Two topics hit the fan following of rightwing politics. One is Lord Rama and his temple and another Nathuram Godse and his temple. On one hand, we have reckless statement asking for debate on whether India should remain secular and tolerant to other beliefs, faiths and religions by debating the very preamble of the constitution and on the another hand, we have the highest official, the cabinet – the PM – remaining a helpless mute spectator to the calculated and vicious campaign embarked upon by the fringe elements to break up this once promising nation into scrappy fighting sovereignties based on their inadequate understanding of our cultural past undoing the very colossal effort of Sardar Patel who they claim to respect.
The supporters of BJP have started to raise different voices in Patel, Lord Rama, Cow, or Malviya and so on since BJP took over in centre. Inspite of all the mess, violence, instability and restlessness, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi is practically, not issuing any comments on these subjects, and not asking his supporters to avoid such behaviour if it is not in the agenda of the Government. As his very own election promise was “development”.
I am stunned to see the changing idea of God; some making temples of Modi and now Nathuram Godse. Irony, nothing is yet concluded on Lord Rama temple. No human being should be treated as God. Hindu Mahasabha should refrain from these kinds of tendencies. Ravan was an eminent scholar, but nobody elevated him to the level of God. Hindu Mahasabha, one of the known extremist groups, thankfully is not representing Hindus. They are here to play spoil politics; the killer can’t be allowed to be at a place of worship. And this is high time BJP should come up with some clarification otherwise it will harm their image in future.
The Ayodhya dispute is a political, historical and socio-religious debate in India; centered on a plot of land in the city of Ayodhya, located in Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh. After winning elections in UP, as most of the prominent leaders of BJP embrace their constituency from UP such as Modi from Varanasi, Smriti Irani from Amethi etc. This time when BJP won elections in UP, they chose Yogi Adityanath as CM of the state with the intention to build Lord Rama temple, so that they can make sure their victory in 2019 general election. Many spiritual leaders are mediating between Babri Masjid committee and other groups. They are expecting some positive outcome too. But the fact is that, so far main issues revolve around access to a site traditionally regarded among Hindus to be the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama, the history and location of the Babri Mosque at the site, and whether a previous Hindu temple was demolished or modified to create the mosque. The Ayodhya debate centres on the land known today as Ram Janmabhoomi, on which the Babri Mosque assumed to be built in 1528. In the Ramayana, Ayodhya is the birthplace of the god-king Rama, the son of Dasharatha, the ruler of Ayodhya, and his queen Kausalya. Many Hindus worship him as an Avtar, or incarnation of Vishnu.
The Babri Mosque was one of the largest mosques in Uttar Pradesh, a state in India with considerable Muslim population. It is the most sensitive issue, as we all know (including BJP). So they are using this issue as the most valuable asset in the politics. Now there are Gujarat elections next month, so for that again the Ram Mandir issue will be raised to fill their vote banks. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar hit the headlines by claiming that the temple building is possible as there is a favourable situation in Ayodhya. Issue is still in the court since last three decades. India is a country run by rule of law, the reason BJP has not been able to build Ram Temple. Ram and Nathuram both are political tools. For BJP, Ram is purely a political icon. Since BJP rules UP now, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and RSS can build the temple. But let us wait and watch what they beget after they build the temple. Perhaps, if Ram wanted, the temple would be built by now. Was the delay a destiny? Yet, the misuse continues. When people misuse religion, what outcomes should be expected?
Another pest is Nathuram Godse temple; the Hindu Mahasabha installed a bust of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse and consecrated it at its Gwalior office, inciting demand by the Congress for booking the outfit for sedition. The BJP, however, said the Congress should not lay “sole claim” to Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and, if the Hindu Mahasabha violated a law, it would be dealt with accordingly. Godse was hanged in Ambala jail on November 15, in 1949, which the organisation observed as ‘balidan diwas’ (the day of sacrifice). Godse statue might soon be seen within temple premises across the country – to start with, in temples in the Hindi speaking states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar. They met hundreds of saints during the Magh Kumbh Mela in Allahabad who assured them of their support and now they are planning to install statues in temples with the support of these saints. So, now staunch Hindus are going to worship Ram and Nathuram, may be in the same premises of temple. The Hindutva group has ordered about 500 statues from artists in Jaipur. It also plans to inaugurate and launch small libraries, which would provide literature highlighting Godse’s ‘point of view about unified India and correct sequence of events as far as Gandhi’s killing is concerned’. Godse’s passion for unified India will get lost on the prejudiced audience either way. Thus this will only cause ill-will. I hope the government will take a public stand on issues such as this. It has been too silent so far making people suspect of complicity.
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