India: The Krishna circuit, envisaged by the RSS and now with big funding from the taxpayers money

Dwarka to Dibang: RSS backs move to set up Krishna circuit
Monday, 4 May 2015 - 6:46am IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: dna

by Rohinee Singh

Mapping various sites associated with the Hindu god Krishna, the Central government is working to create a Krishna circuit that will stretch from Dwarka in Gujarat to Dibang in Assam and include Kurukshetra, Vrindavan and Mathura.

Acting apparently under the direction of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ministry of culture's first step has been to allot funds for excavations in Kurukshetra, where the epic battle between the Kauravas and Pandavas is believed to have taken place and where Krishna delivered the Gita sermon.

In the first phase, the ministry has released Rs.100 crore for the project, officials said. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has already started excavating sites. "Sites that could have the remains of the Mahabharata have been identified. If some historical remain is unearthed, it will be established there in a museum," explained an official at the ministry. The museum will have a photo exhibition, remains of Krishna era and copies of the holy text Bhagavad Gita written by various eminent scholars," said an official in the ministry.

The Krishna circuit, envisaged by the RSS, will also comprise Mathura and Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, Dwarka in Gujarat and Dibang Valley in Assam. While Vrindavan, Mathura and Dwarka are places where Krishna is said to have spent his days, mythology suggests that his wife Rukmini
was from Assam.

According to officials, the RSS through its northeast unit has already started doing groundwork among those associated with Rukmini's Bhismaka tribe in Assam and other northeastern states. "The Bhismaka tribe in Assam believe Lord Krishna to be their son-in-law. Over the years these tribal community have started moving through Christianity. RSS through its unit in North East has been working with the community," said an RSS functionary. A centre linking the Krishna circuit has been proposed in the region.

A Rama circuit and a Buddha circuit follow next, according to the RSS game plan. "While some of the sites are already recognised and developed, the others have remained neglected," said an RSS activist.

Eminent historian DN Jha, however, calls the decision of excavating Kurukshetra a futile exercise. "Mythology cannot be supported by excavating sites. It is a wild goose chase by the BJP, RSS and the
sangh parivar," he said. Jha retired from the Department of History of Delhi University and is a former member of Indian Council of Historical Research.

Jha is of the view that just as excavating of Hastinapur bore no result, Kurukshetra will also be a futile exercise.

Through the ministry of culture, Sangh now wants to connect various sites associated with the gods and promote them as important tourist destinations. The government, on its part, wants to develop peripheral infrastructure to ease the arrival of tourists. This includes an air, road and rail network. Its new tourism policy envisages the creation of a tourism police, which like the CISF and CRPF, will be deployed at various places.

source: http://www.dnaindia.com/delhi/report-dwarka-to-dibang-rss-backs-move-to-set-up-krishna-circuit-2082907