One of the promises made by the BJP in 2014 was to build Sri Ram Temple in Ayodhya. 150 years after the first case to rebuild the Sri Ram Janma Bhoomi in Ayodhya was filed in a British court, it finally comes to fruition on the 5th of August, 2020. There have been obstacles, in many forms like lawsuits, protests, threats of suicide but it looks like the trust will finally begin the rebuilding of the temple. Hindus and Muslims, together, welcome the building of this temple in Ayodhya. If all is well, then why an article?
While the people of all communities rejoice, we do have the politicians from the opposition parties raising a hue and cry over this. Some have gone to the extent of filing a lawsuit, which was quashed, in the Allahabad High Court. In a country with an overwhelming Hindu population, the main obstacles being placed are from Hindus. Again, the reason being thrown around is “secularism”. For the umpteenth time, the word “Secularism” is being grossly abused by the people. India HAS NEVER BEEN SECULAR!!!NEVER!!! Even after 1976, when the word Secular was added to the constitution, India was never secular. If India were truly secular, reservation and minority appeasement would NEVER have happened but they did! What should have been used was the pluralistic fabric of the country, but India has ALWAYS been pluralistic! Hindus have always been accepting of other religions and communities. It is the other religions that have had issues with Hinduism. The fact that the Muslims have become more accepting of Sri Ram doesn’t nullify the fact that they had filed multiple cases against the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The irony is not lost on the average Hindu. However, we are happy to see the acceptance coming from the Muslims.
Whether it’s Kapil Sibal from the Congress or the MP from Hyderabad, objections have been coming in from all corners. Initially, it was towards the Ground Breaking Ceremony which quickly gave way to the Prime Minister’s proposed visit to pay his respects to Sri Ram and witnessing the groundbreaking ceremony! In an interview, the MP from Hyderabad tried to pass the argument that the government doesn’t have any religion nor any leaning towards any religion. If that were the case, how did it come to be that in a “Secular” government, the Hindus were pushed into the background while ALL policies from the Manmohan Singh governments, of which the MP was a part of, were Pro-Minority? Did the MP from Hyderabad object to this? NO!! So, to now sit and pontificate on what the Prime Minister does, or doesn’t do, is sheer eyewash!!! His other claim, that the PM represents all communities within the country and not just the Hindus, did not impress me nor others! If that were the case, Mr. Owaissi, you represent the various communities within Hyderabad! How is it that you speak for the Muslims but not for the Hindus? You represent Hindus in Hyderabad, too!!
Kapil Sibal, per reports, has threatened to commit suicide if the plans to rebuild the temple materialized. Coming from a lawyer, a senior lawyer to boot, this threat is immature and shows a desperate attempt to stop the unstoppable! One of his junior colleagues, I apologize for not knowing this guy’s name, attempted a PIL (public interest litigation but should actually be personal interest litigation), claiming that this Ground Breaking should NOT be happening during the Corona Virus Lockdown. I would have been completely supporting this guy had he included Bakhr-Id in this PIL; unfortunately, as always, he chickened out and kept the PIL restricted to the Janma Bhoomi; The PIL was quashed which didn’t go well with the Indian National Congress (INC) and the other opposition parties. In a local talk show that I was invited to participate in, I was surprised to see supporters of the INC asking supporters of the ruling party how they came about being the guardians of Hinduism! One of them even asked me if I would have been a supporter of the INC if they were for the ground-breaking, or was I just being political? To be honest, I would probably have not been with them and here’s why!
The INC has NEVER been pro-Hindu (I don’t mean they should be Anti-Minorities). The expectation was that they would be even-keeled about all communities. When that was never the case, I would be skeptical when the INC, all of a sudden, were to be pro-Hindu. When I replied to that question with this answer, I was boo’ed and called a communal person. I was amused at being called communal and smiled to myself; at least I thought I did till I was told not to smile. Regardless of what I am perceived as, the fact remains that most Hindus would be skeptical of the INC, given it’s track-record. I know the previous president tried to woo Hindus with the Janeu over his shirt, declaring his Gotra (Bharadwaj Gotra) to the country. How did he get a Gotra when his paternal grand father was NOT a Hindu? After all, Hinduism is patriarchal!
The circus has just begun and the clowns have come out in their original costumes. Hang in there as this is going to get more and more interesting (intriguing?) once the groundbreaking has been completed and people will see their local representatives in their true colors.
उत्तिष्ठ भारत। जय माँ भारती
God Bless the USA.