Resurgence in mind, VHP goes micro, reorganises itself in UP
Will SC order on Ram Mandir revive VHP’s fading fortunes?
PRAYAGRAJ/LUCKNOW : Having lost much ground after the death of its charismatic leader, Ashok Singhal, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) is all set to restructure itself in a bid to reach each Hindu family in UP. A parallel reason for the exercise is to reposition itself in the struggle for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya in a more aggressive manner, a VHP leader said.
In a meeting of the core leadership of the organisation, held in Chitrakoot between September 3 and 7, 2019, it was decided to extend the VHP’s reach among Hindus, by replacing its block-level committee model with the village and ‘Mohalla’-level committees in rural and urban areas of the state. The execution of the plan began on September 15 and will continue till the end of the month, after which, the effectiveness of the drive will be assessed by the organisation’s leadership.
The VHP has divided the 75 districts of UP into six pranths (regions) including Kashi, Gorakhsh, Kanpur, Awadh, Meerut and Braj.
“The micro-level approach is aimed at uniting Hindus against any situation that may arise in the future: be it after the Supreme Court verdict on Ram Janmabhoomi case, or any other issue. The Parishad is committed to protecting the rights of Hindus and will always do it. I have been given the task of forming 5,000 working committees in as many villages of 19 districts falling in the Kashi pranth,” VHP’s Varanasi region sangathan mantri (organisational secretary) Mukeshji said.
He said that in each of the 5,000 villages in the 19 districts of Kashi pranth, a working committee comprising three members is to be constituted. In ‘mahanagars’ (larger cities) like Kashi and Prayagraj, 300 and 280 such working committees will be formed, respectively, while other cities in the region will have 200 such working committees formed by the end of this month.
“Likewise, other pranths also have a similar target of forming working committees between 4,000 and 5,000 in rural areas, besides forming approximately 200 committees in urban areas of each region.
“The decision on the Ayodhya issue is expected soon and the Parishad needed to gear up for it. Whatever the verdict, Ram Lalla will stay in his original place. It is Ram’s janmabhoomi and the rightful place cannot be changed or denied,” he added. Far from the court room battle in the Supreme Court, the VHP is busy building a consensus between the warring Hindu factions in Ayodhya.
With the top court setting the October 18 deadline on Wednesday to finish all arguments in the decades’ old issue, the VHP has also started hectic parleys with the Nirmohi Akhara – a prominent litigant in the title suit – to iron out all differences. Recently, VHP vice-president Champat Rai was in Ayodhya to broker a peace with Nirmohi Akhara, which has always been at loggerheads with the allpowerful Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, the supreme body of seers in Ayodhya that has been spearheading the Ram Mandir movement.
The Nyas and VHP are on a common platform on the issue of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid, while the Nirmohi Akhara has always been opposing them.
“The regular presence of high-profile VHP leaders in Ayodhya is an indication of the title dispute in the Supreme Court coming to an end soon. The VHP’s hectic parleys in Ayodhya have also given it a new lease of life, a kind of revival for the saffron organisation in the temple town,” said Prof Kaushal Kishore Mishra, political science department, Banaras Hindu University.
“Of late, Hindus have lost faith in the VHP. If the Supreme Court verdict comes in favour of the Ram Mandir, it will help the VHP to regain the confidence of the Hindu community,” Mishra added. VHP’s international joint general secretary Surendra Jain, said over the phone from Rohtak, Haryana that the microlevel plan of the VHP for uniting Hindus in Uttar Pradesh was much needed, as it was time to safeguard the rights of the community. “We are currently holding a meeting of the core committee of the Parishad in Rohtak. We are awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court on the Ayodhya issue.
After the verdict, the VHP leadership will decide and act accordingly. The bottom line for the Praishad and all Hindus is that Ram Janmabhoomi is a reality and Ram Lalla is not going to shift from his original place,” he said.
Ashwani Mishra, another district unit office-bearer of the Parishad said, “In any case, Hindus will have to unite to go ahead with the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. If the judgement is in our favour, then to Hindus will have to remain united to face the backlash from other community also,” he added. Meanwhile, at a recent high-profile meeting of seers in Ayodhya, Rai ruled out any differences of opinion with the Nirmohi Akhara on the issue of disputed 2.77 acre land and undisputed 67 acre land that comprises the proposed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
“The entire land will go to the deity, Ram Lalla,” Rai had said.
“The Nirmohi Akhara will perform puja at the proposed Ram Mandir. We have no objection,” he had stated while trying to resolve the long-standing feud with the Nirmohi Akhara.