No numerology in missing 'M' in BJP's advt: It's commission, not omission

HYDERABAD: Lo and behold! The massive jacket advertisement on all newspapers - Telugu and English - carried a slogan: "Chalo Karinagar".

A lot to do with giving it a religious tone and colour, ain't it?

It, indeed, is. The name of Karimnagar was "changed" on purpose. This indeed triggered a discussion among people of many walks of life. Some enjoyed it as a jibe, some took it as caustic. But all were amused.

Use of Karinagar for Karimnagar wasn't essentially a typographical error. The designer of the art work was properly briefed about the specifics. Hence, it's Karinagar on the top of the page. However, when Bandi Sanjay Kumar, MP, Karimnagar, was properly written. Why? Because, his constitutional position of being an elected representative to the Lok Sabha was from Karimnagar.

The advertisement is about a public meeting to be held at Karimnagar marking the conclusion of the fifth leg of Bandi Sanjay's padayatra, 'Prajasangrama Yatra'.

Then again, it's diligently printed at the footnote that provided the details of the venue and time of the public meeting to be addressed by BJP national president J P Nadda as: "SRR College Grounds, Karinagar." Make no mistake, your discerning eye did not miss the letter "M", but it was omitted.

The missing M can make all the difference. The veiled religious connotation behind the omission is unmistakable.

Kari in Sanskrit and also chaste Telugu means elephant. Eventually, the BJP will attribute the etymology of the Karinagar to Lord Ganesha, the elephant-faced very popular and Hindu god.

The BJP, if given an opportunity, would change the name of Hyderabad into Bhagyanagar. Maybe, Secunderabad will be renamed as Lashkar. Likewise, Nizamabad would become Indur and Mahbubnagar as Palamur. It won't be surprising, given their shenanigans over the last few years. How has Allahabad become Prayagaraj, and Gurgaon as Gurugram? After all, as recently as in the current fifth leg of his Yatra, Bandi Sanjay promised to change the name of "Bhainsa" as "Mahisha", only to reinforce the Sanskritised form of the name.

What's in a name? You may ask. A lot, religiously which has a cascading political effect. But why? "God" knows.