Bharat Varsh has been invaded in-numerous times starting from Greeks to British. No one was able to subjugate Bharat until the Islamic invasion mainly by Mughals and then the British. The thousand years of occupation from Mughals and British not only changed the demography of the Hindusthan(Hindu Land) but also influenced their mind. Also, the invaders made sure to rewrite various parts of history sometimes glorifying their own and sometimes vilifying the indigenous culture.
During the eight hundred years of Islamic rule, thousands of Hindu temples were looted and destroyed. Many were razed to the ground while many converted to mosques just by changing the structure on the top. This destruction of temples created a rippling effect on Hindu cultural identity as temples were the hub of cultural, financial, and educational activities.
Lord Rama is one of the most widely worshipped and followed bhagawans(gods) of Hindus in India. The influence of Ramayana has reached far and wide from Srilanka to Indonesia to Thailand to Japan and Korea. There are a number of references in Hindu texts which clearly state that Lord Rama was born in Ayodhya and there has been a temple dedicated to the god from time immemorial. However, the invaders, following their template of destroying idol-worshipping places and building their own in its place, also destroyed the Sri Ram temple in Ayodhya. A mosque named after the cruel invader Babur, known today as Babri Masjid was built in its place, forcibly.
Hindus waged a sustained battle to restore the Ram Temple for five centuries in the very location where it existed before it was destroyed by Mughals. We saw a mass movement like the Ramjanmabhoomi movement in 1992 where people across the country joined and stormed to Ayodhya leading to the demolish of Babri Mosque. This movement sustained in different phases for 30 years before it reached the final stages in the courts of law. It was a first in Hindu society that the society rose as one irrespective of caste or creed, whether poor or rich, from north to south and from west to east – to get back the land where the original temple existed. And, finally emerged victorious.
The colonial historians and their cronies had created a narrative that Hindu society had nothing to offer, that Bharat was a naturally established land populated by orthodox, casteist, ignorant lethargic people who knew nothing beyond caste and superstition. They had no history to call their own and they had no knowledge to call their own. The entire idea was to strip Indians and Hindus of their self-respect, their pride and their knowledge systems.
This is the reason they always targeted Hindu temples, festivals, rituals to portray them in a negative way so that Hindus feel insecure about their own culture and traditions. Painting Hindus as orthodox, regressive, casteist and superstitious so that they can claim themselves as superior and sell us their religion. Finally, Hindus seem to have woken up and are now standing up to preserve their tradition, ethos and culture.
Destruction of Babri Masjid was the destruction of Slavery, fighting for Ram temple is a fight against the bogus, corrupted history which was served to us by European and communist historians. Winning the case democratically is a win against mental slavery and mental colonization and the Silanyas for the temple is the dawn of a new era.
Ram Mandir is not the last, this is just the beginning. As Ram Janmabhoomi is freed from the occupation now its time to move ahead and free Krishna Janmasthan in Mathura and Kashi Vishwanath of Banaras. Indian civilization is the most scientific, progressive and full of rich cultural heritage. Today’s Hindus must thank their ancestors and feel proud of it rather than feeling ashamed and putting themselves in a defensive position. They need to read and understand their scriptures rather than merely reciting.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are the Author’s own.
