Once upon a time, the just king Mahabali ruled over an egalitarian land where everyone lived in peace and harmony. Mahabali’s kingdom of joy, the myth goes, was the object of everyone’s envy—even the gods in heaven. So popular was the king that the gods sought the help of the deity Vishnu to wrest control from Mahabali. And so, Vishnu appeared in front of the king, reborn as a diminutive Brahmin named Vamana—the Hindu deity’s fifth avatar.
Vamana asked the king to grant him as much land as he could cover in three paces. Mahabali agreed. Then, the tiny Vamana grew into a gigantic size. He covered the earth in one step, the skies in another. Vamana asked Mahabali where to place his third step, who offered his head. He pushed the king down to pataal—the netherworld. Mahabali was granted a yearly visit to his kingdom and subjects. Every year, this visit is marked in Kerala with Onam, the most widely celebrated festival in the state.
During Onam, which is also a harvest festival, songs and mythological stories about Mahabali reverberate across the state. The king’s rule is immortalised in the popular Onam ballad ‘Maveli Naadu Vaaneedu Kaalam.’ The song, whose title translates to ‘When Our King Maveli Ruled the Land,’ is a remembrance of a time when there was “neither anxiety nor stress,” and when “no one cheated or wronged their neighbour.” The festival is unlike many others: no pujas are conducted, no idols taken out, nor is there any fasting. It includes a series of unique celebrations: traditional floral carpets that are supposed to welcome Maveli into people’s homes, high-voltage boat races, folk dances, and zealous tugs-of-war, all accompanied by a rich feast. Nearly everyone considers Onam a secular, harvest festival today, which is celebrated by people of every religion in Kerala.
This Onam, however, dawned into a controversy. Recently, the Kesari Weekly, the Kerala mouthpiece of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, ran an Onam Special issue. Its cover story, written by Unnikrishnan Namboothiri, proclaims Onam as the birth anniversary of Vamana. Basing his arguments on Srimad Bhagavatam—one of the ancient Hindu texts, the Puranas—Namboothiri rejected the common Onam folklore, claiming that no story of Mahabali’s banishment exists in the text. He further claimed that the king, who is commonly portrayed in Hindu mythology as an Asura, or demon, was not in fact sent to hell, but was instead “blessed” for his devotion to Vishnu and sent to a place better than heaven. Namboothiri rejected the popular myth surrounding Mahabali, which usually depicts him as a kindly, pot-bellied king holding a banana leaf as an umbrella, and Vamana as a short-statured Brahmin boy. “It is an attempt by some vested interest to distort the mythical stories and paint in poor light the characters of Hindu Puranas,” he wrote. Namboothiri went to the extent of de-linking Mahabali from Kerala, and claimed that his empire was somewhere in north India, and that Kerala did not exist at the time.
The Kesari article has sent in motion an ongoing ideological tug-of-war within Kerala, and beyond. Many have criticised the article as the RSS’s attempt to communalise what is considered a secular festival, as well as an effort to “Brahminise” Onam and impose “Varna principles” on it. Mahabali is considered an icon by many in the Dalit community, and the piece was criticised for twisting his story. But Hindu hardliners continue to defend Namboothiri’s assertions—Kesari’s editor NR Madhu, an RSS ideologue, reportedly called the article an attempt to “educate” the Hindu community about the “actual legend” of Onam. After the article was published, KP Sasikala, the president of the Hindu Aikya Vedi or Hindu United Front, reportedly said that Vamana was “a freedom fighter” that liberated Kerala from the “imperialistic rule.” According to a 10-September report in the Indian Express, Sasikala said that, “Onam should not be an occasion to disapprove Vishnu.”
While many dominant festivals that are based in Hindu mythology celebrate the victory of “good” Vaishnavaite avatars over “evil,” Onam has always stood out. The amended version attempts to put the Vamana firmly in the saddle of “good.” The attempt can be seen in the context of long-standing movements by subaltern groups to reclaim their heroes—from Ravana to Mahishasur—from their portrayal as villains in Hindu mythology.
Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, a noted scholar and activist who heads the Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy at the Maulana Azad National Urdu University in Hyderabad, said: “Kerala Onam is the resurrection of Mahabali. That is the vision of the people,” he said. “It was natural for the author of Kesari—himself a Brahmin—to attempt to twist the Mahabali story as it does not fit their narrative.”
Shepherd opposes the primary identification of Mahabali as a demon king. According to him, Mahabali acquired such an image because in myths and stories, too, “there is an oppressor and oppressed.” “As an oppressed person, when I look at Mahabali or Mahishasura, there are similarities between us,” Shepherd, who belongs to the Dalit-Bahujan community, said.
He considers the attempt similar to patterns elsewhere in the country where indigenous-Dravidian and dark-skinned gods are projected as demons, and Hindu god as saviours. Shephard added that this issue should have ideally led to one of the biggest protests against the RSS in Kerala, and that it was disappointing that the people of Kerala had not yet acted.
In an email response, the social scientist and historian Rajan Gurukkal wrote that the Onam myth was brought to Kerala by Brahmins who migrated there, and contains several innate contradictions. Gurukkal wrote that the interpretation of Thiruvonam, the last day of 10-day Onam celebrations, as “Vamana Jayanti”—the birth anniversary of Vamana—makes sense, because according to Puranas, Vamana was born that day. He wrote that the history of Onam as Vamana Jayanti goes back to the ninth century CE, as evidenced by the inscriptions at a temple near Ernakulam in Kerala, which alludes to it. (The temple remains the only one in Kerala where Vamana is worshipped.)
Gurukkal questioned how, Parasurama, the mythological sixth incarnation of Vishnu who is purported to have created Kerala, could have preceded the fifth incarnation, Vamana—a point raised by Namboothiri in his cover story as well. But, Gurukkal said, “It makes little sense in historicising myths and legends, the structure of which is that of a dream.”
He opined that over the years, certain social, economic and religious situations in Kerala led the festival to its present form. According to him, in feudal Kerala, as dominant landlords—who were mostly Brahmins—celebrated Vamana Jayanti feast, people of oppressed castes were given food, new clothes, and gifts. The festival also coincided with the harvest season that came after the bitter days of famine during peak monsoon. “As social system changed, Onam got democratised to be of the most important popular festivals,” he said.
MGS Narayanan, a former Chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research, described the changes in the Onam myth over the years as a “transposition of hero and villain in popular minds.” Narayanan said that during the Vamana Jayanti feast, members of the oppressed castes were expected to submit large quantities of paddy to their Brahmin landlords. Due to this practice, Narayanan said, “Vamana, who was celebrated as hero of Brahmins, was acknowledged to be a villain.” “Over the years, they looked upto Mahabali as their hero,” he said. According to him, Onam’s present form is a good, as the festival has acquired a “secular shape and helped in uniting the people of Kerala.” Naryananan termed the Kesari article an “attempt by orthodox Hindus to take the myth back to the earlier version.” “It is a bad development,” he added.
At about midday on 13 September, Amit Shah, the president of the ruling BJP, posted a picture to Facebook. It depicted Vamana, holding aloft an umbrella, with one foot on the earth and another on the head of Mahabali. The king is shown with his hands folded, and his head bowed toward Vamana. The image was accompanied by a message wishing all readers a Happy Vamana Jayanti.
Shah’s post was met with widespread ire and criticism, and was covered by many news channels in Kerala as well as by national newspapers. Later that day, the state’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan issued a statement demanding that Shah apologise to the people of Kerala. He took to Facebook to ask the BJP president to take back his greetings and express regret to the Malayalis for hurting their sentiments. “Disgracing Mahabali is tantamount to disgracing the concept of an egalitarian society and all Malayalis who cherish that ideal,” he posted in Malayalam on Facebook. Earlier today, on 14 September, Shah posted another image to his page. With a picture of the BJP president superimposed on a background image of the famous boat races of Kerala, this one read: “Wishing you all a happy Onam.” “My heartfelt wishes to Malayali friends,” said the accompanying text.
Shobha Surendran, the general secretary for the BJP in the state, said that Onam was an important Hindu festival. “Even as Onam is celebrated by all religious groups, it is only the Hindu devotees who observes it in its true sense,” she claimed. “I agree that Onam is a festival of all religious groups. But in how many houses in Kerala, will they make in clay the image of Thrikkakkara Appan?”—the Malayalam term for Vamana. Surendran continued, “Christmas is celebrated by all groups. In many houses, including Hindu groups they hang stars at home. But only Christians go to church and pray. A Hindu believer can never say that they can remember Jesus in the same way. Same is the case with Onam.”
She said, according to the Puranas, “Tiruvonam is a day when God and Asura are mingling to become one. Vishnu took away from Mahabali, his Asura status.” Responding to the controversy surrounding the Kesari article, she said: “People who don’t have any knowledge on Puranas and Vedas are leading such criticisms. Such efforts are needed to weed out the misconception around Onam.” “Some groups are trying to project that we Hindu believers are divided,” she asserted.
But not all Hindus in Kerala share Surendran’s view. Sukumaran Nair, the general-secretary of Nair Service Society (NSS), a prominent organisation in Kerala that was created for the upliftment and welfare of the Nair community, said, “Onam is a festival that teaches us the importance of equality. It promotes the concept that everyone must be treated the same way despite their diverse backgrounds,” “There is no need to alter the myth and tradition of Onam festival and create fresh controversies around it,” Nair continued, before adding, “It should be continued as a secular festival.”
P Rajeev, a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and a former member of the Rajya Sabha, said that the BJP is “trying to impose on Kerala certain brahminical or north-Indian cultures alien to Kerala.” “The CPI(M) will fight such a communal step,” he added.
Many believe that attempt that an attempt to reconstruct the Onam myth falls in pattern with the renewed role of the BJP and Sangh Parivar role in Kerala’s cultural arena, and that will allow the organisations to gain political mileage. “Ganesha Festival is a case in point. Kerala never had a culture of celebrating it. Now BJP is making efforts to promote the festival in the state,” Rajeev said. Earlier this year, in April, for the first time since the state was formed in 1956, the BJP won a seat in Kerala assembly. Their vote share in local-body elections, too, has been on the rise.
VT Balram, a two-time Congress MLA also believes that this is an attempt by the Sangh Parivar to break the secular credentials of Onam and project it as a Hindu festival. “From the earlier attempts such as making Mahabali wear poonool”—a sacred thread worn by Brahmins—“and the current issue of projecting a Brahmin over Mahabali with regards to Onam, all substantiate the Sangh Parivar’s interests,” Balram told me. “A collective action is required to resist it.”
“Onam is never considered a religious festival in Kerala,” ET Muhammad Basheer, a state committee member of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, said. “It is a time when people come together, especially in villages to attend programs, events and competitions. Basheer continued, “In the earlier days we had several public spaces. But now, as the public space is shrinking, festivals such as Onam remains the only occasions where people from all walks of life can come together.
Balram asserted that for many, Onam is a celebration of a Dalit king who stood against Brahminical forces. On 13 September, Balram posted a picture to Facebook that depicted Mahabali as dark-skinned. “Every year upon his arrival, Mahabali reminds the Kerala society the fighting back of subaltern groups against the oppressions of Brahmins,” he wrote in the post. During our conversation, P Rajeev said, “Reclaiming the true myth and essence of Onam from what has been wrongly projected by BJP is becoming a secular-political struggle.”