Dinkoism

A satirical depiction of religious art and scripture

Balamangalam is important in Dinkoist Mythology

Dinkoism (മ: ഡിങ്കോയിസം) (/ˈdɪnkɔɪzəm/), or the Dinkoist religion, is a religion and a social movement that emerged and evolved on social networks^[1] organized by independent welfare groups in the Indian state of Kerala. Although adherents describe Dinkoism as a genuine religion, it is described in the media as a parody religion.

History

According to a report in India Today, the mock religion^[1] was established in 2008 in the state of Kerala by a group of rationalists, with the intention of ridiculing "the absurdity of blind religious faith."^[2] There are plans for the community to "actively involve themselves in politics."^[3] A report in The New Indian Express suggested that Dinkoism is gaining members through Facebook.^[1] The British Broadcasting Corporation described Dinkoism in 2016 as an atheist movement with significant growth in the social media.^[4]

Lord Dinkan

The religion purports to worship the great Dinkan, a comic book creation.^[5] Dinkoists celebrate the fictional mouse character as their God for the supposed purpose of exposing the fallacies and practices of traditional religions.^[6] Dinkan is a comic superhero mouse which appeared in 1983 in a no-longer active children's magazine Balamangalam.^[7]

Events and protests

While the concept of Dinkoism has been spreading through social media, the movement has organized events in which real people turned up at protests. For example, when the film Professor Dinkan appeared, Dinkoists staged a "mock protest" in front of an actor's restaurant as a way of taking a "gentle pot-shot" at the idea of religion in general.^[8] In April 2016, 25,000 Dinkoists were expected to gather for a convention called a "Dinkamatha Maha Sammelanam" to "present their rights as a minority community," according to one report.^[3] Dinkoists have received threatening messages as well as opposition from believers of other religions.^[1]

Balamangalam magazine

Dinkan was originally published in the Balamangalam children's magazine in Kerala, India. Later Nambolan, another superhero character was introduced to Balamangalam and it too became very popular. From late 1990s, Balamangalam suffered from high competition from other children's publications in Malayalam(such as Balarama). The magazine still had a strong market share and they expanded out with a kindergarten kids magazine Kalicheppu and a comic book Balamangalam - Chitrakatha.^[9] But Dinkan continued to be Balamangalam's most popular comics series. In October 2012, Mangalam Publications, owners of Balamangalam announced that the magazine will stop publication due to poor sales. The news created a furore in social media websites and prompted the publishers to clarify that "the closure is just temporary and Balamangalam may return soon."^[10][11]

Character biography

Dinkan was born in Pankila forest, somewhere in Kerala, India. He was a naughty mouse, who wasn't disciplined. During one of his escapades, Dinkan was abducted by aliens from an unknown planet. They conducted experiments on him which ended up giving him superior strength, enhanced senses and the ability to fly. Somehow Dinkan found himself back in Pankila forest and he decided to use his powers for the well-being of animals in the forest. Dinkoism has emerged as a parody religion on social networks organized by independent social welfare groups in Kerala, India. This religion celebrates Dinkan as their God in an attempt to bring awareness of the fallacies and practices of traditional religions.^[12]

Restaurant march

On January 30, 2016, a group of Dinkoists, under the banner of Mooshikasena (Rat army) held a mock protest in front of Dhe Puttu restaurant owned by popular Malayalam actor Dileep alleging that his upcoming film 'Professor Dinkan' hurt their religious sentiments. It was a mockery on similar protests happening worldwide.^[13] Earlier Dinkoism was in news when an NRI Dinkoist from California had obtained a license plate with the inscription DINKAN for his car, out of his devotion for Dinkan.^[14] Recently, noted author J Devika wrote an article on how the concept of Dinkoism is in tune with the logic of the market.^[15] New Age Dinkoists are very rigorous in their criticism of mainstream religions. They oppose child marriage, patriarchy and polygamy. They are against a narcissist Abrahamic God.^[16]

Calicut conference

Dinkoists of Kozhikode organized a conference at the Sports Council Hall, Mananchira on March 20, 2016. They organized a variety of entertainments based on Tapioca theme. Rationalists like E.A. Jabbar said that Dinkoism was a religion worth following.^[17]

BBC coverage

British Broadcasting Corporation covered the Dinkoist religion in its BBCTrending Programme. BBC reported Dinkoism as an atheist movement with significant growth in the social media. The report was presented by BBC video journalist Alvaro A Ricciardelli.^[18]

See also

• Flying Spaghetti Monster

References