Round The World

New Delhi, 26 January 2024

Lord Ram Temple

THE GLOBAL RESPONSE

By Prof. (Dr.) D.K. Giri

(Secretary General, Assn for Democratic Socialism) 

The consecration of Lord Rama in the newly built temple in Ayodhya was done on 22 January with lot of pomp, grandeur and festivity. It was a day for national celebration. As the din settles down, the debate raging across the country is whether politics and religion should be mixed. In fact, such a debate is taking place in several countries across the world. Two questions, therefore, need to be addressed. One, is using religion in politics desirable? Second, how does international community react to religions? 

Mahatma Gandhi, who effectively used religion in his public activities, had famously said, “Those who believe religion and politics are not connected do not understand either”. Albert Einstein made a similar statement, “Those who believe that politics and religion do not mix, understand neither”.  It is true that, after the death of Karl Marks and decline of Marxism, religion along with other social identities has come back almost in a vengeance. On the positive side, religion is one of the potent sources for morality. Politics and morality are inseparable. Therefore, religion is used as a moral compass for people in public life, especially politics. 

In electoral politics, it is easier to mobilise people on religious slogans, metaphors and messages. Mahatma Gandhi used to call for establishment of Ram Rajya (governance on Lord Ram’s principles). Lord Ram is regarded as the maryada purushottam (greatest man of virtues). He lived his life on the basis of dharma (sense of duty). Many Indian politicians especially from BJP refer to raj dharma (duty in governance). On the other hand, religion creates emotionalism that drowns material issues facing the people. No wonder, Napoleon Bonaparte had commented, “Religion is excellent stuff for keeping common people quiet”. Politicians whip up religious emotions during elections to evade other substantial issues impacting people’s lives. 

Although religion can be a double-wedged political instrument, religion cannot be completely separated from politics. Indian Constitution includes secularism in its Preamble which does not prescribe a state religion, nor does it encourage state leadership to be actively participating in religious affairs. It was not practiced in letter and spirit by any government. And now, under the present ruling dispensation, the state is actively participating in religious activities. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the Chief Host was the cause celebre of this occasion. The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, the PM and the Chief of RSS were the three main figures in the consecration ceremony. 

In this column and elsewhere, I have written several times on substituting secularism with a more practical and operable concept encapsulating religious pluralism. This should happen sooner than later to remove any confusion in the country and beyond about the dichotomy between the precept of secularism and the practice. The second question to engage with is the international response to India’s new image after the mega event of 22 January. 

Many common Indians would not know the efforts made by Indian foreign policy apparatus to popularise the event across the world. Indian embassies went into an overdrive to spread awareness about the temple. The Indian embassies held live telecast of the ceremony in Ayodhya. The images of Lord Ram and the newly-built magnificent temple were displayed in major areas of the foreign cities, from Times Square in New York to Eiffel Tower in Paris. 

The highlight of the celebration in the United States was a spectacular car rally in New Jersey with 350 cars adorned with Lord Ram flags. The Government of Mauritius granted a two-hour special break for Hindu officials to actively participate in the festivities. In Paris, a grand rath yatra was taken out during the pran pratistha celebration in Ayodhya. In Canada, mayors of Oakville and Brampton in the state of Ontario have declared January 22 as Ayodhya Ram Mandir Day. They emphasised the cultural, religious and historical significance of the temple’s inauguration and encouraged the residents to celebrate the event. Global streaming of the consecration ceremony was made available to several countries in the world. In the USA alone, the streaming occurred about at about 300 locations. The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Mauritius did the broadcast live at 25, 30, 30 and 100 locations respectively. 

In Nepal, another Hindu-majority country pran pratistha celebration was observed enthusiastically. Several temples across Sri Lanka – Colombo, Sita Eliya, Jaffna and other places celebrated the occasion. A special pooja was held at Sita Amman temple at Sita Eliya (formerly Ashok Vatika) where Sita was believed to have been held captive by Ravana. In New Zealand, the Minister for Ethnic Communities Melissa Lee, David Seymour MP and Indian High Commissioner Neeta Bhushan attended an event in Auckland. A Lord Ram temple, first of its kind, was inaugurated in Queretaro City in Mexico. The ceremony was performed by an American priest with idols taken from India. A Japanese company has produced an animated film “Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama” in 1992. The children performed a Ramayana play around the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. 

Countries in South-East Asia have historically cultural links with Lord Ram. Even the East Asian country South Korea has the myth that Queen Huh Hwang-ok or Princess Suriratna was the princess of Ayodhya before she went to South Korea and married King Kim Suro of Karak Clan. Israel’s Counsel General in Mumbai visited the Ram Temple in Vadela in solidarity. At the same time, the Israel Embassy’s spokesperson Guy Nir posted a picture of himself watching the grand celebrations on television. 

The global celebration of the Ayodhya Ram temple inauguration underscores the universal appeal of Lord Ram’s life and his teachings. At home, people from other religions also accept Lord Ram as one of their ideals. However, the present government seems to project Ayodhya as the citadel of Hinduism akin to Mecca for Muslims and Vatican City for Christians. Ayodhya city is being developed accordingly with modern and sophisticated infrastructure like railway stations, airport, roads and hotels. These will attract international tourists, mainly Hindus, to the temple city of Ayodhya. World tourism would benefit the economy. India was known for Taj Mahal, henceforth it should also be a tourist attraction for the temple in Ayodhya. 

So far so good. What worries the observers is that the euphoria caused by the temple in Ayodhya at the birth place of Lord Ram where a mosque was super-imposed by the marauding army of Babar should not lead to the oppression of religious minorities. As the foreign policy maxim goes, a country’s image abroad is a reflection of what happens at home. Likewise, the strength of foreign policy of any country is a function of its assets within its boundaries. Social harmony is one of the major assets. 

It was disturbing to see the flag of Lord Ram put on the cross in a church as the consecration ceremony was going on. This act of vandalism was flashed on the social media. If it is true, are Hindus not doing the same as Babar did to the temple in Ayodhya? Mahatma Gandhi made another profound statement, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ”. We should not let Christians and others from abroad tell Indians, “We like your Lord Ram, but we do not like your Hindus”. ---INFA

(Copyright, India News & Feature Alliance)