What do Narendra Modi, Yogi Adityanath, Bal Thackeray, Kalyan Singh have in common? They share the same political sobriquet: Hindu Hriday Samrat.
All the political entrepreneurs mentioned above have used the political sobriquet/ slogan, Hindu Hriday Samrat – the Hindi word which means “Monarch of the Hindu Hearts” – to brand themselves as “crusaders” of the Hindutva cause. Indeed, the word Hindu Hriday Samrat proved to be an effective political slogan. It garnered extraordinary political mileage, translated into astounding electoral gains and helped build their political careers. Harping on symbolism, it facilitated social engineering.
Political sobriquets and slogans are political for many reasons. For instance, the slogan ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was actually ‘Jai Siya Ram.’ The original slogan acknowledges Sita’s existence and her association with Ram. Jai Shri Ram, on the other hand, erases it. Since 1984, it has been used extensively by Hindu nationalists.
Much like Jai Shri Ram, the slogan Hindu Hriday Samrat has “changed the political contours of India.” Kalyan Singh, an upstart political entrepreneur in the 1980s, presented himself as the Hindu Hriday Samrat. Using the Ram Janmabhoomi “movement,” he presented himself as a crusader who would “coalesce the Hindu samaj” and “liberate” Ayodhya from the “shackles of tyranny.”
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