In a controversy that played out in Kerala recently, that involved the touchy subject of religion versus science, the influential Nair Service Society (NSS), based in the south-central Travancore township of Changanassery, seems to have occupied political centre stage, dominating the public narrative.
After a week of whipped-up emotions and a fiery exchange of words with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the NSS appears to have moderated its stance on the controversy that was “stirred up” by the Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly, A.N. Shamseer. He is alleged to have focused on a revered Hindu deity and suggested that mythical peculiarities of divinity should not be construed as an empirically proven scientific truth.
Instead of launching a street agitation to force his resignation or extract a public apology, the NSS has now sought legal action. While this has been construed by some to be an anti-climax, the organisation has ensured that its intervention has not ended up being a storm in a teacup. As a forward caste Hindu organisation, the NSS has been steadfast in maintaining political equidistance while casting itself as a defender of Hindu belief systems. It had spearheaded the Sabarimala protests in 2018, that had rocked the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
