The institute shockingly, failed to intervene. Even worse, the names of the signatory students who had signed the letter was made public. One masters’ student, who was among those instrumental in getting students together to sign the protest letter, has even been arrested!

It is a 23-year-old student belonging to a Dalit community from Latur district was arrested on January 22. This arrest took place after a senior student filed an FIR against him for putting out a status on WhatsApp against the frenzy created all around on the consecration day. In this post, the student took a critical view of the “celebration.” This was a copied post from another fellow student. In fact, many students had put out social media statuses in protest of the ongoing celebrations on the IIPS campus. However only this one student was singled out and arrested

Some students that The Wire spoke to say that the post was a mere excuse. “The said student would have become a target anyway. Many students and even the administration were not happy with the student and his friends’ endeavour of organising students against the Ram Mandir celebration,” said one of the students, who too had signed the letter sent to the director.

In the letter, the students have written: “IIPS is a multicultural campus annually organising various celebrations which includes Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, Christmas, etc. which epitomises the promise of grooming a secular young generation who can contribute prosperity to a diversified nation-state like India. But the celebration of Ram temple consecration is a pure act of political agenda orchestrated by the various outfits, which can harm the secular sentiments of students while celebrating in an institute like IIPS, where such celebrations cannot be done.” In the letter, the students sought restrictions on celebrations on campus and said the celebration had the potential of “further deepening the divisions among student fraternity by spreading hate and fear”. The Wire has a copy of the letter.

 The letter was overlooked. But after the student’s arrest, those who had submitted the letter were even forced and bullied into writing an apology. Quite contrary to the concerns raised in the earlier letter, the students this time round were made to apologise for “hurting sentiments of those celebrating the Ram temple consecration.” Both the letters were addressed to the director.

Not only is such an arrest of a student from campus is unusual as normally, the police never enter the space without the institute administration’s permission. Instead of immediately criminalising the issue, whenever there is such a dispute between students, a complaint is made first with the institute before escalating it with the police. But here, the complainant from a second-year master’s student, went directly to Govandi police station. It was also entertained. The student was booked under Section 153 (A) and 295 (A) of the Indian Penal Code for “creating enmity between religion”.

The police in the remand application claimed that the student had offended “Hindu students with his WhatsApp post.” The student was arrested and kept in police custody for two days. On the third day as he was sent to Arthur Road central jail, a local court granted him bail.

The student is back on campus. The Wire even reached out to him for comment but he did not want to speak.

As an aftermath of the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony, students’ organisations like the Ambedkar Student Association (ASA) have been disbanded. A student, who was a part of the association, said that soon after the arrest, students dropped out and their WhatsApp group was deleted. “We are being targeted for our political understanding and assertion. Most of us come from poor family backgrounds and we don’t have the wherewithal to fight the right-wing forces. So, students just decided to dismantle the group,” a student who was earlier associated with the ASA said.

Apart from this institute, even the prestigious Film and Television Institute (FTII) saw violence break out over protests against the January 22 Ayodhya event. Though the issue there was some of the students wanting to show Anand Patwardhan’s documentary Ram ke Naam, here too goons from outside somehow got to know, were allowed inside the campus and in fact indulged in violence against FTII students.

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The post Mumbai: Student Arrested After Asking Admin to Curb Ram Temple Celebrations on Campus appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Having cited the excuse of temple desecration, he exhorted the public to take revenge on the Muslim minority: “Revenge, revenge, revenge…if we do not take revenge for the 1000 years, then the Hindu community can clearly say that ours is not Hindu blood”, according to a report in The Indian Express (January 15).

Amid the build-up to the Ayodhya event, Hegde, a Member of Parliament (MP) from Uttara Kannada constituency, listed several mosques, which, according to him, were constructed over the Hindu temples. He went on to locate these mosques in areas across Bhatkal, Uttar Kannada and Mandya.

Note that Hegde’s highly inflammatory speech, aimed at polarising voters on religious grounds, used the symbols of the “subjugated” majority Hindu community at the hands of “foreign” Muslim rulers. Moreover, the invocation of the image of “Hindu blood” is purposefully used to whip up an emotion of hate among the majority community against the minority community. Worse still, during his speech, Hegde raked up the issue of the history of violence inflicted on the native Hindu population by the alien Muslim aggressors.

During the Ayodhya agitation, the justification for the demolition of the sixteenth-century Babri Masjid was based on the same trope of the restitution of the historical wrongs committed by the Muslim rulers. The Hindutva narrative claimed that the commander of Mughal ruler Babar, Mir Baqi, demolished the Ram Temple and built Babri Masjid over it.

Neither does the historical fact uphold the Hindu Right’s claim nor was it proven the Supreme Court (final judgement). Taking the wind out of Hindutva’s sail, the Court condemned the demolition of the Babri Masjid as an act of “an egregious violation of the rule of law”. It is another matter that the decision of the Supreme Court was influenced by the concern to respect the popular faith (Aastha), which hugely disappointed large sections of Indians, democratic-minded people.

While the historical facts point to dynamism during the pre-modern era, Hegde presented a stagnant picture of the one thousand years of medieval India during which only a singular narrative of “Hindu oppression”  under Muslim rulers is/was presented. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to this, “one thousand years of slavery” in his first/early speech in Parliament and indirectly demonised the medieval period. Ironically, much of the Hindu Right’s understanding of the medieval past is based on colonial historiography.

However, historical facts do not uphold Hindutva’s claims of Hindu oppression by Muslim rulers. Nor do they support the idea of the demolition of the temples in large numbers during the medieval period. Historians largely agree that the long period of the medieval period was complex. The period saw different levels of material advancements across the subcontinent. Therefore, it is also wrong to equate the medieval period with Muslims and then call it a “dark” period, when the so-called “glorious” Hindu civilisation “declined”.

Much beyond communal narratives, the medieval period was an era of the emergence of syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture when literature, music and architecture flourished, reflecting Hindu-Muslim composite styles. During the medieval period, vernacular languages developed under the influence of Persian and Sanskrit. Even the religious and reform movements, questioning the caste system, subjugation of women and the orthodoxy in society, were influenced by both Hinduism and Islam. Moreover, the ideals of equality and fraternity enshrined in Islam appealed to the plebians and their quest for equality and dignity got a new momentum.

The rulers of Delhi and Mughal Sultanates were indeed Muslims in faith, but their rules were more constrained by the ground reality. The canons of Islam as interpreted by the Ulama were largely paid lip service to by the rulers, not rigidly implemented. The BJP and the parent, Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) are not willing to accept the truth that the so-called Muslim rule could not have lasted even a day if this had not been assisted by non-Muslim elites.

On the dark side, the peasantry and workers, both Hindus and Muslims suffered under the burden of taxes in the medieval periods. Both Muslim and Hindu rulers were united in exploiting their labours. When the subalterns revolted against the unjust taxation, they were not waging a religious war but fighting for their rights.

While the Hindu Right is fond of exaggerating the political fights between Hindu and Muslim rulers, they are silent about the wars fought among Muslim rulers for political powers. Similarly, the BJP and the RSS narrative has failed to explain why the Hindu kings sought support from Muslim rulers to defeat their rival Hindu rajas and Sikh Gurus.

Given the complex nature of medieval Indian history, it is wrong to overlook its dynamic nature and complexity. Similarly, one should never try to reduce the events to mere religious conflict. Such a communal approach to history has done much damage to national integration and communal harmony. We, therefore, must counter them with historical facts and logic.

That is why the better way to look at history is to take up social and economic dimensions and even try to find the economic and social expiations of the so-called religious wars. The secular approach to history writing can only hold a secular republic together, a fact often ignored by the BJP and the RSS for their achieving their narrow political agendas.

Instead of taking a social and economic framework, Hedge and his organisations are prone to look at Indian history from a narrow and sectarian religious lance. They do it deliberately to prove the narrative of the “intolerance” practised by the Muslim rulers to justify the Muslim oppression in the present era. Such a divisive mindset influenced Hedge to give an open threat to the minority Muslims, causing a danger to the public order: “In every village of the state, there are small religious places which were violated. Until they are demolished, the Hindu community will not sit idly.”

Records show that BJP MP, Hegde is in the habit of delivering hateful speeches. He is notorious for publicly airing anti-Muslim remarks and attacking the opposition leaders in a distasteful manner. For example, he even attacked Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for appeasing minority voters. In the recent past, he has given highly communal and anti-constitutional remarks but he is yet to be held accountable. Earlier when he was Union Minister for State, he questioned the credibility of Rahul Gandhi being a Hindu as he was, according to him, the son of a “Muslim” father and a “Christian” mother.

Worse still, Hegde went on to outrightly dismiss the national movement led by Mahatma Gandhi as “drama”. Around the same time, he threatened minority Muslim men with dire consequence of chopping off their hands if they tried to touch Hindu women. Attacking the foundation of democracy, he advocated changing the Constitution.

It is a welcome move that the Karnataka Police has taken suo motu cognisance and filed a case against Hegde for giving a public speech promoting mischief and aiming at causing religious enmity between communities. Let’s hope that the police fairly investigate the case and ensure that no one is above the rule of the law.

(The author is a Delhi-based journalist. He has taught political sciences at NCWEB Centres of Delhi University.  )

The post January 2024: Raking up the myth of temple demolition appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Put differently, top Hindu leaders seem unhappy with the BJP and RSS unabashedly playing the religion card to retain political power.

Apart from the Hindu religious leaders, secular forces have also declined the invitation card to the Ayodhya ceremony. Showing clarity and courage, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) have rightly said that the political use of religion is very dangerous in a secular democracy.

However, neither the ruling regime and party nor its supplicant supporters within newspapers and TV channels are simply not ready to engage with this criticism. Instead, they are busy, spreading their propaganda. Day and night, the Godi media has been producing “special shows”. Hindi newspapers and news channels are completely “engrossed in Ram Bhakti”. The way news is being presented, editorials are being written and TV debates are being conducted, is a sorry reflection on the state of Indian media today. To say that it is uni-directional and one-sided is to state the obvious.

All credit for the event is also being given to a particular leader. A particular party is being praised for the construction of the Rama Temple. To highlight “the greatness” of the ruling BJP, an image of “evil” is simultaneously also being constructed. Secular opposition parties and the leaders belonging to marginalised groups of Dalit-Bahujan ideology, are all being together portrayed as “anti-Hindu” and “anti-India”.

There can be no question that this level of communal frenzy being whipped up is downright dangerous. In the midst of this majoritarian din, some historical lessons are being obfuscated, forgotten. The fact that, whenever religion has been used to serve narrow political interests, the blood of innocent people has been shed and national unity has been weakened. Was this the India that Babasaheb Ambedkar had dreamed of? Did Bhagat Singh sacrifice his life for this version of India?

Hindutva politicians and national media together have deliberately ignored the basic fact that our Constitution is based on the principle of secularism. The BJP and the RSS leaders have not been believers or adherents to the secular value nor the conviction that secularism is –inalienably– the basic structure of the Constitution. Intoxicated with power, Hindutva leaders choose to forget that t the Constitution of India clearly says that the State shall not have any religion of its own, rather it will treat all religions equally.

Before assuming seats of power and responsibility in government, have these political leaders not taken an oath to this secular Constitution?

Sadly, a large part of the country’s energy is being frittered away by the Hindutva leaders by playing the religious card in public. However, if one raises such questions, one risks being labelled both “anti-Hindu” and “anti-national”.

It is unfortunate for the country that burning questions are being buried in the frenzy of majoritarianism. Our national media and press hardly raise issues related to the welfare of the people. It is a matter of great concern that while the rest of the world is struggling for equality, our politicians are raising sectarian issues.

While the Hindutva supporters claim that the Ram temple issue is a matter of faith (Aastha), I have serious doubts on this score. If this were a question of mere faith, would the inauguration of the Ram temple have been happening on the eve of the General Elections?

Reports have also come in clearly pointing to the fact that the construction work in Ayodhya is yet to be completed, yet the Hindu Right is in a devilish rush to inaugurate it. Had the inauguration been a religious issue, it would have been left to the religious leaders and the government would have focused on the welfare of the people. But this has not happened.

In the name of temple agitation, the Hindutva leaders have often tried to polarise others. The BJP and the RSS know well that it is only communal issues that can either bring them to power or help retain it. Before the temple agitation, the BJP and the RSS were reduced to a very small force. But after playing the Rama Temple card, the BJP reached the centre of the Indian political state.

Through the temple agitation, the BJP and the RSS have been able to exploit the religious sentiments of the people. Their leaders have given fiery speeches and adopted communal strategies, contributing to the outbreak of anti-minority violence.

It appears that Narendra Modi is desperate to become Prime Minister for the third time by chanting the name of Lord Rama. He knows well that this time, opposition parties, forgetting their internal differences, have come together. Modi is well aware of the fact that many of the promises he made during the 2014 general elections, remain unfulfilled even after ten years of his rule.

For example, inflation has not gone down under Modi’s rule. Nor have the youth got jobs. The homeless are yet to get a roof, years after Modi’s promise. During Modi’s regime, two things have been done with great success.

Besides, the rich have become richer and the poor people have suffered further under the ongoing policy of massive privatisation and cuts on social welfare schemes. Second, the communal agendas of the RSS have been imposed on the nation to the marginalisation of minorities, Dalits, Adivasi’s, lower castes and women.

At this critical time, we need to be alert. Reports are coming from different parts of the country that rallies ahead of the January 22 inauguration are being held by the Hindutva forces. In the name of Rama, anti-minority slogans are being raised. During these rallies, the communal forces are trying to turn the matter into a Hindu-Muslim clash. In several places, the minority has been targeted. The victims, instead of being given justice and protection, have been arrested by the police. The police and administrations who have taken an oath to the Constitution, appear to be functioning under political pressure. They have been instructed to give a free hands to communal forces during these rallies. In these dark and troubled times, we need to reaffirm our faith in the legacy of the national movement that stood for secularism and Hindu-Muslim unity.

(Dr Abhay Kumar is a Delhi-based journalist. He has taught political sciences at NCWEB Centres of Delhi University)

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The post How and why the Ram Temple is just a political tool for the BJP   appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The ‘Temples of Modern India’ phrase was the underlying theme for conceptualising the public sectors, educational institutions also promoting the scientific temper, health facilities, and academies for promotion of culture and what have you. 

The nearly four-five decades’ journey with this undercurrent of ‘Modern Temples’ was to be turned upside down from the decades of 1980s when on one side the response to Shah Bano fiasco of dealing with minorities opened the floodgates of divisive politics. (The Indian National Congress under Nehru’s grandson, Rajiv Gandhi led India with an unprecedented majority then)

The communal forces unleashed a massive propaganda war against the religious minorities. At the same time the affirmative action for downtrodden, the Mandal Commission implementation gave the fillip to temple politics which was already in the strategy books of Hindu nationalists.

In contrast to Nehru’s ‘temples of Modern India’, the search for ‘temples underneath the mosque’ brought to the fore the Babri Mosque dispute. The RSS progeny BJP took birth (1980) wearing the garb of ‘Gandhian Socialism’ with moderate posing Atal Bihari Vajpayee was at the helm. He was steeped in the RSS ideology. He wrote Hindu Tan Man-Hindu jeevan (Hindu soul and body-Hindu life), and masked his Hindu nationalist politics with élan. He yielded his place to Lal Krishna Advani, who came up with the slogan of “Mandir Vahin Banayengain’ (We will build the temple where Babri mosque is located).

The RSS’ Combine was thus able to create a perception that Lord Ram was born precisely at the spot where the mosque is located. Ram Rath Yatra, got more muscles after the Mandal Commission implementation. This Yatra left a series of trails of violence. In the wake of L.K. Advani’s Rath Yatra, nearly 1,800 people died in different parts of India around 1990. This Yatra was aborted when Lalu Yadav arrested Advani.

The mosque was demolished on December 6, 1992, by the Kar Sevaks, some selected ones of which had well-rehearsed the demolition. Advani, Joshi and Uma Bharati were sitting on the stage from where the slogan, Ek Dhakka Aur do, Babri Masjid Tod do (Give one more push, break the Babri Mosque) and “ye to kevel Jhanki hai Kashi Mathura baki hai” (this is just the beginning, Kashi Mathra will follow). 

After the demolition violence did follow in Mumbai, Bhopal, Surat and many other places. To cut the long story short, the legal system bent over backwards to give the verdict of the case based on ‘faith’, while naming those who led the demolition, but not giving them any punishment for the crimes committed by the. The judiciary in all its wisdom or lack of it; gave the whole Babri Mosque land to the “Hindu Side”.

Gloating on this ‘success’ by RSS combine; large funds were collected from home and abroad and a huge temple is ready to be inaugurated by the Prime Minister himself with all Hindu rituals. This will be a ceremony undertaken by the head of a ‘formally secular’ state. Babri Masjid was a regular election plank till it was demolished and after that building of ‘grand Ram Temple’ was the part of BJP’s election manifestos and electoral promises. The communal violence shot up on a regular basis along with the ghettoisation of Muslim community, the polarisation and the rise of the electoral might of BJP.

The present plight is well summed up by A M Singh, “Since coming to power, much of the BJP’s political discourse has exacerbated communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims. Their actions have followed suit, with the abrogation of Article 370 in the Indian Constitution and the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019… By redefining and remanufacturing Indian citizenship on the principles of Hindutva, the BJP government has broken the fate and legacy of India’s secularism enshrined in its constitution.” Now a ghettoised Muslim community has been pushed to the margins as second class citizens.

In 2024, as the temple is set to be inaugurated all round efforts are on to mobilise a large section of Hindus around this. In America and other countries, a large number of NRI’s are preparing for the occasion by organising different programs. Here at home all the progeny of RSS has been activated to mobilise the Hindus for the occasion, either by visiting the new temple or to visit the local temples and perform rituals.

There are minor controversies about who has been invited and who is left out. Lal Krishna Advani, the Chief architect of demolition movement and his close aide Murali Manohar Joshi were initially advised by the temple trust, not to visit the inauguration due to their old age and biting cold in Ajodhya. On second thoughts (and after some public outcry), the VHP, the overarching organization has invited them.

Just as the Babri demolition helped this sectarian politics to come to power, the inauguration of the temple seems to be yet another mechanism to consolidate the polarisation and to reap electoral dividends. Large number of special trains and buses are being planned for the occasion. Temple politics has reached its acme.

It is time to recall Nehru’s concept of “temples of Modern India’ with promotion of scientific temper! Currently religiosity and faith blind faith are being heightened. 

As India emerged out of colonial darkness it also ensured a direction where the ‘last person in the line’ was to be the primary focus. 

With the politics revolving around Ram Temple, to be followed by temples in Kashi and Mathura, the deprivations of ‘last person’ and Nehru’s ‘Tryst with Destiny’ promises have been dumped along with holding him responsible for all the ills of the country!

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The post Babri demolition to Ram Temple: A trajectory of Indian politics appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan was one of the chief guests at the event attended by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The RSS members also organised a ‘Path Sanchalan’ (route march) early Tuesday morning. In 2022, the chief guest at the event was Santosh Yadav, world’s first woman to climb the Mount Everest, and Bhagwat had emphasised on women empowerment.

On Manipur

Toeing the line of the union government on each issue that he touched, he, controversially, dubbed the internal conflict in Manipur that has claimed several hundred lives and simmered, unchecked –by either the state or union governments since May ¾, 2023—as the “work of the foreign hand.” “Were extremists across the border involved in Manipur violence?” he asked. Addressing the issue of the five month long simmering ethnic conflict for which the union and state governments have been sharply criticised nationally and internally, Bhagwat, the RSS chief said: “In Manipur, when people on both sides of the conflict are seeking peace, which are these forces that are attempting to trigger hatred and violence by causing an incident as soon as any positive step is seen being taken in that direction?”

“For many years, Meitei and Kuki communities have been living together. How did the violence erupt all of a sudden? The conflict benefits external forces. Are external factors involved,” Bhagwat said, while addressing the RSS Dussehra rally in Nagpur.

“Union Home Minister Amit Shah was there for three days. Who actually fuelled the conflict? It (violence) is not happening, it is being made to happen,” Bhagwat said.

The RSS chief said he was proud of the Sangh workers who worked in Manipur to restore peace.

“Lord Ram (idol) will be installed at the temple on January 22” The RSS supremo Mohan Bhagwat also spoke about the inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya “…A temple of Lord Ram is being built in Ayodhya…Lord Ram (idol) will be installed at the temple on January 22…On that day, we can organise programmes at our own temples in the whole country…” he said. He suggested that he may not attend the grand inauguration for security reasons. “We won’t be able to attend the ceremony because of security reasons. We will go some other time.”

This comment has raised speculation since for the past three four months, possibilities of security breaches at the highly politicised Ram temple site have been raised by various persons including former governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satyapal Malik and even Shiv Sena (UBT) chief, Udhav Thackeray. On September 10, 2023 Thackeray had claimed, “Godhra-like” incident may take place during the “return journey” of the large number of people expected to converge at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh from across the nation for the inauguration of the Ram temple.”

The speech can be viewed here:

#WATCH | Nagpur, Maharashtra: While addressing RSS Vijayadashmi Utsav, RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat says, “…Every year, India’s pride is increasing in the world… The G 20 summit held here (in India) was special. The hospitality of Indians was praised…People from different… pic.twitter.com/ivmFyV4gn6

— ANI (@ANI) October 24, 2023

“Delegates at G20 Summit in India experienced our country’s unity in diversity”

Mohan Bhagwat, RSS supremo, in his Dusshera speech, emphasised on India’s successful organisation of the G20 summit. “It happens every year but this time the praise for how well the guests were hosted and treated. The announcement of including the African Union on day one was also a milestone,” he said.

He also pointed out that India’s leadership gave the country a place in the world.

“Every year, India’s pride is increasing in the world. The G20 summit held here (in India) was special. The hospitality of Indians was praised. People from different countries experienced our diversity. They saw our diplomatic skills as well as our honest goodwill. Our leadership gave India a place in the world,” Mohan Bhagwat said while speaking at the event.

On the Israel-Hamas conflict: World is looking towards Bharat to lead by example based on own Sanatan (eternal) values and Sanskars

As the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict rages, Mohan Bhagwat opined that the world is looking towards India to lead by example and show a new path to peace. All and any solution to conflicts like the war in Ukraine or the Gaza Strip, which arise due to a clash of interests and extremism, remains elusive. A lifestyle out of sync with nature is producing a string of new physical and mental- health issues amid unabashed consumerism,” Bhagwat said.

“Terrorism, exploitation, and totalitarianism are getting a free run to wreak havoc. It has become abundantly clear that the world cannot counter these problems with its inadequate vision. Therefore, the world is looking towards Bharat expectantly to lead by example and show a new path to peace and prosperity, based on its own Sanatan (eternal) values and Sanskars,” he added.

Among the bug-bears (read “internal enemies” of the professed Hindu(tva) nation –Hindu Rashtra) –according to RSS texts like “Bunch of Thoughts by MS Golwalkar are “Muslims, Christians and Communists.” While sparing this time around in naming India’s religious minorities, the supremo singled out leftists/communists.

“Some anti-social people call themselves cultural Marxists or woke but they have forgotten Marx”

The RSS chief stated that “cultural Marxists and woke elements” are using their influence in media and academia to spoil the country’s education and culture. “They take control of the media and academia, and plunge education, culture, politics and social environment into confusion, chaos, and corruption,” he said.

“…There are some people in the world and in also India who do not want that India should move forward… They try to create factions and clashes in society. Because of our unawareness and lack of belief, we also sometimes get entangled in it, and unnecessary nuisances are created…If India progresses, they will not be able to play their games; therefore, they continuously oppose. They adopt particular ideologies just for the sake of opposing” he said.

“World looking up to India to overcome problems”

‘Country is moving forward. But while moving forward, we need to show the world. We should not follow anyone else’s path. This is reflecting in our government’s actions as well,’ the RSS chief said urging people to recognise that India is leaving a global mark.

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The post RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Vijayadashami speech blows BJP’s poll bugle, extolls G-20 summit, asks if “external forces” were responsible for Manipur violence appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As the 2019 general election approaches, the ghosts of 1992 are back on India’s streets. There seems to be a well organized clamor for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, in clear defiance of the Supreme Court. And so, for the many who do not know what the original Ram Temple movement is and the many who may have forgotten the mayhem, eminent activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad presents a ready reckoner on what the Ram Temple movement really is about and why has it been so conveniently resurrected, twenty six years later in 2018.

First published on December 6, 2018

Courtesy: https://cjp.org.in/

The post What is the Ram Temple Really about? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Ram has been described as Maryada Purushottam, the most virtuous among men. He left his kingdom merely because he didn’t want to hurt the sentiments of his step mother and went on a 14 years exile. It was not in his character to enter into a dispute. He had to enter into a fight with Ravana only because his wife was abducted. But even then before killing Ravana he asked Laxman to go and seek Ravana’s blessings because he was an accomplished scholar. Even though Ram is rightly criticised for having abandoned Sita on a hearsay but it shows that he avoided controversies.

 It is a pity that in the name of such a Ram, a political campaign was carried out by organisations subscribing to Hindutva ideology purely for political motive and a mosque was demolished for the purpose of building a temple. The country has witnessed how the Bharatiya Janata Party consolidated its mass support around this issue alone. Had there been no Ram temple movement BJP would have never acquired political power in this country. Hence the temple going to be built at Ayodhya is a political temple not a religious one. But the BJP and Sangh Parivar, which all along has been claiming to be a cultural organisation, by conflating political and cultural (read religious) agenda have exploited the sentiments of gullible masses.

On December 6, 1992, Kalyan Singh, the then BJP Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, during the day, had given word to the Supreme Court that he would protect the Constitution of this country, but felt elated when Babri mosque was demolished and claimed that he was a RSS worker first and a CM later. The present CM Yogi Adityanath has brought an ordinance which enables the government to recover the cost of damage to public and private property from people who were allegedly involved in movement and ensuing violence during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens protests. However, the demolition of Babri mosque, which has been described as a criminal act even by the SC judgement awarding the disputed land to Hindus for construction of temple, is obviously viewed differently by the Hindutva forces. Kalyan Singh says that had not the mosque been demolished it would not have paved the way for temple construction. How can one destruction and violence be legitimised and even glorified and another demonised?

At a time when the world is facing its most serious health crisis in the form of coronavirus it is ironic that the Prime Minister, instead of strengthening the public health care system, has decided to be part of the foundation laying ceremony of the temple. It is not clear how a temple at Ayodhya, except for benefitting the BJP politically, will further the welfare of general people, which should be the government’s top priority. The resources going to be spent on this grand temple could have been better utlised in the interest of common masses.

The Ram temple movement has also damaged the liberal image of Hindu religion. The image of Ram himself was transformed from a family man possessing exemplary virtues to an aggressive warrior. A religious Hindu believes that God is omnipresent. In Ayodhya itself there are many temples which claim to be the birth place of Ram. By pinpointing one particular location, at the site of a mosque with the purpose of extracting political mileage from it, the politics of Hindtuva has constricted the vision of Hindu religion. Hinduism is one of the oldest religions of the world and is known for its inclusivity and diversity. But the assertive Hindtuva has pit Hindu religion in competition to a much newer religion, the Islam, because for the political aggrandisement project it was necessary to create an enemy. This is the biggest irony. Hindu religion had no competition to begin with, it survived various assaults from different religions which came with outside conquorers as well as from the newborn indigenous religions like Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism, but the politics of Hindutva needed an enemy in the form of Muslims or Islam for its naked promotion. This fact should be sufficient to convince people that the Ram temple in Ayodhya is against the tenets of Hindu religion and as such cannot be acceptable either to Ram or to an ordinary Hindu.    

The futuristic religious places would be where followers of every religion would be welcome. In the post coronavirus world human beings will have to evolve a culture of co-existence. In Ayodhya itself there is a Ram Janki temple which has a vision of converting itself into a multi-faith harmony centre. A Sarva Dharm Sambhav Trust has been created to build such a futuristic religious place which will welcome followers of any religion under the Sun as well as atheists. This trust has the Mahant of this temple Acharya Yugal Kishore Shashtri, who is known for his steadfast opposition to communal politics, Faisal Khan, who revived the historic Khudai Khidmatgar organisation, a Dalit scholar from Bihar Harinarayan Thakur, a transgender Reshma from Patna and one of the writers of this article as its Trustees. A langar, similar to the one run at Gurudwaras, has already begun at this temple where people of all religions and castes are welcome to come and partake in the serving. The langar committee is headed by a Muslim Danish Ahmad and has a few Dalit members. The Sarva Dharm Sadbhav centre intends to be a symbol of syncretic culture.                                                                                     

Note: Arundhati is with National Alliance of People’s Movements and Sandeep is with Socialist Party (India).

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Image Courtesy: ANI

Faizabad: A group of Hindu seers on Monday decided that they will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for early construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying “Hindus” have reelected him with a huge majority to complete the task.
 
The meeting was organised in Faizabad by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and attended by its national vice-president Champat Rai.
 
“Hindu seers will soon be meeting Modi to discuss the issue of early construction of the temple,” said Ram Janambhoomi Nyas president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das. The Nyas is a trust to promote the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
 
Das, who presided over the meeting, also said, “Hindus have elected Modi and (Uttar Pradesh chief minister) Yogi Adityanath for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. So, it is their responsibility to get a grand Ram temple built on the disputer site at the earliest.”
 
Reacting to the VHP meet, Dinendra Das, the Mahant of Nirmohi Akhara, the main litigant in the case from the Hindu side, said, “The VHP meeting has no relevance as the land of Ram Janambhoomi belongs to Nirmohi Akhara and we have worshipped Lord Ram there for ages.”
 
“We want the construction of Ram temple in a peaceful way,” he added.
 
The main litigant from the Muslim side, Iqbal Ansari, termed the VHP meet a “political stunt”. “The matter of Babri Masjid and Ram Janambhoomi is pending before the Supreme Court. We must wait for the final verdict,” he said.
 
Mahant Kanhayya Das, president of Sant Samiti of Ayodhya, said the Hindu seers believe that the Muslim community in India is “satisfied” with the Modi and Yogi governments.
 
“So both the governments must not waste time in deciding on the construction of Ram Mandir,” he said.
 
Champat Rai asserted that only BJP can get the temple built.
 
“This is Lord Ram’s birthplace. Foreign invaders broke it and we want it back. They will do it. Only Modi Ji will do it,” he said.
 
He also asserted that the solution of the issue is ‘already there’ but talks are premature.
 
Former MP and Ramjanambhoomi Nyas member Ram Vilas Vedanti also participated in deliberations and said, “Crores of people say Jai Shri Ram, hence it will win and those who betray Ram will lose.”
 
At the meeting, the seers expressed their resentment over what many termed ‘inaction’ of the BJP government to expedite resolution of the matter. “How long will Ramlala (the idol of Lord Rama) remain in the tent? What happens if a non-BJP government comes to power in the state? Should we be ready to face the bullets once again?” asked several seers at the meeting. One of the members of the Trust suggested that a delegation of the seers should meet Modi and ask him how long the Hindu community should wait for Ram Temple construction. The chief priest of the makeshift Ram Temple Acharya Satyendra Das said that the BJP had included the Ram Temple construction in its poll agenda but had chosen to forget the same after assuming power.
 
Vedanti said that with BJP’s return to power, the “dream of crores of Hindus” to have a Ram temple in Ayodhya will be fulfilled.
 
He also said that a mosque should not be constructed next to the temple but built in Lucknow instead.
 
“Seers will hold a meeting soon. Crores of Hindus want a temple to be built at the place where Lord Ram was born. However, the Supreme Court has said that a mosque too should be built next to the temple which we do not agree with. The mosque can be built in Lucknow. Amit Shah had said that if BJP crosses the 300-mark in Lok Sabha, they will build the temple. And now they have crossed it,” Vedanti told ANI.
 
He said after the construction of the temple in five phases, the idol of Lord Ram will be placed there.
 
“More than 80 per cent of the Muslims favour the construction of a Ram temple,” Vedanti said.
 
The meeting of the seers in Ayodhya deliberated on three issues– temple construction, abolition of Article 370 which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir and a law for population control.
 
In the middle of June, a large meeting of saints will take place on the issue of Ram temple. There is also a VHP office-bearers meeting planned on the issue of temple construction during Haridwar Kumbh later this month.
 
There seems to be a well-organized clamour for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, in clear defiance of the Supreme Court. And so, for the many who do not know what the original Ram Temple movement is and the many who may have forgotten the mayhem, eminent activist and journalist Teesta Setalvad presents a ready reckoner on what the Ram Temple movement really is about and why has it been so conveniently resurrected, twenty-six years later.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AYIcj5iP9Q
 
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat had recently said that “Ram’s work” will surely be done. The RSS chief, however, asked the people to stay ‘conscious, peaceful, active, and strong.
 
The Ram temple issue is currently pending before the Supreme Court but the BJP said in its 2019 manifesto ‘Sankalp Patra’ that the party would explore all necessary opportunities to complete the construction of the Ram Temple.
 
Few weeks ago, the SC had appointed a panel of mediators headed by the former top court judge Justice F M Kalifulla to explore the possibilities of resolving the contentious Babri Masjid-Ram Janambhoomi land dispute through dialogue. The other two members of the panel are a spiritual guru and founder of Art of Living Foundation Sri Sri Ravishankar and senior advocate Sriram Panchu.
 
The mediators were given eight-week time by the top court to hold talks with all the stakeholders and file a report over the outcome of their mediation efforts. The report was submitted by the mediators on May 10.
 
The panel is all set to hold the third round of talks with the petitioners on June 17.
 
A five-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Ranjan Gogoi gave the Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee time till August 15 to continue with its efforts to resolve the prolonged and strife-ridden Ayodhya title dispute.

As many as 14 appeals had been filed against the 2010 judgement by the Allahabad High Court that directed the 2.77 acres land at the disputed site be partitioned equally among three parties, namely; Sunni Waqf Board, Nimrohi Akhada and Ram Lalla (the infant deity).

CJP had also filed an Intervention Petition requesting that the dispute be seen as more than just a property dispute, but one that threatens the socio-cultural fabric of India. The petition was signed by over 30 eminent citizens including Aparna Sen, Shyam Benegal, Anil Dharkar, Medha Patkar, Aruna Roy, Anand Patwardhan, Teesta Setalvad, Cyrus Guzder, Sohail Hashmi, John Dayal, Kumar Ketkar, Dolphy D’ Souza, Kiran Nagarkar, MK Raina and Joy Sengupta among others. Though our petition was dismissed we are happy to note that the SC has focused on healing. When the matter was referred for mediation in March, Justice Bobe had reportedly remarked, “We are looking at minds, hearts and healing if possible.”
 
With inputs from PTI, ANI.
 

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Image Courtesy: NDTV
 
New Delhi: Just a few days after the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition, the fascist, Hindutva extremists reared their ugly heads again. On December 9, over two lakh people gathered to demand a Ram temple in Ayodhya at the disputed site. A ‘dharma sabha’ was held at Ramlila Ground in New Delhi where senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leaders and RSS functionaries sent a stern message to PM Modi and the people of the country that they were not “begging” for their rights.
 
The Dharma Sabha was presided over by Acharya Mahamandaleshwar Swami Avdheshanand Giri. He said that the administration and the judiciary will have to respect the sentiments of people who have arrived here and want the temple built in Ayodhya.
 
A procession comprising trucks, SUVs and motorcycles was taken out on the eve of the Babri Masjid demolition anniversary and the rally or march by VHP and RSS supporters went door to door to campaign and get people to join them.
 
Hateful slogans were a common theme of the rally. Some of the participants deliberately chanted “Babar ke auladon, ghar jao” (Sons of Babar, go back home) while passing through a nearby Muslim colony.
 
Some even said, “Ek dhakka aur do, Jama masjid tod do,” (Give one more kick and demolish the Jama Masjid.)

 
Poet Imran Pratapgarhi asked what should these participants be called, rioters or members of an organisation?

 
He asked what this message meant in New Delhi, the seat of power, where all national decisions are made, where the Supreme court is and where all the national media houses were.
 
Members of the RSS and VHP decided to launch a nationwide door-to-door campaign later this month to put pressure on the Union government to give in to their demands or face the consequences.
 
Saffron clad members of VHP, RSS and devotees of all age groups gathered from remote corners of north India at the main ground to press for Ram temple construction.
 
“Even as the title suit of the Ayodhya land dispute case is pending before the Supreme Court, which is expected to announce a date in January for the beginning of the hearing, Ram Mandir supporters appeared determined to build the temple in Ayodhya. Despite the Babri deadlock remaining unresolved for more than 25 years and currently sub-judice, right-wing groups are demanding that the Union government sidestep the courts and go ahead with the temple construction,” reported Quint.
 
“Those in power today had promised to construct a Ram temple. They should listen to people and fulfil the demand of a temple in Ayodhya. They are aware of the sentiments. We are not begging for it. We are expressing our emotions. The country wants Ram Rajya,” said Suresh ‘Bhaiyyaji’ Joshi, national general secretary, or Sarkaryawaha, of the RSS. Joshi is also the executive head of the RSS.
 
“The timing of the ‘dharam sansad’, or congregation of Hindu religious leaders, in the national capital comes just two days before the start of the month-long winter session of Parliament–the last full session before the general elections early next year. The VHP is also preparing for a nationwide door-to-door campaign to gather support for the early construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya. The outreach campaign is scheduled for 18-26 December. “We want to put pressure on the Union government and all other political parties should come forward and support the demand for a Ram temple. People have waited for it for more than 25 years and now they are not ready to wait any longer. The government should understand the sentiments of the devotees of Lord Ram,” said Vinod Bansal, another senior VHP leader, a report by Livemint said.
 
With the 2019 general elections scheduled to take place within the next six months, the RSS and the VHP have planned a dharma sansad in every Lok Sabha constituency. “Ram temple is not a political issue and it should not be seen as an issue raised by one political party. We are meeting all Members of Parliament (MPs) to request them to take steps for Ram temple construction. The message is very clear, either take steps to pass a bill in Parliament, or there is a chance that MPs not supportive of the demand would lose their Lok Sabha seat,” said Bansal in the report.
 
“VHP members have also requested religious leaders of the Muslim community to join the movement and voluntarily give up the land at the disputed site to Hindus for the construction of a temple. VHP leaders said any initiative taken by the Muslim community for the early construction of the temple will bring harmony between the majority and minority communities,” the report observed.
 
The above statement went beyond the limits of irony. This is not the first time in history that sacrifices and adjustments are demanded from the minorities after trying to eliminate their very existence, inciting hatred, violence and vitriol against them.

It was evident from the mass gathering that they wanted ‘Mandir’ and not ‘Vikas.’
 
VHP leaders organised similar meetings of Hindu religious leaders at seven places on November 25, including Ayodhya, Nagpur and Mangaluru, to press for a bill to construct the temple. VHP’s campaign will culminate at Prayag with a ‘Dharma Sansad’ of priests and saints. The final ‘Dharma Sansad’ will be held on January 31 and February 1.

Read Also:
Ram Temple: The Farce of A ‘Movement’
Hate Watch: ‘Sants’ spew venom against Islam at ‘Dharam Sansad’ in Haryana

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Varanasi: PM Narendra Modi is rumoured to be visiting Ayodhya to begin pre-election campaigns from the disputed and controversial land of Ram Mandir. A snippet in the Hindi Newspaper Hindustan, a Hindi daily of Hindustan Times, claims that he will visit Ayodhya on June 28.
 
Published on Tuesday, the article also said that though he will be fighting the 2019 General Elections as a candidate from Kashi, the visit seems politically motivated to stoke the controversy around the Ram Temple and bring the issue back into the spotlight. The news of PM Modi beginning his election campaign from Ram Janmbhoomi came from BJP state president of Uttar Pradesh, Mahendranath Pandey.

It is being said that PM Modi will lead his first big pre-election campaign rally from Faizabad and important announcements will be made.
 
PM Modi was to visit the shrine in 2013 before the last general election before he cancelled the plan.
 

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