The Karnataka government’s move to rename the Tipu Sultan-era ‘Salaam Aarati’, which is held in some temples in the state, is nothing but an attempt to pander to Hindutva hardliners and to needle the minorities. The claim is that the move is to give the rituals “local nomenclatures”, but the aim is to make a vocal assertion of intolerance, to polarise society and gain politically. The prominent temples where this ritual is observed are the Mookambika temple in Kollur and the Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple in Melkote. Now on, the rituals ‘Salaam Aarati’ and ‘Salaam Mangalaarati’ will be called ‘Aarati Namaskara’ and ‘Mangalaarati Namaskara’. ‘Devatege Salaam’ will be known as ‘Devarige Namaskara’. According to Muzrai Minister Sashikala Jolle, the decision was taken by senior archaks of the department, based on a demand from devotees. While Jolle clarified that only the names would be changed but the rituals would continue, she was silent on how and why such a demand arose all of a sudden from ‘devotees’ just as elections to the state Assembly are round the corner.
One version about the origin of ‘Salaam Aarati’ is that they were introduced in various temples to commemorate Tipu Sultan’s visits and gifts to the temples. Another version is that he had commissioned these rituals for the wellbeing of the Mysuru kingdom. While the BJP government discontinued the celebration of Tipu Jayanti, the Centre had sometime ago renamed Tipu Express, the superfast train running between Bengaluru and Mysuru for over four decades now, as Wodeyar Express. More recently, domes constructed in Indo-Saracenic style atop a bus shelter in Mysuru were demolished because the local BJP MP thought they made it look like a mosque. The renaming of the Aarati ritual should be seen against this backdrop.
The change in the name of a ritual or a tradition does not change its meaning and significance. The reason given for the change of name is an excuse. The words which replaced salaam are not any more “local” than salaam. All languages can be used to worship the gods. The ‘Salaam Aarati’ phrase should actually be celebrated as a happy mixture of word and idea. To trace the origin of a temple ritual to a Muslim ruler should be a matter of pride, and the fact that the name of the ritual has persisted through generations marks a welcome tradition of acceptance and bonding between communities. It is a communally vitiated mindset that finds it wrong. It is wrong to distort, fabricate or seek to erase history just because the person who shaped it belonged to a particular community or because the facts do not suit the political narrative of the current regime.