At the inauguration of the Ram Temple built in place of the demolished 16th century Babri Masjid, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared: “Breaking the shackles of slavery, the country should rise, taking lessons from the past. January 21, 2024 is not merely a date in the calendar but heralds the advent of a new era.”
It was in in December 1992, when a violent mob, led by BJP’s LK Advani and other Hindu nationalists, demolished the historic Babri mosque at Ayodhya, claiming that it was built on a Ram Temple. Barely four months ahead of the general elections, the inauguration of the $240 million Ram Temple will be used by Modi to seek a third term as PM. The new generation of India is now under the shadow of BJP and other Hindu fanatic and nationalist organisations like Shiv Sena, Sangh Pariwar and Bajrang Dal. Conceived by Nehru and Gandhi as a democratic, secular and egalitarian state, India is now fast transforming into a religious intolerant and extremist state having backing of state institutions under PM Modi. Inaugurating the Ram Temple amid great pomp and show, BJP is confident of winning the forthcoming elections because nowhere in the country, INDIA, an alliance of opposition political parties led by Congress, is found capable of defeating Modi’s BJP.
What is the main message which the Modi regime is giving to the world by constructing Ram Temple on what was claimed to be the birthplace of Lord Rama demolished during the era of Mughal emperor Zahiruddin Babar in early 16th century? Why are the saner elements in India not aggressively resisting the BJP drive to erase the symbols and legacy of 800 years of Muslim rule and how have media and civil society compromised over the rising tide of Hindu nationalism in the country?
It is not just about the challenge of reclaiming the lost heritage of Ram Temple and Hindu civilisation which got mitigated during the 800 years of Muslim and 200 years of British rule in the Indian sub-continent, but also about Modi’s repeated assertion to break the shackles of 1,000 years of foreign rule. How that objective is to be achieved is not difficult to gauge.
Barring Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), no cogent voice has been raised against the inauguration of Ram Temple in place of Babri mosque in Ayodhya. The New York Time published a news item headlined, ‘Modi opens a giant temple in a triumph for India’s Hindu nationalists’ in its January 22, 2024 issue. “Mr. Modi, now the country’s prime minister, inaugurated the Ram temple in Ayodhya on Monday — the crowning achievement of a national movement aimed at establishing Hindu supremacy in India by rallying the country’s Hindu majority across castes and tribes.” The news report further said, “The Babri Mosque, which the Hindu side argued was built after Muslim rulers destroyed an earlier Hindu temple in the spot, was brought down in 1992 by Hindu activists, unleashing waves of sectarian violence that left thousands dead. The manner in which the mosque was razed set a precedent of impunity that reverberates today: lynching of Muslim men accused of slaughtering or transporting cows, beatings of interfaith couples to combat ‘love jihad’ and — in an echo of Ayodhya — ‘bulldozer justice’ in which the homes of Muslims are leveled by officials without due process in the wake of religious tensions”.
How can India with enormous cultural and religious diversity welcome its transformation as a Hindu state with the inauguration of Ram Temple and as a launching pad to promote the politics of exclusiveness instead of inclusiveness? It was rightly pointed out by Manoj Kumar Jha, an Indian opposition lawmaker, that “while Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, or B.J.P., might be toppled someday, the transformation of the state and society would take decades, at least, to undo. Winning elections could be arithmetic. But the fight is in the realm of psychology — the psychological rupture, the social rupture. The toxic mix of religion and politics is idealized. Nobody is bothered to see what such a toxic mix has done”. The Modi regime used the verdict of Indian Supreme Court to build Ram Temple in place of the razed Babri Mosque and used state patronage to arrange its massive inauguration on January 21. Supreme Court’s decision to allot 5 acres of land in Ayodhya to construct a mosque was like an act of compensation but lacked fairness as Indian Muslims, particularly in Utter Pradesh, feel highly insecure.
In an article headlined, ‘Ram temple, hardening Hinduism, and the strength of diversity’ by Jawhar Sircar published in January 19, 2024 issue of The Indian Express, it was rightly pointed out that, “more important is the fact that the Hindu faith is now offered its first planned version of the Vatican or Mecca, which may, with some effort, compete even with Jerusalem in terms of antiquity. It has taken every opportunity to reach out to every corner of India and bestowed upon the far-flung regional and ethnic groups their space. Hinduism is surely hardening at present and unheard ideas like blasphemy are entering through the side door.”
What will be the implications of reclaiming the lost heritage of Ram Temple by promoting Hindu fanaticism can be examined from two angles.
First is the BJP’s strategy to amalgamate Hindu religion with modernisation, albeit its deep-rooted caste system. If 200 million-strong Muslim minority of India, which makes up 14% of the country’s population, is feeling insecure amid the rising tide of Hindu nationalism, it doesn’t matter to the BJP regime as it has succeeded in reminding its people that integration and assertion of Hindu religion is imperative for transforming India as a developed and modern state. The contradiction in the BJP’s vision of transforming India into a Hindu state and using that strength to push the country on the road to development, progress and modernisation will not work in the long run.
Second, it is unfortunate, that the BJP and other likeminded parties under Modi’s leadership are creative in a negative sense. This so-called innovation or creativity is meant to project the glory of Hindu religion embodied in the legacy of Ram Temple, alongside threatening India’s religious minorities as well as the neighbouring Pakistan with serious consequences on their refusal to accept the realities of new India.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2024.
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