Political Diary
New
Delhi, 8 January 2018
Ayodhya
Again
BJP’s
NIRVANA 2019?
By
Poonam I Kaushish
Politicians are an unholy lot! They take a
“holier than thou attitude” on anything and everything be it religion or riots,
scums or scams. All bhaktas of power
and fanatics when it comes to protecting their power bases. Nothing stands
testimony to this better than the “jihad”
unleashed over Ayodhya by the Sangh Parivar.
It started last October when the UP Government
requested the Supreme Court to hear urgently 16 appeals challenging the 2010
Allahabad High Court verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid 2.77 acres land
dispute title case (divided equally between Ram Lulla, Sunni Waqf Board and
Nirmohi Akhara) which deferred it to 4 January.
An upset Hindutva Brigade went to town demanding
the Government pass an ordinance, which was turned down by Prime Minister Modi
who ruled it out asserting, “Any decision could only be taken after the
completion of the judicial process”. But the Court played party popper again for
the Sangh Parivar when in 30-seconds it differed the case to 10 January to fix
the next hearing schedule.
The timing of
the rising clamour for a temple at Ayodhya raises questions: What is the
urgency? Why is Ayodhya important for the BJP in its
electoral fight? Why do Sangh Parivar’s cahoots raise the ante come election
time? Primarily because since 1989 the Sangh story has been the same, to make the
Ayodhya agitation a recurring theme and make political capital out of it to
suit their electoral ends.
From the shilanyas
in 1989 the Sangh Parivar has used Ayodhya as a rallying point. While the VHP
and the Bajrang Dal equated it with nationalism and described it as the core of
Indian consciousness, Advani’s Rath Yatra took the monument out of its
religious context and gave it a potent political thrust for installing Hindu
nationalism as India’s dominant political credo. Followed by the kar seva and the demolition of the Babri
Masjid in 1992.
Plainly, the Saffron Sangh promises to start
temple construction just a few months before any election is due. It did this
in the 1991 elections wherein its Hindutva card catapulted the BJP from two MPs
in 1984 to 91 Parliament members with the Party’s graph steadily going up with
every consecutive election, both at the Centre and the States.
In the 1996 UP Assembly elections it emerged
as the single largest party. During the 1999 Lok Sabha poll, it reiterated its
promise to start temple construction by 2000. Ditto in 2004 and 2009, today it
has 273 MPs in the Lok Sabha and lords over UP.
But like the proverbial story of the boy who
cried wolf, the issue is beginning to lose its potency as upper caste Hindus
are getting disillusioned and many are even thinking of going back to the
Congress while a new generation considers it a non-issue and instead
plums for jobs, better economic standard and quality of life. Alongside with the Supreme Court ordering maintenance
of status quo at the disputed site, the Sangh Parivar is slowly realizing the
issue could become one of diminishing returns. Yet, the core doesn’t want to
let go.
The Ayodhya issue’s return to public
discourse with a roar in recent weeks is paradoxical given that the BJP won the
2014 election on the promise of providing achhe
din, employment, corruption free governance and a New India.
However, post the recent reverses in three
heartland States along-with the aam
aadmi’s growing disenchantment the BJP’s desperation is understandable and makes
it imperative for it to sell another dream and come up with vote-catching an
out-of-the-box formula for the forthcoming general elections. As a victory
probable a year back, today seems uncertain. And what better than to fall back
on its tried and tested ‘temple at Ayodhya’ card where its expertise lies which
it hopes will consolidate Hindu votes to propel it to
India’s Raj gaddi again.
Any wonder the RSS has been at the forefront
with Chief Mohan Bhagwat stating, “Only a Ram temple will be constructed in
Ayodhya.” Added the VHP for good measure, “Hindus cannot wait ‘till eternity’
for the Court's decision.” A sure giveaway that the Saffron brigade finds
itself caught between a rock and hard place if it has to choose between the
Government and furthering its
movement.
While the currently dominant pro-Modi group
merely wants to go about business-as-usual and only create a mahaul (atmosphere) for constructing a
temple, the hardcore elements are disillusioned by this dragging of feet as many
in the Parivar believe the Sangh cannot afford to allow any weakening of the
movement.
Consequently, raising the pitch on Ayodhya
has to be seen in this backdrop. If it comes to choosing between the Government
and strengthening its organization, perhaps the RSS will always opt for the
latter, notwithstanding it has benefited
from the Centre’s decisions and policies.
For the BJP, Ayodhya is a symbol of its do-or-die
battle for retaining power at the Centre as 80 Lok Sabha seats are from UP and it
hopes Bhagwan Ram will oblige. For a defeat at the hustings could end its dream
of ruling India, making it Congress mukt
and sound the death knell of its political survival. Remember, its catapultion
as the single largest Party has primarily been by playing the Hindutva card and
pandering to the majority Hindu vote bank.
What next? Time seems to be running out for
the Modi Government as the Saffron Sangh hollers for the temple at Ayodhya begin to
take shape. Therefore, the Hindutva Brigade seems to have fallen back on the
time-tested formula and timed its temple movement cleverly to make the mandir a core issue around which
sentiments can be polarised yet again.
The RSS and the VHP have planned dharam
sansad in every Lok Sabha constituency and the VHP is preparing for a
nationwide door-to-door campaign to gather support for the early construction
of a Ram temple at Ayodhya. Given the issue has always been central to their faith-based politics of majoritarianism.
Bringing Ayodhya rhetoric back on
centre-stage might help salvage some morsels of credibility among cadres and
traditional voters in the build up to the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections. But
will Modi’s NDA Government rise to take the Sangh’s bait? Already a BJP Rajya
Sabha MP has spoken of his intent to introduce a Private Member’s Bill to build
the temple because “Ram temple is a top priority of Hindu society”.
In sum, with the mosque removed from the
disputed site, what remains is a few acres of vacant land mired in legal
dispute. Is
the Modi Government ready to take a gamble on Ayodhya despite opposition from
some of the BJP allies and friends? The Party is caught in a bind. Will
faith exact its revenge? For now, it is
giving the BJP a taste of its own complexities. Real politik is indeed
full of ironies. It remains to be seen whether Ayodhya will be NaMo and the
Sangh’s nemesis or will they attain
political nirvana in the upcoming
poll. ---- INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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