The dust is settling on the hype and hoopla surrounding the ‘pran pratishtha’ or the ritual of breathing life into an idol of Lord Ram in his spanking new residence at Ayodhya. This mega-event evoked strong emotions, opposing views, boycotts, religious fervour, political messaging, division, unity, despondency, victory, Hindu revivalism and a torrent of several diverse thoughts.
Without a doubt, it has been an expression of the existing political and religious sentiments sweeping the country. It was also the first time in my living memory that Hindus have unabashedly and publicly worn religion on their sleeves. Other religions have done so for centuries, when Hindus preferred to remain accepting of all religions while keeping their own religion personal, as opposed to ‘organised,’ in that sense. That, despite focussed and widespread mass conversions among rural and uneducated folk in India with evangelists taking advantage of caste and economic divisions in our society to expand their flock.
The battle for Ayodhya sprang its roots in the mid-sixteenth century, when Mir Baqi, a commander of Babur’s army constructed the Babri Masjid where Hindus believe, was then an existing temple at Lord Ram’s birthplace. The existence of a temple at the same site was subsequently established by a government-mandated survey by the Archaeological Survey of India. A prolonged social, cultural and legal battle was waged for a temple to be rebuilt in its place. The legal battle began in Indian courts in the mid-nineteen eighties. The demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 by volunteers and the Supreme Court judgement of November 9, 2019, in favour of construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple at the disputed site and allocation of alternate land for reconstruction of the Babri Masjid are now things of the past. Both Hindus and Muslims of India have honoured the final decision of the Supreme Court.
Soon after the judgement, the Bharatiya Janata Party, in its election manifesto 2019, promised expeditious construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya within the framework of the Constitution. It has delivered on its promise with great fanfare and publicity. The publicity was enhanced by the public boycotts of the ceremony from some quarters who sought to dissociate from the proceedings for their own political posturing. This is where religious and political lines blur. Religion and politics enjoy a symbiotic relationship and closing our eyes to this reality will be utter foolishness. Political rallies are used to attract religious communities into vote banks and religious mega-events are always laced with political underpinnings.
Ayodhya was no exception. The messaging was loud and clear. The BJP government had delivered on its election commitment and fulfilled its promise to the heartland’s Hindu population. It ensured the development of a sleepy town into a bustling religious tourism hub. It created business and employment opportunities to benefit more people. The declaration, ‘Along with Ram’s abode, we have created housing for the poor’ was catchy and attempted to answer the question, ‘What have the poor gained from this mansion of the Gods?’ A half-day off on the day of the consecration for Central Government offices across the country also carried a message if one cared to read it. The prominence accorded to the event sought to allay concerns that the majority community was being taken for granted while minorities were being appeased.
Some observers interpret this as a symbol of Hindu renaissance and a vindication of the two-nation theory. India was geographically divided on a premise that Hindus and Muslims cannot live together peacefully in one country. Hence, Pakistan was carved out of Muslim-dominant regions. However, that assumption was proved erroneous by the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Quite to the contrary, all communities lived in greater harmony prior to the partition of India, as recalled by those who migrated cross-border during those tumultuous times. Even Kashmir was labelled a ‘paradise on earth’ where ‘Kashmiriyat’ was more important than being Muslim or Hindu. The downslide started only after the religious divide was cleverly engineered by the British, complemented by pre-independence political arrangements.
The state religion of both Pakistan and Bangladesh is Islam. While there is supposed to be no political discrimination on the basis of religion in these countries, religious majoritarianism does exist. Minority communities are known to live a life of subjugation where overt display of their religious ceremonies and cultural festivities are ‘tolerated’ at best. In stark contrast, minorities in India enjoy unfettered religious freedom. Localised inter-community violence does erupt at times but this is more an exception than the norm.
No religion supports or prescribes violence as a means of resolving disputes but it is also common knowledge that much of the violence in the world is unleashed in the name of religion. While all the right noises were made at the Ayodhya consecration like ‘Lord Ram being for all’ and ‘Ram does not stand for conflict but for resolution’ among others, one hopes that the euphoria amongst devotees of Ram will not fan distrust between religious communities. The political and religious messaging was clear and any discerning citizen of India should be able to read between the lines. It is up to every devotee of every description of God to maintain peace and sanity in these charged times.
Swami Sarvapriyananda, who heads the Vedanta Society of New York, is a prolific speaker and an expert on Hindu philosophy. He has made an insightful observation on how society perceives religious co-existence. The essence of his observation is that there are four ways in which people look at religion. The first is ‘exclusivity,’ that claims that ‘my religion is the best and the rest are non-believers; the only God is ‘my God.’ The second is ‘inclusivity,’ which suggests that ‘my religion is truer than all others and I am willing to include everyone else in it.’ The third is ‘pluralism,’ in which ‘all religions have different Gods and all have different paths to realise their Gods.’ The fourth is ‘cosmopolitanism,’ where ‘each accepts and revels in the other’s religion.’ This ‘cosmopolitanism’ is a great way of achieving religious harmony, provided our beliefs have not become dogmas.
When circumstances have the potential to result in impassioned discussion on religion, which very few comprehend, the Swamiji’s simplification may help in obtaining clarity and restoring sanity.
Felt nice reading your article on Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. The SC ruling was accepted by all stakeholders. The Ram Mamdir was built at a fast pace. I felt very happy that it has happened. I presume many Indians would have felt the same. Yes, it would give political mileage to the BJP. So be it. Politics and Religion are related. It is all fine till there is peace.
Very well articulated sir, as always! Though in my opinion, the Ram Mandir event should be seen more as one that will hopefully evoke pride in our civilisational roots, identity and culture. As also, bring focus on what we the people can learn and imbibe from Lord Rama’s tale.
Dear Admiral
You have handled a subject that can elicit varying opinions (depending on which side of the politico religious divide one is on) with candour and finesse.
My views…the Pran Pratishtan is a peaceful closure of the longstanding Ram Janmabhoomi issue. It imposes a greater responsibility on the majority community to ensure that past ghosts are not resurrected anymore. Let there be true Ram Rajya in the country.
The concluding part your piece says it all.
Admiral, you have maintained your signature tune of being bang on topics in a timely manner and steering a balanced approach. Hinduism is witnessing a resurgence as never before. Tolerance and a desire to keep religious aspects under inside the thresholds of one’s home has resulted in near wipe off. Tamilnadu in particular has seen the temples and temple lands being wiped off, converted into churches and cremation grounds. The minorities have had a free go and were on a high intoxicated by successive governments appeasing them in all dimensions. They are now completely confused and nonplussed. One is reminded of Admiral Yammamoto’s classic remark in the memorable film ‘Tora Tora Tora’. Modi has woken up a sleeping giant!
A very clear reference exists that both Pakistan and Bangladesh are Islamic states
This leads to CAA and subsequently NRC
While CAA has been passed by parliament, the MHA must still be grappling with the issue of implementing CAA or NRC
The issue is all the more critical in Assam ( Particularly Southern Assam ) and some NE states
Can we identify who is a refugee and who is an illegal emigrant?
And even if the Border Management Task Force reaches a ball park figure of say 15 million can we send them back to Bangladesh or where they came from
Points to ponder I thought …
What a wonderfully written article sir.. a cauldron of faith, belief, hope and politics – acceptance and being docile is not a weakness and possibly should not be seen as such also – resilience of Hinduism has repeatedly shown this…
But are times changing? Should they? Or will ‘cosmopolitanism’ endure…
Only time will tell.
Very nicely written article sir. As mentioned, Ram Mandir has become a watershed moment where one and all were chanting Ram .
Sir very well researched n nicely put across. My view is that the Inauguration of Ram Temple is a watershed moment in Indian history that has become a symbol of national consciousness. What it has done is to shape the transformation of the silent hindu majority into a proud hindu who no longer feels ashamed in being called so. It has shown the mirror to the pseudo secularist who thrived on minority apeasement. The only thing we need to guard against is put a lid on any sort of communal tension that may arise, stoked by a few disgruntled elements. As a proud hindu, it’s my firm belief that this magnificent Ram Mandir will be a shining beacon of our country’s national awakening and prosperity. 🙏
The article has succinctly encapsulated myriad aspects of this vexed issue of Ram Janmabhoomi. As a member of majority religion, we were brought up (almost 4 decades ago) with a caveat that loud display of our religious affiliations should be avoided while accepting the other religions with open arms. This was accepted by most majority as gospel truth however the intervening period till this ceremony saw the majority being sidelined at the altar of minority appeasement. The English (convent) education had subtly degraded the pride in majority’s faith – coupled with history which presented a biased view (now we get to see other opinions also).
Thanks for putting down your thoughts so well.
Thanks Sunil, I don’t know if it is entirely fair to assign blame to convent education. As a state, we did not examine their system and it was accepted in our education environment. On the other hand, convent education schools had religion in their syllabus, when non-Christian students studied Moral Science. I have studied in convent schools most of my growing-up years. The Christians did their own thing, we did ours. There was never animosity. The division was created by other means. We have to up our game, not necessarily blame others, at the same time maintaining a sense of balance where neither the majority nor the minorities go berserk. It is a tough job for any state, more so for a diverse, multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual society such as ours.
Great analysis of a vast topic in a short write up. Many interesting issues such as overt display of religion by the Hindu community and the essence of thought that drives different religions. It’s a huge , often contentious topic handled by your signature elan!
Thanks. If religion, whatever its description, is not a force for the ‘good’, it is nothing.
Nice article! ‘Conclusion’ is the key !
A very topical and nicely articulated piece sir.
My humble view sir.
It is a great civilisational moment.
Will do a lot to reinforce self belief and good values among the people.
Very relevant in these charged times ..The last paragraph brought out some old memories of school where we actually used to revel in other religious festivals , getting waffles on Christmas and biryani during Eid while we would distribute sweets during Vijaya Dashami, without a care about religious identities !!
As usual, very nicely articulated Sir
Well written as always. Pran Pratishtha at Ayodhya Ram temple was a momentous occasion for the country. I am optimistic that in the name of Ram no wrong will be done.