The curious case of Sri Jayendra Saraswati is becoming larger than what is written in the police files. The sanyasi-under-siege has become a slogan, a cause, in spite of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa's the-law-doesn't-seek-the-Shankaracharya's-blessings nonchalance. The sacred and the political seem to be clashing with the legal.

PICTURE SPEAK

SHOW OF SOLIDARITY: The BJP leaders, led by Vajpayee, sat on a three-day dharna to protest against the arrest of the Shankaracharya (top)

The BJP may be ideologically defensive about its Hindu identity, but it has taken the lead in Save-the-Sage campaign. The Shankaracharya opened a window of opportunity for the party on the eve of the winter session of Parliament. A hot debating point certainly. And a potential slogan for the forthcoming assembly polls in Bihar, Jharkhand and Haryana. Suddenly, Hindutva has a face of persecution.

The irony is that it took the party four days to condemn the arrest. Remember that while in power, the party brought the seer to prime-time glory when he camped in Delhi as the mediator on the Ayodhya issue. It was a high-profile show of solidarity when BJP leaders led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee sat on a three-day dharna. They were joined by former president R. Venkataraman and former prime minister Chandra Shekhar. In Tamil Nadu, there were no self-immolation bids but a man consumed pesticide before turning up at a fast called by the VHP.

It was the manner of the arrest rather than the arrest itself that was condemned. Vajpayee led a delegation of BJP leaders to President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and said that while in every case the law must take its course, there are many precedents where political leaders facing prosecution have been extended courtesies. On November 24, at the BJP National Executive meeting in Ranchi, party President L.K. Advani called the arrest of the Shankaracharya "an assault on Hinduism". He stuck to the party line and condemned "the manner of the arrest, the manner of incarceration and the campaign of slander launched against the seer by the two principal parties in Tamil Nadu joined by the communists". Advani had earlier flown down to Vellore to meet the Shankaracharya after calling on junior Shankaracharya Vijayendra Saraswati at the Kanchi Muth.

The Congress too found fault with the Tamil Nadu Police and sympathised with the seer. Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh wondered why the police picked up the Shankaracharya in the midst of the Dipawali festival, and when arrested, why he was not detained at a guesthouse in conformity with his status. He cited the example of former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharati, who was interned in a guesthouse by the Karnataka Government after her arrest in the Hubli case. Even DMK chief M. Karunanidhi is now coming to the Shankaracharya's aid and finding fault with Jayalalithaa's action, which he had earlier endorsed as "honest". It was a quick volte-face as he questioned the motive behind the arrest more than two months after the September 3 murder. He ascribed it to a recent clash of interests between the chief minister and the seer.

"When the arrest was made, Karunanidhi displayed his undisguised glee and unconcealed joy." J. JAYALALITHAA, CHIEF MINISTER

"The second case against the seer has strengthened the doubts about the motive behind the arrest." M. KARUNANIDHI, DMK PRESIDENT

Meanwhile, BJP's B.P. Singhal, a Rajya Sabha member, filed a public-interest petition in the Supreme Court alleging that the Tamil Nadu Police were showing bias against the Shankaracharya and sought a probe by the CBI. The petition accuses the police of implicating the seer in the murder case and has sought transfer of the case to another state. The Shankaracharya sees himself as a victim of a "conspiracy by the police and other powers". "I don't trust the police. They are not honest." Jayendra Saraswati told the judicial magistrate. "The police never told me that I was being arrested. They said that I was being taken to the muth to be questioned."

Jayalalithaa still remains firm. She said there was "strong evidence to prove" that the Shankaracharya was involved in the murder. Claiming that her Government has a "high regard" for the muth, she said it had "only upheld" the principle that everyone was equal before law. Jayalalithaa denied that the Government had any intention of taking over the muth.

The AIADMK leader hit back at her detractors: "Statements casting aspersions on me will not be taken lightly. Legal action will be taken against all those making such statements." She also lashed out at Karunanidhi, calling him a "totally antagonistic person".

Now, the police are ensuring that the Shankaracharya is entangled in more charges. The police say continuing the probe into the murder of A. Shankararaman has led to the revelation that an earlier "knife attack" on a former muth associate S. Radhakrishnan in Chennai in September 2002 was done at the behest of Jayendra Saraswati. The police have now charged the seer with a second case of attempt to murder.

In effect, he won't be released from jail until he gets bail in both the murder cases.

Many of the shaken followers want Vijayendra Saraswati installed as the new head since they feel that the arrest of Jayendra Saraswati has lowered the reputation of the muth. But the heir apparent has apparently confided in his aides that he has "firm belief that my guru is innocent". In a damage-control exercise, advertisements about the activities and the role of the Shankaracharya have been splashed in dailies across Tamil Nadu. But it requires more than advertisements to regain the lost image. The muth will have to take a look at the way its institutions are managed. Vijayendra Saraswati, though good at the Vedas like his mentor, has little interest in management.

A lot now depends on Jayendra Saraswati. The muth insiders are awaiting the release of the Shankaracharya for a meeting between him and Vijayendra Saraswati. That could, perhaps, signal his retreat from the centre stage in Kanchipuram.

-with Priya Sahgal

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