Open Forum
New Delhi, 5 August
2020
Ram Temple Edifice
DEEP POLITICAL UNDERCURRENT
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
The temple town of
Ayodhya is all decked up. The Prime Minister performing the bhoomi pujan ceremony for construction
of the Ram temple today gives political overtones to the ‘religious’ ceremony.
The Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra trust has issued 175 invites, but there
will be more people to partake the celebrations in the midst of the pandemic.
Such fanfare when 3 lakh cases have been recorder in just 12 days raises many
an eyebrow. Moreover, in a country like India, committed to secular principles,
any show of majoritarianism in respect of religion and through actions is
definitely not welcome.
The understanding of ‘Hinduism’
of our present political leaders, who use the term ‘Hindutva’ is quite different
from the interpretations of religious scholars, mostly wedded to Swami
Vivekananda’s line of thinking. As is well known and has been repeated often,
Swamiji talked of religious unity and in line with the thinking of his guru, Ramakrishna,
who observed that there are various ways to reach the divine, who is one and
the same.
These religious
thinkers and also their followers, like Swami Rangathananda, wanted religion to
unite people and motivate them to engage in social and communitarian work for
the welfare of the oppressed and deprived sections of society. The present Secretary
of Ramakrishna Math and Mission at Bhubaneswar had told the undersigned that
working for the community and helping the poor, in whatever way possible, is
also an important religious activity. But is seems the current genre of
politicians want to use religion, not something to be followed in letter and
spirit, to divide the population for political ends to remain in power.
A journalist-turned-BJP
parliamentarian wrote sometime around 2017-end that the government is “proud to
flaunt Hindu inheritance”. While there are several interpretations of Hinduism,
the article did not elaborate which aspect of it his party is proud of, but
justify its pro-Hindutva stand. Obviously, his party is not in consonance with
those who affirm that Hinduism is not a religion, in the narrow sense of the
term, but a way of life.
The present trend to
raise a false sense of nationalism based on Hindu religion would not take the
country forward. Being a nation, where education levels and quality standards
are low, people do not completely understand or foresee the government’s actions,
such as the foundation-laying ceremony, as a means to divert the attention of
the masses from pressing social, economic and health issues affecting the nation
today.
The devastation
caused by COVID-19 to the national economy, triggering massive job losses and
affecting vital sectors, has been so deep and profound that experts cannot
predict when normalcy would return. Aware of the present critical scenario, the
government prefers to play with people’s sentiments by injecting a false sense
of nationalism based on religious lines. Honestly, these are extraneous to the
grim reality today, with unemployment and hunger staring lakhs in the face.
It is wrong to
believe that ethics, morality or adherence to religious principles is the
motive behind the construction of the massive Ram temple. Rather, it’s all just
a show of how deeply the party in power is committed to religious principles. However,
this too is not the case in reality as gradually over a period of time the politicians’
principles and integrity stand to be questioned. This is demonstrated by the alleged
‘horse trading’ we are witnessing in the power games recently played out in States
like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and now Rajasthan, not to speak of Goa and some States
in the North East.
According to reports,
the going price for a State legislator in Rajasthan to switch parties is
alleged to range between Rs 15 and Rs 25 crore, a staggering sum if compared
with the country’s annual per capita income of $2100. ‘Judgment and conscience’,
are forgotten or totally lost. A voter, who opted for his local representative
and a set of ideas, is not surprised anymore to see his MLA switch to another party,
which stands for opposite principles!
Another aspect during
these difficult times which begs attention is the huge expenditure to be
incurred for the construction of the temple, which will have five domes and a height
of 161 feet. So far it remains in wraps. It’s quite obvious small donations of
a few hundreds of rupees as projected by devotees would not be sufficient. Already
the silver brick (weighing 22.6 kg) to be used for laying the foundation of the
temple has cost over Rs 14 lakh at current market prices. Come to think of it,
the resources could have instead been gainfully used for much-needed social
development work, specially related to the pandemic and reaching out to the
downtrodden.
However, this is not what
the ruling establishment has on its mind at present. A section of political
scientists point out, and quite rightly, that the timing of the bhoomi pujan coincides with the ensuing Bihar
Assembly elections, which are to be followed by those in West Bengal and Tamil
Nadu. It is also projected that a part of the temple would be ready by 2022-end,
a few months before the next Lok Sabha elections in 2023. Does this all not suggest
that the timing of the temple construction is to whip up passions by showcasing
the government’s adherence to Hindu religion and its ultimate agenda of a ‘Hindu
Rashtra’?
One can easily
discern the poor judgment power of our politicians in deciding priorities
before them and more so at such a critical phase in human history. No other
country in the world would have ventured to take such an irrational decision of
constructing a temple complex when the country is faced with acute financial
crisis and also when most States are clamouring for funds from the Centre to
meet the huge health expenditure due to the increasing nature of the pandemic.
Religion used
constructively has definitely a role in society -- that of unifying the masses
and extending them a helping hand -- but it should not be used for political
gains, particularly when the Constitution’s Preamble clearly speaks of a secular
State. It is no secret that civil society activists are pretty much unanimous
in their opinion of the present government i.e. it’s bent on destroying the
secular and democratic fabric of the nation. The politicisation of the
foundation laying ceremony of the Ram temple is one such step, among others. ---INFA
(Copyright, India
News & Feature Alliance)
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