Dr. Nsungbemo Ezung
The much awaited ‘bhoomi poojan’ or ground breaking ceremony and the foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of Ram Temple passed off successfully and peacefully on August 5, 2020 in Ayodhya. This comes following the Supreme Court verdict in November last year for handing over the disputed land in Ayodhya for the construction of Ram Temple. The ground breaking ceremony, taking place with much religious fanfare, sent waves of excitement to the Hindu faithfuls across the country as they see this as setting the stage for turning their lifelong dreams of seeing a Ram temple in the birth place of Lord Ram into a “glorious” reality. However, this causes anxieties and apprehensions in the minds of millions of Indians belonging to minority religious groups of the possible impact on the status of India as secular nation as a fallout of this event.
It is the presence of the nation’s prime minister, who is under a constitutional oath and under obligation to preserve and protect the secular credentials of the country, in such an exclusive religious activity that raises questions in the minds of many as to how an elected leader of a secular country could be a party to such an affairs that has hitherto caused so much division and conflict among different religious communities in the country. A careful observation of the way the prime minster took part in the ‘bhoomi poojan’ shows that he is not there in his individual capacity as a faithful Hindu just to witness and participate in the said event. He was at the center stage of the ceremony joining the priests and the religious leaders in performing elaborate rites and rituals required for the ceremony. This event with prime minister at the center stage along with the RSS Chief and the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has left us wonderstruck, and made us suspicious whether this could be a prelude towards making a theocratic Hindu state in India, and that on this similar pattern the country could witness the construction of many more temples across different parts of the country in the near future by destroying mosques, churches and other religious institutions belonging to minorities groups.
The successful ‘bhoomi poojan’ has set the stage for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, which is considered as the birth place of Lord Ram. This event is also expected to culminate in the most controversial, divisive and violent socio-political movement in post-Independent India’s history. The movement has redefined the nature of Indian politics, bringing right-wing nationalist party, the BJP, to the center stage of Indian politics and now a dominant political force in the country. The movement also cost India’s secular image as it created suspicions and doubts in the minds of the world about India’s ability to protect the rights and aspirations of the minority communities in the country.
LK Advani, the main architect of the movement, described Ram as “a unique symbol of India’s national identity, unity and integration” (LK Advani: My Country, My Life. Rupa and Co., New Delhi, 2008). It is on this ground that the followers of Lord Ram argue that it is fitting for India to construct a grand temple at his birth place as a tribute to this deity and his followers. And if Ram embodied national identity and unity, it means Ram should represent a symbol of a nation which is constituted by different races, religions and ethnic and linguistic groups, and it should be the responsibility of the nation to protect the interest of all the groups.
While it may be reasonable on the part of the Hindu faithfuls to demand for the construction of temple in the birthplace of Ram, it is the failure on their part to build consensus and win the hearts of the Muslim community to hand over the land peacefully which was in the possession of the latter for more than four hundred years and tragically created communal conflict over the issue that had permanently damaged the secular fabric of the country. The Ram Janmabhoomi Trust may have won the right from the court for the construction of temple but the fact remains that the temple will be built on the ruins of a Mosque that was destroyed by a violent mob way back in December 1992 leading to the outbreak of one of the worst communal violence in post-independent India, costing many lives. Would this same kind of violent and coercive method further permit the majority religious group to destroy some of the country’s famous heritage sites built during medieval periods like the Red Fort, from where every year on independence day the country’s prime minister hoists the national flag and addresses the nation? Or for that matter the Taj Mahal and Rashtrapati Bhavan, and replace these buildings with Hindu temples on the grounds that all these heritage sites were built during that last five hundred years on the ruins of the more than 2000 year old Hindu civilization. What kind of message has the successful foundation laying ceremony for Ram Temple is sending to diverse Indians? Does this mean that the presence of churches and mosques, side by side with temples/mandirs all over India would no longer be tolerated as it defames the image of the glorious Indian/Hindu civilization?
The silver lining of the whole episode though is the response of the Sunni Muslim Community of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Right after the Supreme Court verdict on November 2019, the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board issued a statement accepting the verdict and promising to the nation that “they will not go for a review of the Apex Court’s order”. This generous concession from the Muslim community of UP paved the way for the peaceful conduct of ‘bhoomi poojan’. For decades after Independence, the Hindu leaders were crying foul over the alleged mistreatment and suppressing of the rights of the majority religious group by the authorities on the pretext of secularism.
As the construction of the Ram Temple begins, thanks to the direction of the Apex Court and the acceptance of the verdict by the Muslim community of the country, this should appease the Hindu community, heal old wounds and make way for the restoration of peace and communal harmony among different religious communities of India. It’s high time the Hindu community reciprocates in an equally positive tone to the generous concession of the Muslim community, and allow different minority religious communities to practice their faith without any fear and apprehensions. During the ‘bhoomi poojan’ RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat said, “there is a wave of joy in the whole country… We believe in taking everyone along. Today is the new beginning of new India”.
One can only hope that this “joy” will be shared by billions of Indians who professes different religious faith, and that the leadership of the RSS, the Hindu community at large and the Government, which is the custodian of Indian secularism, ensures that the rights of every Indians, regardless of their religious affiliations, will be protected, and that they will be able to practice their religion freely in this diverse, democratic and secular India.
(The author is an independent researcher based in Wokha, Nagaland: Email: [email protected])