Unnao 'madness'
Even as the Archaeological Survey of India continues with its excavation work at Unnao, not on the basis of Swami Shobhan Sarkar’s ‘dream’ of a 1,000 tonne hidden gold treasure buried under the remains of the Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh fort but, as the ASI claims, on ‘strong scientific and historical basis’, a paradox baffles one. Some Indian reports have highlighted how enterprising local youths guided some foreign journalists who landed at the Dondiya Kheda village, wanting to reach the excavation site for reporting. Whether gold is finally found or not or some ‘antiquarian remains’, as the ASI terms it, or nothing at all, does ‘negative’ foreign media opinion/ reporting of what is happening at Unnao ‘help’ or ‘dent’ India’s image abroad? We Indians seem to be ‘touchy’ when foreign media opinion seems to be on the ‘negative’ side. Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industry and Agriculture Charan Das Mahant, who had pitched for an early excavation of the Unnao site, has maintained that discovery of yellow metal will strengthen the rupee, lower India’s current account deficit, help GDP growth and change the ‘pro-NaMo attitude of the corporate world’ in favour of the Congress.
Sample just two reactions of foreign media staff in the past few days. A journalist from Al Jazeera was quoted as saying “We had heard that India is a land of snake charmers. After this, we are ready to believe it.” The 1963 American epic comedy film ‘It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World’ (‘the biggest entertainment ever to rock the screen with laughter!’), produced and directed by Stanley Kramer and starring Spencer Tracy with an all-star cast, dwells on the pursuit of $350,000 in stolen cash by a diverse and colourful group of strangers, after the dying words of a thief (‘Smiler’ Grogan - Jimmy Durante) spark a madcap cross-country rush to find the ‘treasure’. Alluding to the 1963 flick, David Trifunov from the Global Post, ‘America’s world news site’, starts his story on Unnao developments thus: “It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world in India these days, as hundreds gather hoping to take home a piece of a $50-billion golden ticket. The madness centers around an 18th century fort in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, once the domain of King Rao Ram Baksh Singh.” It is to be noted that the name of the 1963 flick itself allowed Trifunov to use the word ‘mad’ four times to achieve the effect he sought to begin the story to describe what was happening at Unnao.
The ‘madness’ Trifunov refers to in his report was well highlighted by Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at a recent rally in Chennai. Modi, mocking the UPA government, said: “The whole world is laughing at us over this bizarre exercise. Somebody dreamt and the government has launched an excavation...The money hidden by thieves and looters of India in foreign banks is much more than 1,000 tonnes of gold. If you (government) bring back that money, you won’t have to do digging for gold (in Unnao).” Soon after the comment, however, Modi, faced with angry reactions from Sarkar’s followers, said on micro-blogging site Twitter, “Since years, lakhs of people have respected Sant Shobhan Sarkar. I salute his renunciation and sacrifice.” He told the government to come clean on black money and present a white paper on it. Modi’s revised reaction was even reported in the International Business Times with its global headquarters in New York.
As things stand, even the Supreme Court has refused to interfere in the ASI’s excavation work, following a PIL seeking court monitoring of the work, saying the SC cannot pass an order on ‘the basis of assumption’ in ‘sensational matters’. But the ‘madness’ Trifunov refers to seems to be spreading. There are reports that Sarkar has now dreamt of no less than 2,500 tonnes of gold hidden in the ruins in Adampur village in Fatehpur on the banks of the Ganga. The ‘second’ dream prompted miscreants to dig through the pucca platform of an ancient Shiva temple in search of gold.
The point is that India being the gold-crazed nation it is, if, instead of gold or even silver, any other items like ancient artefacts are found when the ASI excavation at Unnao gets completed (whenever that happens), other than ASI itself and archaeologists, would the hoi polloi and the man on the street really be so interested in such type of non-gold ‘exploits’? If nothing at all is found at both Unnao and Adampur village, we can well imagine the headlines running on the lines of “The swami whose dreams didn’t come true’. In any case, isn't the image of India being a ‘land of snake charmers’, as the Al Jazeera journalist was quoted as saying, getting a boost? And even if that image gets a fillip, is it really such a bad thing? After all, the Government of India’s international multi-media campaign for the Incredible India! drive depended to a large extent on portraying India as a ‘magical place to visit’ for its success. The ‘magical’ image helps bring in tourists and valuable foreign exchange. Seers, snake charmers, elephants and the like only add to the ‘magical’ quality. So what’s the harm, one may argue.
But if India is made up of ‘many Indias’, then that ‘magical’ image of India ignores, some others may also argue, the ‘progressive India’ where lakhs of young people, and political leaders like Modi, are daily using the internet and are on social media platforms. Also, does the ‘snake-charmer’ image really help especially at a time when India aspires, as many experts say New Delhi should, to achieve a prominent strategic place for itself in the global geopolitical dynamics among shifting equations between nations?
While this debate can be continued ad infinitum, the nation awaits decisive breaking news, either way, on the ASI’s excavation work at Unnao. If gold is really found, how will the headlines, especially in foreign media, read like? Your guess is as good as mine.