The temple movement expresses the Hindu ethos
BJP voters believed an absolute majority would ensure the Ram temple. Time is running short for the government
After the Supreme Court’s recent directive on the Ram Janmabhoomi case, the issue is once again in the news. Former Chief Justice Dipak Misra agreed to a daily hearing which made all the contesting parties believe that the case will finally conclude soon. But this hasn’t happened. The next date of hearing is in January 2019. This has made many Hindus restless. The demand for a law on the temple construction is becoming louder. Now the pressure is on the government to handle the situation.
For Hindus, a temple at the Ram Janmabhoomi is not merely an issue of a physical structure. It is about cultural resurgence and preserving identity. Lord Rama, as Maryada Purushottam, is at the core of Hindu identity. This movement to build a temple at his birth place should be seen as an expression of the collective consciousness of the Hindu ethos.
In 1918 in Warsaw, after the end of first Russian occupation of Poland, one of the first things that the Polish people did was to bring down the Russian Orthodox Christian Cathedral that was built by Russians in the centre of town. This was done despite the fact that Poles are Christians by faith.
Hindus have asked for a peaceful return, through judiciary and negotiations, of only three of their holy sites (Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi) that were historically vandalised. Hindus are not asking for thousands of other temples that were plundered, looted, destroyed and where mosques were built. Hindus are not even asking for any sort of compensation or restitution. Any interpretation of the Babri structure, other than that of it being viewed as a monument to our slavery, will clearly indicate that Hindus are being asked to live with the feeling of humiliation.
There are different views as to whether a temple can be constructed by enacting a law as the matter is subjudice. One point of view is India is a democratic republic and the apex court has already held that sovereignty lies neither in the judiciary nor in the legislature but in the people.
Building a grand temple at birth place has been in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election manifesto after the Palampur session. Core voters of the BJP thought that once given an absolute majority, the country would see a temple in Ayodhya. Time is running short for the government to act. The government needs to decide whether it will seek its resolution through the judicial route or enact a law.
Rajiv Tuli is Prachar Pramukh of Delhi region of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The views expressed are personal