The BJP has already made the construction of the Ram temple a political issue that will hold good for 2024. Ayodhya city has been painted in saffron hues

The innocuous-sounding statement of the General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai, that the construction of the Ram temple, whose foundation will be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, will be completed within three-and-a-half-years, has political overtones which no one can miss.

“We will try to complete the construction by three years but we have six months extra in case we fail to meet the deadline because of any eventuality. But, mark my words, the temple will be ready with its pristine grandeur by the end of 2023 or early 2024,” Rai had said when announcing that Modi would be the chief guest of the ground-breaking ceremony for the Ram temple’s construction.

For those who need it to be spelled out, the timing of the completion of the temple is crucial — end of 2023 or early 2024. The Lok Sabha elections are expected by March 2024. This means that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would again use the Ram temple to play the Hindutva card and propel the party towards victory. This time the BJP will go to the masses saying “jo kaha, woh kiya (we did what we said we would do).” The common refrain of BJP leaders and campaigners will be,“We promised the people that the Ram temple would be built in Ayodhya and we fulfilled that promise.” I would not be surprised if the party takes a miniaturised model of the Ram temple across villages or puts up such models before the Model Code of Conduct comes into play in every gram Sabha. The process has already begun as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has asked for funds from the people for temple construction. The VHP has set a target of reaching over 10 crore families in five lakh villages across India with an appeal to donate at least Rs 100 voluntarily for the temple’s construction. It is set to start from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and will then spread out across the country.

The VHP’s plan does not end here. The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the temple trust which is entrusted with the task of constructing a temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi Complex, in collaboration with the VHP, plans to kick-start the ‘Akhand Bharat Week’ after the bhoomi pujan (ground-breaking ceremony). The week will be celebrated from August 16 to August 23 when the Parishad volunteers will go to the villages and tell the masses about the Ram Mandir construction and how this temple will ensure the “akhandata” (integrity) of the country.

The BJP has always used the temple issue to meet its political aims. It has always found a mention in its election manifesto, whose nomenclature has changed with the passage of time, The BJP election manifesto is now called ‘Sankalp Patra’. After the famous Rath Yatra carried out by Lal Krishna Advani along with Pramod Mahajan in 1989 from Somnath to Ayodhya, with Narendra Modi accompanying the yatra from Somnath till the border of Gujarat, the BJP saw the potential of the issue to propel the party to great political power.

When the yatra was stopped in Samastipur in Bihar by the then Lalu Prasad Government  and Advani was arrested, the whole of India was drenched in the spirit of Hindutva. The rath was stopped on October 23, 1990. This set off a string of events that shaped the country’s politics in years to come. Advani’s arrest triggered massive protests across the country, sparking communal riots across several towns, especially in north India. Hundreds of Kar Sevaks (voluntary workers) marched towards Ayodhya to liberate the Ram Janmabhoomi. Exactly a week after Advani’s Rath Yatra was stopped — on October 30 — as many as 28 Kar Sevaks were killed in police firing while trying to storm the Babri Masjid. Even before the Kar Sevaks had entered Ayodhya, then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had claimed that “parinda bhi par nahi maar sakta (not even a bird can enter there).” Mulayam Singh still justifies the police action.

The events that unfolded then only benefited the BJP as its political clout grew exponentially and it grabbed the opportunity with both hands. In the 1991 election, for the first time the party gave the slogan of “Mandir wahin banayenge (we will build the temple there only)” but it was only in 1996, that for the first time, the BJP mentioned the Ram Mandir in its manifesto.

The party reiterated its commitment to facilitate the construction of a magnificent Ram temple at the Janmasthan (birthplace) in Ayodhya after coming to power as “this is the dream of millions of people in our land. The concept of Ram lies at the core of their consciousness.”

The words remained the same in manifesto after manifesto and in 2019 it said: “We reiterate our stand on the Ram Mandir. We will explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and make all necessary efforts to facilitate the expeditious construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.”

That commitment was fulfilled in November 2019 when the Supreme Court paved the way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and allowed the construction of a mosque, which incidentally will come up 30 kilometres away from the complex where the original mosque stood.

With the completion of one aim, the BJP has already got ammunition for the elections — which is powerful and emotive. And the subsidiary props can come from more communal pitches like cow vigilantism and the anti-citizenship law protests. Emotion is a very important quotient for winning or losing elections in a democracy.  Corruption, religion, nationalism, caste et al are some of the issues which have an emotive appeal and can unite people in no time. This is not limited to India only. Even in the US, the slogan “America First” did wonders for Donald Trump. Similarly, in 2019, Balakot supplied the required emotive quotient in the form of nationalism and the BJP and Modi swept the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP has already made the construction of the Ram temple a political issue. Ayodhya city has been painted in saffron hues. Students of the arts faculty of Saket Degree College have drawn pictures of Ram, Laxman and characters of the Ramayana on the walls around the city — not even leaving the walls of the Sulabh Shauchalaya toilet complex.

In the backdrop of the Covid-19 guidelines, people have been asked not to go to the Ram Janmabhoomi site where the main function will be held. But the BJP has plans to put up LED screens all across Ayodhya so that people can witness the ground-breaking ceremony and watch the Prime Minister lay the foundation stone of the temple on August 5. They argue that it is natural for people to want to witness this historic moment at the Ram Janmabhoomi Complex but because of Covid-19 guidelines they cannot be allowed entry there, hence they can watch it on big screens near their mohallas (localities).

The VHP has done its part and has  asked people across India to decorate their homes, mohallas and mandirs and watch the live telecast of the grand ceremony together while singing bhajans (hymns). Milind Parande, Secretary General of the VHP, had issued a statement saying that the live telecasts should be accessible to the community on big screens or at auditoria. “People should decorate their houses, neighbourhoods, villages, markets, monasteries, gurdwaras and ashrams and distribute prasad and also light lamps after sunset,” the VHP leader had said in that statement. “Use all means of publicity to make this grand programme available to more and more people in society,” he had further said. The paraphernalia is ready. The BJP and its right-wing organisations are all set to milk the situation for political gains. The Unlock 3.0 guidelines may have asked people to desist from organising religious functions but the BJP Government and the party are ready for such a big event. After all, it is all politics. And an investment made today will hold good later. One wonders if COVID-19 management could be pursued with such intent. Lord Ram would have wanted that.

Writer: Biswajeet Banerjee; Courtesy: The Pioneer

(The writer is Executive Director, News, Lucknow edition)

The BJP has already made the construction of the Ram temple a political issue that will hold good for 2024. Ayodhya city has been painted in saffron hues

The innocuous-sounding statement of the General Secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Champat Rai, that the construction of the Ram temple, whose foundation will be laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, will be completed within three-and-a-half-years, has political overtones which no one can miss.

“We will try to complete the construction by three years but we have six months extra in case we fail to meet the deadline because of any eventuality. But, mark my words, the temple will be ready with its pristine grandeur by the end of 2023 or early 2024,” Rai had said when announcing that Modi would be the chief guest of the ground-breaking ceremony for the Ram temple’s construction.

For those who need it to be spelled out, the timing of the completion of the temple is crucial — end of 2023 or early 2024. The Lok Sabha elections are expected by March 2024. This means that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would again use the Ram temple to play the Hindutva card and propel the party towards victory. This time the BJP will go to the masses saying “jo kaha, woh kiya (we did what we said we would do).” The common refrain of BJP leaders and campaigners will be,“We promised the people that the Ram temple would be built in Ayodhya and we fulfilled that promise.” I would not be surprised if the party takes a miniaturised model of the Ram temple across villages or puts up such models before the Model Code of Conduct comes into play in every gram Sabha. The process has already begun as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has asked for funds from the people for temple construction. The VHP has set a target of reaching over 10 crore families in five lakh villages across India with an appeal to donate at least Rs 100 voluntarily for the temple’s construction. It is set to start from Uttar Pradesh (UP) and will then spread out across the country.

The VHP’s plan does not end here. The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the temple trust which is entrusted with the task of constructing a temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi Complex, in collaboration with the VHP, plans to kick-start the ‘Akhand Bharat Week’ after the bhoomi pujan (ground-breaking ceremony). The week will be celebrated from August 16 to August 23 when the Parishad volunteers will go to the villages and tell the masses about the Ram Mandir construction and how this temple will ensure the “akhandata” (integrity) of the country.

The BJP has always used the temple issue to meet its political aims. It has always found a mention in its election manifesto, whose nomenclature has changed with the passage of time, The BJP election manifesto is now called ‘Sankalp Patra’. After the famous Rath Yatra carried out by Lal Krishna Advani along with Pramod Mahajan in 1989 from Somnath to Ayodhya, with Narendra Modi accompanying the yatra from Somnath till the border of Gujarat, the BJP saw the potential of the issue to propel the party to great political power.

When the yatra was stopped in Samastipur in Bihar by the then Lalu Prasad Government  and Advani was arrested, the whole of India was drenched in the spirit of Hindutva. The rath was stopped on October 23, 1990. This set off a string of events that shaped the country’s politics in years to come. Advani’s arrest triggered massive protests across the country, sparking communal riots across several towns, especially in north India. Hundreds of Kar Sevaks (voluntary workers) marched towards Ayodhya to liberate the Ram Janmabhoomi. Exactly a week after Advani’s Rath Yatra was stopped — on October 30 — as many as 28 Kar Sevaks were killed in police firing while trying to storm the Babri Masjid. Even before the Kar Sevaks had entered Ayodhya, then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had claimed that “parinda bhi par nahi maar sakta (not even a bird can enter there).” Mulayam Singh still justifies the police action.

The events that unfolded then only benefited the BJP as its political clout grew exponentially and it grabbed the opportunity with both hands. In the 1991 election, for the first time the party gave the slogan of “Mandir wahin banayenge (we will build the temple there only)” but it was only in 1996, that for the first time, the BJP mentioned the Ram Mandir in its manifesto.

The party reiterated its commitment to facilitate the construction of a magnificent Ram temple at the Janmasthan (birthplace) in Ayodhya after coming to power as “this is the dream of millions of people in our land. The concept of Ram lies at the core of their consciousness.”

The words remained the same in manifesto after manifesto and in 2019 it said: “We reiterate our stand on the Ram Mandir. We will explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and make all necessary efforts to facilitate the expeditious construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.”

That commitment was fulfilled in November 2019 when the Supreme Court paved the way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya and allowed the construction of a mosque, which incidentally will come up 30 kilometres away from the complex where the original mosque stood.

With the completion of one aim, the BJP has already got ammunition for the elections — which is powerful and emotive. And the subsidiary props can come from more communal pitches like cow vigilantism and the anti-citizenship law protests. Emotion is a very important quotient for winning or losing elections in a democracy.  Corruption, religion, nationalism, caste et al are some of the issues which have an emotive appeal and can unite people in no time. This is not limited to India only. Even in the US, the slogan “America First” did wonders for Donald Trump. Similarly, in 2019, Balakot supplied the required emotive quotient in the form of nationalism and the BJP and Modi swept the Lok Sabha polls. The BJP has already made the construction of the Ram temple a political issue. Ayodhya city has been painted in saffron hues. Students of the arts faculty of Saket Degree College have drawn pictures of Ram, Laxman and characters of the Ramayana on the walls around the city — not even leaving the walls of the Sulabh Shauchalaya toilet complex.

In the backdrop of the Covid-19 guidelines, people have been asked not to go to the Ram Janmabhoomi site where the main function will be held. But the BJP has plans to put up LED screens all across Ayodhya so that people can witness the ground-breaking ceremony and watch the Prime Minister lay the foundation stone of the temple on August 5. They argue that it is natural for people to want to witness this historic moment at the Ram Janmabhoomi Complex but because of Covid-19 guidelines they cannot be allowed entry there, hence they can watch it on big screens near their mohallas (localities).

The VHP has done its part and has  asked people across India to decorate their homes, mohallas and mandirs and watch the live telecast of the grand ceremony together while singing bhajans (hymns). Milind Parande, Secretary General of the VHP, had issued a statement saying that the live telecasts should be accessible to the community on big screens or at auditoria. “People should decorate their houses, neighbourhoods, villages, markets, monasteries, gurdwaras and ashrams and distribute prasad and also light lamps after sunset,” the VHP leader had said in that statement. “Use all means of publicity to make this grand programme available to more and more people in society,” he had further said. The paraphernalia is ready. The BJP and its right-wing organisations are all set to milk the situation for political gains. The Unlock 3.0 guidelines may have asked people to desist from organising religious functions but the BJP Government and the party are ready for such a big event. After all, it is all politics. And an investment made today will hold good later. One wonders if COVID-19 management could be pursued with such intent. Lord Ram would have wanted that.

Writer: Biswajeet Banerjee; Courtesy: The Pioneer

(The writer is Executive Director, News, Lucknow edition)