VHP’s clarion call to its cadre to be prepared to be ‘Kar Sevaks’
BJP’s victory, particularly in assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the abode of three of the most controversial religious sites at Ayodhya, Mathura and Kashi, suddenly gives rise to Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) activities with the saffron organisation’s clarion call to its cadre to be prepared to work as ‘Kar Sevaks’.
The organisation calls for them to work as they did in December 1992, for the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya, and also build a movement for ending cow slaughter.
VHP held as many as 102 dharmasabhas all over the state between March 29 and April 11, to drum up support and test the mood of the people.
Braving the scorching heat and all pervasive dust, hundreds thronged to these meetings.
In one of the dharmsabhas held at Bhopal, the participants were dressed for the occasion.
Wearing saffron robes or an orange sash, sporting bright red tilaks on their forehead, with maces in their hands and chanting ‘Jai Jai Shree Ram’, looked like an army ready for war.
“We have come here for the Ram temple. My father and uncle had gone to Ayodhya in 1992 for construction of the Ram temple, and I will do the same,” said Sadanand Tiwari from a village in Sehore district. He said their leaders have asked them to go back to their villages and build a positive mood among people for the temple.
“A new generation has come up after 1992 and we will have to build up legions of ‘Ram Bhakts’ who are willing to go to any length for the construction,” said a senior VHP leader, explaining why they needed to organise these dharmasabhas.
The VHP believes there is no better time than the present for the Ram Temple and to end cow slaughter. With a ‘Ram bhakt’ government in UP headed by Yogi Adityanath, who is also head of Gorakshnath Temple at Gorakhpur and a ‘Rashtra Bhakta’ government at the centre, headed by Narendra Modi, and the Supreme Court also showing an interest in settling the dispute, the time is ripe, they feel.
To make the support base of movement broader, VHP leaders are even showing a willingness to praise India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for his role in the construction of the Somnath temple, and Rajiv Gandhi for opening the locks of the disputes Ram Janmabhoomi – Babri Masjid site.
Some of the women who attended the meeting in Bhopal said they had voted for the Congress in the past, but were committed to the construction.
At a dharmasabha in Vidisha, the parliamentary constituency of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, VHP vice president Hukumchand Sawala said, “The central government should bring a bill for the Ram Temple in the parliament like former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru did for the Somnath temple. In the presence of former President of India Rajendra Prasad, Lord Somnath was honoured with 121 canons. We want the same sort of respect for Lord Ram.”
In an attempt to co-opt the Dalits in the movement, the leaders are asking Hindus to shun caste discrimination. “All Hindus are one. Caste discrimination should be stopped in our society,” said Sawala.
The VHP is not going to get into the issue of legality, morality or even historical evidence about the existence of Ram temple at the disputed site. To them it is a matter of faith.
There was of course the usual bashing of Pakistan and some VHP leaders called LeT leader Hafiz Saeed, a modern-day ‘Ravana’.
The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government also got flak for allegedly allowing illegal slaughter and trade of cow in the state. They compared Chouhan unfavourably with UP CM Yogi Adityanath and pointed out that the latter had stopped illegal trade of cow in the state by closing all illegal slaughter houses within 24 hours of coming to power.