HCF or LCD: What unites India?

Terms learnt as part of Mathematics seem to take on a different dimension, when holding up those phrases to real life. For instance, would the successful landing of an Indian spacecraft on the moon be deemed as the highest common factor for Indians now? Or should that term be more applicable to Indians cultivating scientific temper, with the country’s progress in science and technology in the 21st century?

But, there is a huge dichotomy that comes up here, as when the Chief Minister of a state pronounces that the Hindu almanac (Panchang in many Indian languages) needs to be used to keep track of the movement of thieves. A circular issued by the Director-General of Police of Uttar Pradesh says that extra special care should be taken especially a week before Amavasya or the New Moon and a week after that and mapping of crimes should be done, with special care during this fortnight, every month.
Scientific temper would probably reason that close to Amavasya is when the moon wanes and naturally the light from the moon would be less, making the nights darker, aiding criminal activity. Logic would then be to see that your cities, towns, and rural areas are provided with proper street lights. But then, who are we to argue with all-powerful Chief Ministers? 

Also, the Hindu Panchang is very much a part of people’s lives, and dates for auspicious events are rarely set without consulting someone, who is adept at reading the almanac and identifying good days. Rumour has it that politicians, film stars and other celebrities are not above consulting the Panchang for stress-free lives.

In an interview, the late Cho Ramaswamy, the maverick editor of the Tamil magazine, Tughlak, was asked about his religious beliefs. It was an eye-opener for me to hear a man who had shaken politicians and their thrones say that he was a “God-fearing person”. He then went on to clarify that he followed all religious practices, to appease the Gods whose wrath he feared. 

Whether one chooses to call it logic or belief, fear could also be a determinant in the way that one practices one’s religion. So can the need to keep our Gods happy be the Lowest Common Multiple that unites most of India?

If the reasoning of appeasement is at the heart of most religions, it’s hard to figure why politicians are always hurling accusations of minority or majority appeasement at each other. It would not be unlikely for a politician to get up each morning and wonder about the next big idea on how he could appease the public, to ensure votes. It could be anything ranging from lowering the price of gas cylinders, when elections draw near, or ensuring that your photograph is plastered across any scheme that the government has mooted for the people. Considering that it is the public’s taxed money that goes into these schemes, it is cringe-worthy to see how politicians stake claims to fame. 

In the case of opposing political parties, there is an attempt made to wipe out the name of the one who might actually be responsible for getting a scheme in motion, whilst the latter day politician just breezes in and grabs all the credit for it. The case of who was actually responsible for letting Chandrayan happen is just one among a host of examples.

The unquestioning attitude of a public that accepts all information that is dished out, is no less to blame. Scientific temper would mean looking at something and holding it up to see if it will pass scrutiny, but in a country where superstitious beliefs abound, this is easier said than done.

And finally, one can only wonder if the teacher of the school in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh thought of consulting an almanac for a good day on which she could ask some of the students in her class to beat up a child from a minority religion, as he could not recite his tables properly. Probably in a state that applies bulldozer logic, corporal punishment must go hand in hand. How else can one create law-abiding politician-fearing citizens who accept everything unquestioningly? The term for this can only be the Lowest Common Denominator, when a people can unite in debasing a community, a caste, a gender forgetting the Godliness that is buried within and hoping against hope to be let out, politicians notwithstanding.

(The author is an independent writer)