International tunneling expert Arnold Dix who supervised the Silkyara Tunnel rescue operations in Uttarakhand is all over the news. The President of the Geneva-based International Tunneling and Underground Space Association was roped in by the government of Bharat to oversee the critical rescue operations that finally saw the successful evacuation of 41 stranded workers on the night of 28th December.
In a rather long and challenging rescue operation full of dramatic twists and turns, the stranded workers were finally rescued as the rat hole miners removed the obstacles manually in the final stages of the operation. The valuable contributions of underground tunneling expert Arnold Dix are being hailed because of his technical prowess and his successful execution of a complex mission involving 41 lives. But there is yet another reason why Dix is being celebrated by Bharatiyas across social media. That reason is his immense respect for Hindu Dharma and his willingness to understand and appreciate the sentiments of the local people of Uttarkashi.
In a country where so many educated people are embarrassed of their own customs and traditions, a white foreigner offering prayers at a makeshift local temple, is bound to create headlines.
A video has gone viral on social media in which Dix can be seen offering prayers at the makeshift Baba Baukhnaag temple at the entrance of the tunnel. In the short video clip, he can be seen sitting outside the shrine along with a Pandit(priest).
Arnold Dix reportedly visited the temple multiple times during the rescue operations and offered prayers regularly. In another short video clip being circulated on social media, Dix can be seen celebrating with the staff members in a jovial mood dancing and humming to a folk song invoking the local temple deity.
Yet another interview clip of Arnold Dix is doing the rounds of social media in which he is saying that the success of the rescue operations totally depends on the will of the mountains. He says that it’s the mountains who decide what should happen next in the rescue operations, they have kept the men in their shelter, and it’s up to them when to release them.
When asked by the reporter if he believes in God, the international tunneling expert says, “As someone who works underground, I am completely humbled by the universe”. He further says that he has worked underground throughout the world, and wherever he has gone, no matter what country it is, there is always a small temple of sorts at the site.
The social media is abuzz with rapturous reactions of Bharatiya users hailing Arnold Dix for his humble nature, and love and respect for Hindu Dharma. The hashtag “Arnold Dix” on X shows an overwhelming number of search results, a lot of them featuring the video in which he can be seen praying.
In a post featuring the video of Dix singing and dancing with local staff of Uttarakhand, which seems to be made from Arnold Dix’s own X account (this can’t be verified as it’s not a verified account on X, but it does seem legit as his website link is also given), Bharatiya users can be seen showering him with loving comments.
One X user comments, “That’s so cute and positive Arnold you feels so Indian… Thank you for all the hardwork and faith in Indian culture especially in the souls of mountain and land. Hope you are enjoying in India. Jai Baba Baukhnag”.
Another user comments, “You have become one with these local people, blending so well, no arrogance no superiority complex. You are a very good human being Arnold. Proud to have known you after this rescue incidence”.
In an X post by Professor Salvatore Babones regarding the contribution of international tunneling expert Arnold Dix in the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation, users can be seen making comments about his deep-seated spirituality.
“He has not become a Hero in India not only as a technical expert but also as someone who is spiritually conscious and humble”, writes one user. “Prof Arnold Dix is a gem of a person, a very nice human being and now he has full faith in Baba Bhaukh Nag and I think he likes the culture of India also”, says another user.
The woke lobby in Bharat has created the perception that Hindu Dharma is at loggerheads with science. The stereotype of Hindu Dharma being dogmatic and superstitious has eaten into the roots of our society like a termite. Had the Prime Minister of Bharat visited the Baba Baukhnaag shrine at the entrance of the Silkyara tunnel to offer prayers, the woke media would have made fun of the gesture and called it a publicity gimmick.
It’s still fresh in public memory how every temple visit of Prime Minister Modi or his visuals of doing Ganga aarti during his first tenure as the PM was portrayed by the woke media as some kind of serious breach of secularism. One also saw a lot of international media articles about how a Hindu majority leader who wears religion on his sleeve is apparently ruining the secular image of Bharat and freaking out the minorities.
Come 2023, and a lot of this woke noise has been silenced. A major credit for this silencing goes to the ordinary Hindus who have become more vocal and unapologetic about our beautiful and sublime customs and traditions. But it still takes an international scientist offering prayers at a local temple to puncture the woke media. Arnold Dix’s images of sitting humbly on the ground and offering prayers at the local temple are all over the internet.
It might seem like a small thing compared to his scientific expertise, even gimmicky. But it’s neither small nor gimmicky. The successful intermingling of science and faith by Arnold Dix is a befitting response to the woke lobby that propagates vicious and hateful narratives of Hindu Dharma being narrow-minded and bigoted. If it were indeed as exploitative as the wokes would like us to believe, why would a foreigner from a distant land completely unacquainted with Hindu Dharma get immersed in the beauty and magnanimity of local customs and beliefs?
It’s a brilliant counter-narrative to the woke propaganda on Hindu Dharma. A number of voices from around the world are increasingly embracing Sanatan Dharma and becoming its proud ambassadors. The recently held World Hindu Congress in Bangkok, Thailand witnessed the participation of many foreign delegates. Speakers like Swami Avadhut from Russia and philosopher and writer Maria Wirth (hailing from Germany who has now made Bharat her home) spoke on the nuances of Vedic philosophy and Hindu culture at the Congress.
There are an increasing number of voices emerging from the western world who respect Hindu Dharma and gravitating towards it. These voices are a fresh departure from the woke Bharatiyas who denigrate their own culture and civilization and want to have a neo-colonized version of Bharat even in the 21st century.
In fact, I have myself observed in my travels to Europe that many people in the west are receptive to Hindu Dharma and culture, some of them might have preconceived notions about our Dharma, but they are willing to let go of their prejudices once you initiate a dialogue. It’s the Bharatiya woke leftists who are the real danger. And to counter their vicious and hateful narrative, we need to step up the counter-narrative of Dhaarmik westerners.
