Durga & didi
Women politicians channel goddess energy.In past years the Durga Puja season in Kolkata has seen idols modelled on chief minister Mamata Banerjee. One memorable example was dressed in her trademark white and blue sari, a map of Bengal in the background, with ten arms showcasing ten achievements such as the Singur victory and the Kanyashree scheme to help poor girls pursue studies instead of getting pushed into early marriages. This year the Trinamool chief has upped the festive season ante with a Rs 10,000 grant for puja committees across the state.
So far her strategy of countering opposition charges of ‘minority appeasement’ with ‘majority appeasement’ has proved politically fruitful. That may or may not continue to hold true in the future. But in courting Durga magic she is definitely treading a path that has proved profitable for women politicians in the past. After the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war it was then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who was hailed as Durga; likewise, the poster art around Jayalalithaa smoothly juggled her as Amma and the lion-riding goddess.
Mamata and Amma couldn’t be more different in their personal styles, one known to sport rubber chappals and the other famous for her silk and diamond collection. But the reason myriad women politicians of India unite in embracing the Durga iconography is that it elevates them to the sphere of goddess, albeit one whose welfare handouts aim to win both adulation and political rewards.
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