Ayodhya temple Visit: A Catch-22 for I.N.D.I.A

A devout Muslim feels proud to go to mosque and offer prayers. A true Christian participates in prayers and all other services in a Church. But it is the political party leaders who feel shy of supporting programmes like consecration of a grand temple but would not hesitate to visit other religious places and claim they are secular. They feel that Ayodhya temple issue could help the BJP win a hat-trick. What they are forgetting is if they don’t go, it would become a major weapon for the BJP during the elections. The political parties which have formed into bloc I.N.D.I.A. seem to be having a blocked mind. Though invitations have been issued, they are feeling extremely shy of saying “Yes, it is our temple and we will participate in the consecration”

As the new dawn for 2024 will rise on the horizon, the country would be in the grip of celebrations. I am not referring to the usual pub culture or such events which are held on large scale. I am referring to different kind of celebrations when the entire country would be in a festive mood when the consecration of the idol of Lord Rama would take place on January 22 at the new and magnificent temple in Ayodhya.

There is a lot of enthusiasm in the air. People from across the country are eagerly looking forward to the consecration of the main idol in the sanctum sanctorum. Even the social media is virtually full of songs, bhajans and reels of the glory of the temple and the arrangements that are on in Ayodhya.

The UP government had started building up the momentum by organising the annual Deepostsavam at Ayodhya – Sri Rama Janmabhoomi and this celebration had been becoming bigger and grandiose one with each passing year and this year, an additional feature has been added to the event – an online option to all Ram Bhaktas from far-off places to illuminate a ‘diya’ in Ayodhya. It not only saw a very high-profile guest list but also created a new record by lighting 24 lakh diyas along 51 ghats of river Sarayu as against 16 lakh diyas in 2022. This Deepotsav was the last one before the inauguration of the temple.

The BJP feels that their slogan of ‘mandir wahin banayenge’ has finally become a reality now. Once all works are fully completed, Ayodhya is likely to emerge a major tourist centre both for national and international tourists. The BJP feels Lord Rama has started showering his blessings on them even before the inauguration as they had won the three-state assembly elections in the Hindi belt and set the mood for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. They would also claim that it is the Lotus party which would fulfil the promises it makes. Well, there is nothing wrong for taking credit for what they have done, though the opposition feels irked.

When the consecration takes place, the most apt prayer would and should be is “Sabko Dalon ko Sanmati De Bhagwan.” This is most important because, of late there is tremendous increase in pseudo-secularism in the country. Political parties refuse to look beyond vote bank politics. Being born in a country which has rich tradition and is known for rich heritage and has a repository of knowledge in the form of Vedas, Puranas and scriptures should make every Indian feel proud of his lineage. But no, they want to look at everything with a myopic view.

A devout Muslim feels proud to go to mosque and offer prayers. A true Christian participates in prayers and all other services in a Church. But it is the political party leaders who feel shy of supporting programmes like consecration of a grand temple but would not hesitate to visit other religious places and claim they are secular. They feel that Ayodhya temple issue could help the BJP win a hat-trick. What they are forgetting is if they don’t go, it would become a major weapon for the BJP during the elections.

The political parties which have formed into bloc I.N.D.I.A. seem to be having a blocked mind. Though invitations have been issued, they are feeling extremely shy of saying “Yes, it is our temple and we will participate in the consecration.” The big question they need to answer is if they didn’t visit any temple or programmes at temples wherever they are in power and whenever they were in power?

Didn’t former President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma, visit the temples even when he was the AICC president? Didn’t former PM Indira Gandhi visit the temples? Didn’t Rahul Gandhi visit temples in Gujarat during Assembly elections and even claim that he was a true Hindu? Then, why this stoic silence and aversion towards accepting the invitation to go to Ayodhya?

Rahul talks of ‘Mohabbat ki Dukan.’ But in the case of Ayodhya it appears that the Congress has neither any Mohabbat nor faith. In fact, usage of the word ‘Dukan’ is itself wrong. Mohabbat is not a commodity that can be sold or made available in Dukan. It has to come from within the heart.

No Muslim or Christian had ever said that if these leaders go to a temple, they would become non-secular. Secularism does not mean ignore your religion and respect all other religions. What is worse is the demeaning way some Congress leaders had been making comments. There is no doubt that there is uncontrolled democracy in ‘Congress’ which can turn out to be more of bane than boon for them, but it does not mean that even educated leaders who represent a ‘Secular’ party shoot their mouths off.

Let us look at what senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said. “No ‘good’ Hindu would want Ram temple at Babri site.’ What is good Hindu and bad Hindu? Does it mean that from Prime Minister down to the sanitary worker who would be doing yeomen service to keep the place neat and clean become bad Hindus? How can Tharoor be the spokesperson of ‘Hindus’? Is he the only good Hindu?

Following the criticism by Tharoor, the grand old party which could not show the spine to pull up their leader decided to remain silent and Tharoor had to give a clarification and while doing so he conveniently blamed the media alleging that they twisted the facts. He clarified saying, “Most Hindus would want a temple at what they believe to be Ram’s birthplace. But no good Hindu would want it to be built by destroying another’s place of worship.” On one hand, he says he sees, “religion as a personal attribute and not one for political misuse,” but his comments amount to political misuse and cannot be categorised as personal attribute.

One needs to understand the dichotomy of the grand old party which is unable to digest the construction of the temple. When the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust sent invites to all top leaders of political parties, the Congress fearing that the credit would go to BJP said it was the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who had opened the locks of Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi temple which finally culminated in the construction of grand temple.

Fine, then why are they hesitating to go to Ayodhya? There will be no public meeting or stage and over 25,000 Hindu religious leaders for the ceremony. Is it not a great opportunity to show their secularistic attitude particularly when they are taking the credit for setting the Ram Janmabhoomi temple ball rolling?

By not attending the event, can Congress, for that matter the bloc INDIA members, reap high benefits and get rain of votes if not flood of votes? Certainly not. Another loss for them is that by not going they cannot stop BJP from making it a key theme during the elections along with its achievement of abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu in its attempt to rise to power again.

Why can’t the opposition at least see this event as something that would transform the state into a major tourist hub and economic hub? It would generate both direct and indirect employment and would be a boon for hospitality industry. There is also another side to it. As per the apex court orders, construction of a grand Babri Masjid also must take place there. Now once that is ready, a large number of Muslim pilgrims and tourists would also be visiting Ayodhya. The infrastructure that is now being created would help all tourists. Another point is some of them, if not all, who would visit Ram temple would be going to see the Babri Masjid as well.

Hospitality majors from India and abroad have evinced interest in the city where the number of pilgrims is rising by the day. With the opening of hotels and guesthouses, tourism activities in the once laidback town will go up further like in Varanasi. The International Airport will further boost the inflow of overseas tourists.

Why can’t the seasoned politicians of bloc INDIA view the Ram temple issue at least from commercial angle? What had to happen has happened long back. Now there is no point debating whether that was right or wrong because even the apex court has given its nod for the temple construction.

One can only hope that good sense would prevail upon all political parties and in the New Year they will adopt a new outlook.