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Why a memorial for Veda-loving Vivekananda in a Gond sacred place?

Gonds form India’s oldest society and have their own culture and religion. Today, there is an attempt to Hinduize this society and impose Hindu religion on it, as seen in the plan to construct the Vivekananda Memorial in Darekasa, the heart of Gond Culture. Ushakiran Atram explains

Yet another attempt to Hinduize Gond culture

Attempts are being made to impose Hindu religion and tradition on Gond culture. Now, so-called intellectual Devashish Roy has claimed that Vivekananda experienced Bhava Samadhi (trance) for the first time in a village called Darekasa, in Gondia district, Maharashtra, in 1877. The truth is that a place by the name of Darekasa did not exist in 1877.

The descendants of the Koya clan have been living in the Satpura Saletekri[1] range for thousands of years. Revered Koyaturs[2], Guru Lingo[3] and Mahayogi Hirasuka, the musician, lived in this land. Therefore, the indigenous peoples (Mulnivasis) from all over the country visit this place to pay homage. The Koyaturs have inhabited this ancient land of Gondwana. They owned this land. They ruled this region. Therefore, to say that this is where Vivekananda observed his first Bhava Samadhi and to plan to construct a memorial here is a deliberate attempt to intrude into Gond society and culture.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: Why a memorial for Veda-loving Vivekananda in a Gond sacred place?

 

 

About The Author

Ushakiran Atram

Ushakiran Atram figures among the most prominent names in Adivasi literature. Among her published works are ‘Morki’ (an anthology of poems published in Gondi in 1993 and later translated into Hindi and Marathi), ‘Katha Sangharsh’ (Hindi, 1998) and ‘Gondwana ki Viranganaye’ (Hindi, 2008). She is also a well-known cultural activist.

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