Whether Prashant Bhushan was against the law of the land is for the courts to decide, and not vigilante groups, but speaking from a purely academic angle, his analogy is poor.
On Sunday, former AAP leader and serial litigator, Prashant Bhushan caused some outrage amongst Hindus on the internet when he called Lord Krishna, one of the most beloved gods, an eve-teaser. Bhushan was criticising Adityanath’s anti-Romeo brigade which has been cracking down on men harassing women on the streets and also in some instances, couples, relatives and anyone male or female seen together.
Bhushan wrote: “Romeo loved just one lady, while Krishna was a legendary eve teaser. Would Adityanath have the guts to call his vigilantes AntiKrishna squads?” He later tried to save face by saying this tweet was being ‘distorted’, and that by the logic of the anti-Romeo brigade even Lord Krishna would look like an ‘eve teaser’. A lazy Sunday morning tweet soon erupted into internet wildfire culminating into real-world FIRs and a tonne of abuse for Bhushan.
Now while I personally think that critiquing all religions should be a fundamental right, the great Jawaharlal Nehru and his brethren did not agree, which is why we have ‘reasonable restrictions’ when it comes to Freedom of Expression and the British era Section 295 A (outraging religious feelings) in our Constitution. That means those who filed FIRs against Bhushan are perfectly within their legal rights to do so.
Whether Bhushan was against the law of the land is for the courts to decide, and not vigilante groups, but speaking from a purely academic angle, his analogy is rather poor.
Bhushan seemed to have realised his folly and later tweeted: "I realise that my tweet on Romeo squads & Krishna was inappropriately phrased & unintentionally hurt sentiments of many ppl. Apologize & delete it."
Comparing these young men to Lord Krishna suggests that Mr Bhushan is unable to fathom the concept of consent. Eve-teasing has nothing to do with romance, despite what Bollywood might show in its films. For starters, the very term eve-teasing seeks to normalise a practice which makes our public spaces unsafe for women, and men of a certain generation do not seem to understand how uncomfortable it is for women to be catcalled or followed by unruly young men on the streets.
On the other hand, Krishna’s relationship with the Gopis was considered beyond divine, so much so that their Bhakti was considered higher than enlightenment, a point reiterated in the Bhagavad Gita.
The gopis of Vrindavan (it’s such a delightful coincidence that the term is so close to the modern-day term groupie, the devout of rock artistes), totaled 108 in number and their love for Krishna and Radha, the divine couple was supreme. Given their love for Krishna, it’s unlikely that he didn’t have their consent.
The dance of Gopis and Lord Krisha is popularly known as the Raas Leela, which according to mythology took place on the river bank of Vrindavan. While the dance and exuberant bhakti was considered immoral in its ethos and against values, Swami Vivekananda had quite a different take.
He argued that Raas Leela was a medium that Lord Krishna used to prove the connection between the souls and as his flute-playing abilities helped the gopis reach a state of trance. Thus, in this moment of complete surrender they could, to borrow a modern metaphor, be one with the Force.
The complete surrender forms an important part of devotion, and it could be only achieved when you’ve cast off all bond and ties, all fear of loss and society, anything that binds one to the mundane physical world.
Legend had it that the gopis were sadhus who had achieved great penance in their previous lives to be born into such an exalted position to take part in Raas Leela.
In fact, what’s most exciting is another tidbit where Lord Shiva, enthralled by the tales of Raas Leela. had wanted to go to watch but had been told he couldn’t since only Krishna was the only male allowed to be there. The great destroyer, who’s considered the ultimate symbol of masculinity, dressed up in woman’s clothes to witness the dance.
On the other hand, Bhushan’s crass analogy only reiterates that he neither understands the concept of consent, nor is he familiar with Hindu mythology. Of course, he is unlikely to cool his heels in the slammer like Kamlesh Tiwari, the former Hindu Mahasabha leader who is in jail for insulting the Prophet.
However, Bhushan is also a politician and it hardly helps Swaraj India’s cause when he turns around and insults a god many hold dear.
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 "Prashant Bhushan and Krishna playing the flute with Gopis")
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