Last week, a column on the widely-read Indian news site Rediff.com suggested that the tsunami was a sign of retribution against Christians, whose activities are seen as betraying India's essentially Hindu character. (Full disclosure: I work for a publication owned by Rediff.com, and my articles occasionally appear on Rediff.) Columnist Rajeev Srinivasan pointed to several religion-related factors he sees as pertinent. Referring to the earthquake as the "Christmas quake," he implied that the timing wasn't mere coincidence. He also noted that the tsunami hit a church at Velankanni, one of the most significant Christian pilgrimage points in South India, resulting in the death of 50 people. Finally, he connected the tragedy to what many see as the recent mistreatment of a revered Hindu leader.
In November, a holy man known formally as Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi was arrested in connection with the murder of a former official of his religious order. Hindus around the world decried the arrest, even organizing mass email petitions maintaining that the entire affair was politically motivated and related to a longstanding fight with the current head of the state government of Tamil Nadu, where the most tsunami-related deaths later occurred. Before long, the Shankaracharya's sympathizers had solidified their opinion that anti-Hindu forces were to blame, with some going so far as to point fingers at the Vatican.
For Srinivasan, the Shankaracharya's arrest seemed the most plausible explanation for the subsequent disaster. "The devastation by the tsunami in Tamil Nadu, could it be a caveat from Up There about the atrocities being visited on the [Shankaracharya]?" he asked. "About adharma"--evil--"gaining ground?" In summarizing, he wrote, "It is said that the very elements can be affected by the mystical powers of sages who have acquired superhuman powers through meditation and sadhana. I think we should all tread carefully, for now we are treading on things we do not know."
