Travelogues and gazetteers
The Supreme Court had examined recorded materials of many travelogues.
The accounts of Father Joseph Tieffenthaler, a priest and the observations of Robert Montgomery Martin, an Anglo-Irish author and civil servant, of 18th and early 19th century proved helpful and vital for the judges to arrive at their decision.
The verdict said the travelogues indicated –
"...the existence of faith and belief of the Hindus that the disputed site was the birthplace of Lord Ram"
"Identifiable places of offering worship by the Hindus including Sita Rasoi, Swargadwar and the Bedi (cradle) symbolising the birth of Lord Ram in and around the disputed site"
"Prevalence of the practice of worship by pilgrims at the disputed site including by Parikrama and the presence of large congregations..."
"The historical presence of worshippers and existence of worship at the disputed site even prior to the annexation of Oudh by the British and the construction of a brick-grill wall in 1857." (page 908)
1989: Shilanyas by Rajiv Gandhi Govt
Advani and Rath Yatra : Tidal Wave of Hindu Nationalism
L K Advani might have intense political intent when he launched the Ram Rath Yatra. But on the face value, the BJP leaders argued that the Yatra effectively drove home the point that if God Ram represented the idea of conduct, Ram Rajya represented the idea of good governance.
Advani was to say later: “......The sheer magnitude of popular support made it comparable to Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s appropriation of Ganesh Chaturthi to mobilise public opinion against colonial rule. The cultural dimension of the Yatra made it comparable to the anti-cow slaughter campaign of Gandhi”.
This Movement had unleashed Hindu chauvinism across the country and the spirit of it was well reflected in a Bollywood move ‘Bombay’ that showed an aging Hindu Tamil gentleman mocking at a Muslim bricks maker, “Make me some bricks inscribed Jai Shri Ram in them’.
One reason for unleashing the Hindu assertiveness was guided by a conviction that Hindus would face an existential crisis.
Former Nagaland Governor M M Thomas was at Kohima Raj Bhawan on October 23, 1990 when L K Advani was arrested at Samastipur in Bihar. Some of us had walked out of a press conference with union minister Ram Vilas Paswan, a chief proponent of V P Singh’s Mandal Politics.
Late M M Thomas was more direct and he said: “Now, my government in Delhi will fall”. Dr Thomas, himself a prominent Christian leader from Kerala and author of ‘My Ecumenical Journey’ had said: “It is in a peculiarity of Hinduism, there is strength. There cannot be the danger of extinction for Hinduism as is being made out by BJP. This is something I respect about Hinduism. It is tolerant and pro-pluralism. But I wonder, why RSS and BJP talk about Hindutva and not Bharatiyata or Indianness”.
It is many years since then. The politics and protagonists associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement has come a full circle in last two-three decades. R K Singh, the then civil servant, who ordered arrest of L K Advani is today a Minister in the union government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In fact, Modi himself was part of the Team Advani that carried out the massive Yatra, which was kick-started on September 25, 1990 after BJP felt threatened by V P Singh Mandal card as that had the potential of dividing Hindu electorate.
V P Singh had challenged BJP’s support base after he favoured reservation in government jobs for the Other Backward Castes (OBC) – and these mostly included the large peasant castes like Yadavs who did not qualify as Scheduled Castes or untouchables.
The Mandal Commission, headed by former Bihar Chief Minister B P Mandal, was appointed to recommend measures for the social and economic advancement of backward classes and submitted its report in 1980.
The report lay pending for a decade. But on August 7, 1990, V P Singh announced that he would implement Mandal Commission recommendation of 27 per cent reservation for backward communities.
Obviously, the reaction shook Indian politics. The reaction was violent and many young people from upper castes in Delhi and other northern Indian towns immolated themselves. The BJP had to undertake a major operation to keep itself politically relevant and deal with the extreme socio-political upheaval. Upper caste boys got enraged over Mandal – that had become synonymous with caste politics – and they immolated themselves in public.
Apparently, V P Singh himself knew the fallout of Mandal Commission recommendations. He was reluctant. But as the Prime Minister Singh got intelligence inputs that his Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal would in days – perhaps second week of August – would make the demand for implementation of the Mandal Commission.
Thus Late V P Singh threw up his ultimate card and that changed Indian politics especially in the cow belt for generations.
On another plane, the Shiv Sena – whose the then chief Bal Thackeray had said he is proud of his Sainiks if they have brought down Babri Masjid; is today a ‘partner’ of a secular alliance along with NCP and Congress.
Ironically, Sena chief Uddhav, son of illustrious Bal Thackeray, also headed a coalition regime that also pledged to uphold ‘secular values’.
NCP stalwart Sharad Pawar was part of the P V Narasimha Rao government which was in power in 1992 when Babri Masjid was brought down.
Making further progress in this piece, it is imperative to note what Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said: “There was no plan to demolish the Babri structure. Yes, everyone felt a temple should be built. Kaise banega, is par behas thi (There were arguments and differences about how this would be achieved).”
A lot has been written about the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and BJP patriarch L K Advani’s Rath Yatra. But it is important to note that besides Advani, there were other protagonists too. On page 942 in its voluminous report, the Justice M S Liberhan Commission that probed for 17 long years on Babri Masjid demolition said, --
"It cannot be assumed even for a moment that L K Advani, A B Vajpayee or M M Joshi did not know the designs of Sangh Parivar..... These people, who may be called pseudo-moderates, could not have defied the mandate of the Sangh Parivar, and more specifically the diktat of the RSS, without having bowed out of public life as leaders of BJP."
Eulogising Advani’s Politics of Rath Yatra
There is little to dispute that both the verdicts of the court of law on Ram Temple – 2010 and also November 2019 – left Advani vindicated. In retrospect, it can be stated that the Yatra had sparked off a strong Hindu fervour – something beyond comprehension in late eighties and early nineties.
It may not be wrong to suggest that to Mr Advani, Ram Mandir Movement was akin to a pilgrimage. Thus effortlessly, he wrote: “The pilgrimage (Mandir movement) will be over the day Ram Lalla finds his rightful place in a temple commemorating the sacred site of his birth”.
Perhaps – from the calendar point of view an important date came on November 9, 2019 when the judges said the temple could be constructed.
It was clear that the Supreme Court verdict has met the ‘demand’ for a construction of a grand Ram temple at the disputed site – where Hindus believed there existed a temple from ancient era. Many years back, Advani wrote: “The Yatra effectively drove home the point that if Ram represented the idea of conduct, Ram Rajya represented the idea of governance.
The sheer magnitude of popular support made it comparable to Tilak’s appropriation of Ganesh Chaturthi to mobilise public opinion against colonial rule. The cultural dimension of the yatra made it comparable to the anti-cow slaughter campaign of Gandhi”.
The Yatra began in Somnath in Gujarat on September 25, 1990, and passed scores of villages and cities. It travelled approximately 300 kilometers a day, and Advani addressed six public rallies in a day. The yatra caused an outpouring of both religious and militant sentiments among Hindus.
According to Advani himself – “The yatra was a tremendous success.....The yatra also brought into sharp focus the contrast between lok shakti, people’s powers and Raj Shakti as represented by the elitist who somewhat arguably believed in showing disrespect to Indian cultural heritage”.
Thus L K Advani’s website has said – “The awesome tidal wave of nationalism unleashed by the yatra unnerved the pseudo-secularists and Jai Shri Ram became more than a traditional greeting....”
In circa 2019, ironically the verdict not only cleared the way for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, it came just a day after he celebrated his 92nd birthday.
L K Advani's attempt to unite Hindus through Ram Rath Yatra, also came at a time when the society was already slashed on casteist lines. Rath Yatra gave the religious divide. And of course V P Singh’s virtual ultimatum to push Lalu Prasad to get Advani arrested, was a watershed moment in the country's history.
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