With 11 days to go for the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that he will be undertaking a special ritual everyday till the inauguration.
“Only 11 days are left for the consecration of Ramlala in Ayodhya. I am fortunate that I will also be a witness to this auspicious occasion. The Lord has made me an instrument to represent all the people of India during the consecration," the PM tweeted.
"Keeping this in mind, I am starting a special ritual of 11 days from today. I am seeking blessings from all the people. At this moment, it is very difficult to express my feelings in words, but I have tried from my side,” Modi wrote on social media platform X.
In a rally in Ayodhya on December 31, 2023, Modi had appealed to the people of the country to celebrate Diwali in their houses on January 22 when the Ram Temple would be consecrated. He suggested that they should visit Ayodhya as per their convenience starting January 23, 2024 so that big crowd is avoided on Jan 22.
As world-class infrastructure is built in Ayodhya, the temple town would see a convergence of tradition and modern development.
Highlighting that Ayodhya would give direction to the development of the whole of UP and not just Awadh region, the PM added: “We are undertaking thousands of crores of development; it is being made smart. Roads are being widened, flyovers are coming up. New means of transportation are coming to Ayodhya.”
“If any country wants to develop, it has to protect its heritage. We are moving forward with the old and the new. Once, Ram Lalla was in a tent in Ayodhya. Today, pucca houses are there not only for Ram Lalla but 4 crore people… Today is Pragati ka utsav for Ayodhya ......
a few days later there will be parampara ka utsav here (today is a festival of development for Ayodhya; some days later there will be a festival of tradition here,” Modi has said last month.
On August 5, 2020 when the temple construction was started with a solemn ceremony by the Prime Minister; India had kept its tryst with the "Hindutva moment".
Of course the temple is coming up at a controversial site.
For Hindus, the historic events since Nov 9, 2019 Supreme Court mandate seek to undo the five-century-old humiliation Hindus suffered after Mughal invader Babur destroyed the Ram temple and built a mosque in 1528 in Ayodhya town.
Modi, a well known devout Hindu and right-wing leader, on Aug 5, 2020 prostrated before an idol of Ram Lalla or the infant Ram.
For the BJP and the Prime Minister Modi, the temple construction was part of the poll promise since 1989 and a political victory.
In fact, the Prime Minister in 2020 was wary of political criticism for attending a purely religious function. Thus, in his speech, he sought to carry forward the message of unity in a country of multiple faiths and over 200 linguistic communities.
"Social harmony was the core principle of Lord Ram's governance," the prime minister recalled in his 35-minute speech. "We have to join stones for the construction of a Ram temple with mutual love and brotherhood."
ends
BJP had its dosage of 'Pragmatism' with Ram temple : Vajpayee Govt downplayed it ... even 2014 and 2019 manifestos did not mention it much
The Ram Temple movement in effect started in 1983. The BJP perhaps came into the scene only in 1989.
“According to all available records, Mughal emperor Babar visited Ayodhya in 1528, destroyed the temple situated at the site believed to be Rama-Janmasthan, and constructed a mosque in its place,” the saffron party said as part of what has came to be known as the “Palampur resolution”.
 |
| Advani and Pramod Mahajan: 1990 |
 |
| Did Narasimha Rao's policy help BJP ? |
The BJP also had argued that the conviction that a Ram temple stood at the birthplace of Ram and conflicting claims could not be settled by a court of law. The party, however, decided to back the VHP stance and back the litigation of Hindu parties seeking restoration of the disputed site as a temple. This was a game-changer.
The BJP was then only a two-MPs party with sectarian influence especially among Brahmins and Baniyas amongst Hindus and that too in the cow belt. In the east and in the south, it was also tagged as being a pro-Hindi vernacular party. But the Temple movement changed everything bit by bit.
It helped the BJP move to the centre stage of Indian politics and even take the 'battle' to the detractors' camp and take on the Nehruvian-Left intellectual consensus called Secularism.
L K Advani, a chief protagonist of the Ram Mandir Yatra, coined the term 'Pseudo-secularism' and it gained currency and later was even called SICKULARISM.
(A painting depicting Lord Ram’s return to Ayodhya draws inspiration from Raja Ravi Verma’s realistic painting style)
The RSS and its affiliate organisations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) have been at the forefront of the Ram Temple movement since 1990s. BJP patriarch L K Advani undertook the Rath Yatra. The construction of a grand Ram Temple has been one of the big promises of the BJP always – but kept on back burner whenever they came to power.
But in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, though the BJP swept to power at the Centre, the Ram Temple was not highlighted much in the election manifestoes.
In 2014 Election Manifesto – prepared under the chairmanship of senior leader Murli Manohor Joshi, the ‘Ram Mandir’ was highlighted (or rather dumped) in Page 41 under broad categorisation of Cultural Heritage.
It said: “BJP reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya”. There was a deliberate attempt to downplay the hardcore Hindutva issues including Ram Temple and Article 370.
In a preface note, Dr Joshi, a former BJP president wrote: “For BJP, the goal of the policies and practices would be – Ek Bharat, Sreshtha Bharat. The path would be Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. This is our commitment to the nation and the people”.
In 2019 also, Ram Mandir again figured in BJP’s Sankalp Patra which merely had said: “We reiterate our stand on Ram Mandir”.
It also said – “Since inception, the philosophy of the BJP is anchored in the civilisational ethos of India. As we build ‘New India’, we intend to actively invest in strengthening our cultural roots and preserving civilisational continuity. Far from seeing our cultural values as hurdles to progress, we see them as essential ingredients of our future”.
 |
| Shilanyas: 1989 |
In its November 9, 2019 verdict, the Supreme Court awarded the title over the site in its entirety to the deity of the infant Lord Rama, who is also considered a “juridical person”. In fact, the Modi government has been directed to set up a trust to build the temple.
While the court, based on an Archaeological Survey of India report, acknowledged that a “non-Islamic structure” lay beneath the disputed land, importantly it also said “Hindu origin” of the structure could not be disputed.
‘Introduction’ as highlighted in the Nov 9, 2019 judgement
“These first appeals centre around a dispute between two religious communities both of whom claim ownership over a piece of land admeasuring 1,500 square yards in the town of Ayodhya. The disputed property is of immense significance to Hindus and Muslims. The Hindu community claims it as the birthplace of Lord Ram, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Muslim community claims it as the site of the historic Babri Masjid built by the first Mughal Emperor, Babur.
“The lands of our country have witnessed invasions and dissensions. Yet they have assimilated into the idea of India everyone who sought their providence, whether they came as merchants, travellers or as conquerors.
The history and culture of this country have been home to quests for truth, through the material, the political, and the spiritual. This Court is called upon to fulfil its adjudicatory function where it is claimed that two quests for the truth impinge on the freedoms of the other or violate the rule of law”.
This Court is tasked with the ‘resolution’ of a dispute whose origins are as old as the idea of India itself. The events associated with the dispute have spanned the Mughal empire, colonial rule and the present constitutional regime.
Constitutional values form the cornerstone of this nation and have facilitated the lawful resolution of the present title dispute through forty-one days of hearings before this Court. The dispute in these appeals arises out of four regular suits which were instituted between 1950 and 1989."
How BJP made 'pragmatic' use of Ram Temple issue to come up the electoral ladder?
The campaign line that India's polity of Secularism actually promoted anti-Hindu politics caught the imagination of the overwhelming Hindu population.
Slowly, God Ram became a symbol of unity for Hindus otherwise reeling under caste and various linguistic and cultural divisions. Hinduism is not one God religion but people with different cultural backgrounds also united.
"When the Ram temple movement started in 1983 it was like a pipedream. India was wedded to strong secular and even-ultra Left principles in more ways than one. In the Christian-dominated northeast, we never thought a Temple could come up in Ayodhya in our lifetime. Of course, we contributed paltry Rs 500 those days for taking bricks to Ayodhya," says Ashutosh Talukdar, an office goer in Guwahati.
In 1990, Advani launched a Rath Yatra for a Ram Temple beginning from Somnath in Gujarat and it polarised the entire political atmosphere in the north. Advani was arrested in Bihar before entering India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh (where temple town Ayidhya is) but it changed BJP's political fortunes. By 1991, the BJP was India's principal opposition party.
The construction of a grand Ram Temple has been one of the big promises of the BJP always – but kept on the backburner whenever they came to power in coalition with smaller parties.
Thus, in 1996 and 1998 when Vajpayee headed the first and the second BJP-led dispensations, the Ram temple was not part of the party's or the federal government's agenda.
Even in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls, though the BJP swept to power at the Centre, the Ram Temple was not highlighted much in the election manifestos.
In the 2014 Election Manifesto – prepared under the chairmanship of former BJP president and a hardliner Murli Manohor Joshi, the ‘Ram Mandir’ was highlighted (or dumped) in Page 41 under broad categorisation of Cultural Heritage. It said: “the BJP reiterates its stand to explore all possibilities within the framework of the constitution to facilitate the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya”.
Analysts say, there was a deliberate attempt to downplay the hardcore Hindutva issues including Ram Temple and Article 370. In a preface note, Dr Joshi wrote: “For BJP, the goal of the policies and practices would be – Ek Bharat, Sreshtha Bharat. (One India, United India). The path would be Development for All with support for all.
This is our commitment to the nation and the people”.
In the 2019 poll manifesto when Narendra Modi was already in power, the Ram Mandir again figured but it merely said: “We reiterate our stand on Ram Mandir”.
It also said – “Since inception, the philosophy of the BJP is anchored in the civilisational ethos of India. As we build ‘New India’, we intend to actively invest in strengthening our cultural roots and preserving civilisational continuity. Far from seeing our cultural values as hurdles to progress, we see them as essential ingredients of our future”.
In its November 9, 2019 verdict, the Supreme Court awarded the title over the site in its entirety to the deity of the infant Lord Rama, who is also considered a “juridical person”.
In fact, the Modi government had directions from the highest court of the land to set up a trust to build the temple. While the court, based on an Archaeological Survey of India report, acknowledged that a “non-Islamic structure” lay beneath the disputed land, importantly it also said “Hindu origin” of the structure could not be disputed.
 |
| Modi: Aug 5, 2020 |
In 2024 in the run up to the fast approaching parliamentary elections, the stage is now set for consecration of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya. It is also seen as a great polarisation factor and hence a 'force multiplier' for the saffron party enthusiastically moving ahead for the hat-trick.
Before this no other Prime Minister other than Jawaharlal Nehru in 1960s could win any general election for third time in a row.
For the BJP, it will be a moment of political triumph as it was the only Indian party along with Maharashtra-based Shiv Sena led by late xenophobic Bal Thackeray that stood for the ideology of Hindu cultural nationalism. For ordinary Indians and especially middle class Hindus, it is a moment of pride and simple satisfaction.
But what about Muslims?
They have accepted the Supreme Court verdict and now the coming Jan 22 event with a lasting sentiment of sorrow, defeat and a mix of resigned acceptance.
Muslim leaders such as Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, say, "Ram belongs to all...He is a God...He is universal, he belongs to Muslims also". Asaduddin Owaisi of Hyderabad-based AIMIM criticised PM Modi for attending the religious event on August 5, 2020 when the construction work was formally started.
On Monday, Jan 8, Farooq Abdullah also said, "I hope that with the opening of the temple doors, the hearts of the people will also open and the hatred, which is spread against the Muslims, will end. This is my prayer".
The London-based newspaper 'The Guardian' in an article says at state and national level, the "apparatus of the country has been skewed heavily towards the BJP since Modi was elected in 2014".
Penned by Hannah Ellis-Petersen, the article, notes --"The prime minister’s popularity as a political strongman, alongside the BJP’s Hindu nationalist agenda, continues to appeal to the large Hindu majority of the country, particularly in the populous Hindi belt of the north, resulting in the widespread persecution of Muslims".
It's true, Modi is accused of overseeing an unprecedented consolidation of power, muzzling critical media, allegedly eroding the independence of the judiciary and even parliamentary scrutin y; but an overwhelming section of Hindu India is not complaining.
Unfortunately, the Congress and other opposition parties do not know how to handle Modi's electoral juggernaut and a newly polarised India -- which does no longer cherish the Left-liberal spirit of religious tolerance and pluralism.
The opposition parties also face a predicament. Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury, who has been invited to attend Jan 22 event, says his party will not be part of any such political high drama.
Ms Dimple Yadav of Samajwadi Party - which enjoys abundant Muslim support in Uttar Pradesh, however said, religion is personal and that she will visit temple either on Jan 22 or even after.
In 2014, BJP won a simple majority winning 272 seats, five years later it had jumped to 303 in 543-member Lower House in 2019. Team Modi i again confident of another triumph.
West Bengal-based socialist Ramakanto Shanyal says, "The Opposition is clueless on how to handle Modi and his brand of politics. After Jan 22 temple consecration, Hindu polarisation will be extreme".
Even Christians have been at the receiving end. In 2023, between January and November, at least 687 cases of persecution against Christians have been reported, which is the highest since 2014 when the BJP under Narendra Modi first to power.
ends
No comments:
Post a Comment