The BJP in Bihar commemorated the 2327th birth anniversary of Mauryan emperor Ashoka, who is supposed to have controlled most of the Indian subcontinent between 268 BCE and 232 BCE, ostensibly to win votes from the Other Backward Class (OBC).
The celebration was held in the Convention Centre of Gyan Bhawan in Patna and was attended by senior state BJP leaders, including the party’s Bihar in-charge Bhupendra Yadav and Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Keshav Prasad Maurya. Previously, the party had sent chariots to ten districts across the state to raise awareness about the importance of Emperor Ashoka, who was the first to introduce the concept of Akhand Bharat (undivided India). The BJP leaders also called for Akhand Bharat during the ceremony on Friday.
“Like King Ashoka, the BJP would strive for Akhand Bharat (unified India),” said Nityanand Rai, the union state home minister and a BJP politician from Bihar. “Bharat Mahasangh” was also supported by a senior state BJP leader and a member of the party’s Rajya Sabha. “The BJP’s vision of a unified India is similar to the European Union, which was founded by 27 countries,” Mr. Modi said, adding, “Lord Ram is with the BJP, which built Ram Mandir, and where there is Ram, there is Luv-Kush (Koeri and Kushwaha caste).”
In 2015, the BJP began commemorating the Mauryan King Ashoka’s birth anniversary. Though there is historical debate on the date or year of King Ashoka’s birth, the BJP said it was April 8 and the emperor’s 2327th birthday. King Ashoka has been exploited as a political mascot in Bihar politics for the past several years, and has been projected as a symbol of OBC claim and a national hero by various political parties.
“Previously, the party had sent chariots to 10 districts with a pre-recorded message on the importance of King Ashoka to make people aware of the Mauryan emperor who first gave the concept of Akhand Bharat,” said Ratnesh Kushwaha, a member of the BJP’s state working committee and the function’s coordinator.
The BJP chariots were seen in Nalanda, Vaishali, Nawada, Gaya, and other regions with large populations of OBC Kushwaha. The OBC Kushwaha, along with Koeri, make up around 9% of the state’s population and are politically known as the main vote bank caste constituency of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s ruling party, the JD(U) (U).
“Now, the BJP wants to make an inroad and take that constituency from Nitish Kumar’s party by holding similar celebrations of Mauryan king Ashoka’s birth anniversary,” political analyst Ajay Kumar said. On Saturday, the JD(U) is expected to commemorate the Emperor’s birth anniversary (April 9).
BJP compared Ashoka with PM Modi
The BJP had previously compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Emperor Ashoka when commemorating the king’s 2323rd birthday in Patna. “Like King Ashoka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is an all-conquering Chakravarti,” said Sushil Kumar Modi, a top state BJP leader. “King Ashoka hailed from the Kushwaha community since many generations of individuals from the community have passed on this truth and they view him (King Ashoka) as one of them,” said party leader Surajnandan Kushwaha, who also teaches history at Guru Govind Singh College in Patna. “However, this truth has been removed from history by Left-leaning historians,” he continued.
However, prominent historian Romila Thapar, who has written a book on the Mauryan empire, has previously dismissed such arguments as “baseless.” According to Hitendra Anupam, an assistant professor of history at Hazaribagh’s Binoba Bhave University, Ashoka’s epigraphs are the only recorded accounts of events during his lifetime, and they do not include his date or year of birth. He joked, “Different historians have different viewpoints on the topic.”
By drawing “parallels between emperor Ashoka and Mughal King Aurangzeb,” award-winning Hindi writer Daya Prakash Sinha recently courted controversy and fueled divisions between the BJP and the JD(U).
The Padmashri awarded to the author of the Hindi drama Samrat Ashoka stated, “Apart from his brothers, king Ashoka had also slaughtered Buddhist monks.”
Later, the JD(U) leaders urged that Mr. Sinha’s award be revoked. With an eye on the OBC vote, Sanjay Jaiswal, the Bihar BJP president, filed an FIR against Mr. Sinha, alleging that his dramatist was propagating intolerance. “It is highly condemnable to equate Samrat Asoka to a terrible king like Aurangzeb,” BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi stated.