “greed” for more and more that was the cause of the suffering of the mankind.

Adityanath and his colleagues in the Sangh Parivar are stark examples of the “craving” and “greed” for power and lucre that the Dhammapad defines. Adityanath is the chief minister of the most populous state, but he craves to become Prime Minister and is in competition with the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah for the position . Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister but he craves to become a “vishvaguru (master of the world)”. The Hindutva zealots crave for more and more power in the manner Modi, Adityanath and Shah did. And, their insatiable craving and greed for power is, perhaps, the reason for the unending misery that has befallen the citizenry they represent.

India of Sangh Parivar’s Dream

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh ( RSS) chief, Mohan Bhawat described the newly constructed Ram temple on the debris of the Babri mosque at Ayodhya as a symbol of “real independence” and what came on August 15, 1947 as “political Independence” only. Bhagwat has reasons to be happy as his ancestors in the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha sided with the British colonizers and never wanted India to have Hindus, Muslims, Christians and adherents of diverse other faiths living together. They wanted India to be ruled by the blue-blooded Brahmins rooted to the tenets of Manusmriti. In fact, Modi, Adityanath and Shah are a replica of what V.D. Savarkar and M. S. Golvalkar had envisioned.

Independence had happened on August 15, 1947—a Friday that coincided with the 27th Ramazan. Savarkar and Golvalkar might have felt deeply anguished that the Muslims and Hindus were together flying kites on that day and that too on Jama Masjit, built by the Mughal emperor, Shah Zahan in Delhi and celebrating the historic event with gusto.

What might have caused trauma and pain in their heart was the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru adopting Rabindranath Tagore’s definition of the idea of India: “The idea of India is not a narrow sectarian one. It is the noble harmony of all cultures, all thoughts, and all traditions”. They would have felt bad at the Independence revelers singing Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajan , “Allah Ishwar Tero naam….. And “Tu hi Ram hai, tu Rahim hai, tu hi Wah-e Guru, tu his Krishna-Karim” in the parks and schools.

In their craving to expand their hold on Punjab, the land of Bulleh Shah and Nanaka—the zealots fueled communal tension in Ludhiana on March 14, forgetting what Bulleh Shah had sung for Holi, “Holi Khelungi Kah Kar Bismillah Naam Nabi ki Ratan Charhi Bund Padi Allah Allah (I will play Holi, invoking Bismillah,The essence of the Prophet’s name graces the hues, as divine drops fall—Allah, Allah)”. Bulleh Shah, and Nanaka who sang the songs of Kabir and Farid constitute the core of the folklores of Punjab, now divided in India and Pakistan.

Eid ke Ram Ram

The peasants of the Hindi heartland, usual to their centuries old culture, will greet their Muslim brethren with “Eid ke Ram Ram” on Eid at the end of March this year. The Hindutva zealots will try to drown this loving salutation in the cacophony of “Jai Shriram”, which will be raised with much ferocity. But this column will keep returning to amplify the raga of “Eid Ke Ram Ram”.