On 5th August various
Hindutva organizations under RSS celebrated the ground –breaking
ceremony
(Bhoomi Poojan) of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya on 5th August.
Prime Minster Narendra Modi himself was present to lay the foundation stone of the
temple.
Hindutva forces consider it liberation
from mental and cultural slavery. A senior RSS functionary Dattatreya Hosabale
said, “Ram Janmabhoomi movement was not just about religion but about Indian
identity and nationalismâ€. Another prominent journalist Virendra Parekh wrote
about the event as, “Founding of Hindu Rashtraâ€
Ever since Supreme Court paved the way
for the construction of Ram temple, devotees were sending gold and silver
including ornaments and bricks to be used for construction. They feel that
their dream of 500 years was getting fulfilled.
Intellectuals and activists
irrespective of their faith criticize temple construction while the whole
country is suffering from pandemic Covid which has infected around 2 million
people and over 52,000 killed as 4th August. The deadly
virus is spreading rapidly. Millions of people in India, living Rams, are
suffering from starvation, unemployment and dying of Covid 19 and other
diseases. When the priestly class and common people are drugged with
religion they don’t understand reason.
The Ram temple is built with the blood
of thousands of men and women who were killed in different communal riots over
the years. Though politicians and Hindutva groups would hail the construction
of Ram temple as a symbol of cultural nationalism, it will remain a symbol of
violent nationalism nurtured by revenge and hatred. This is contrary
to all values for which India was known for centuries. Yet
politicians of all parties are hailing the construction of Ram Mandir as symbol
of unity.
Hindutva groups are
doing now, what was done by Christians and Muslims in the past. The
command of Christ to spread His Gospel of love was misunderstood and misused by
the powerful ‘Christian’ countries of Europe and made it a conquest for
political expansion and economic exploitation. Church made it an opportunity to
expand Christendom, imperial institutional Church under the patronage of
colonial rulers. In their zeal for expansion of the Church they destroyed local
cultures, religions and their temples. Muslims also followed the same method of
Christians and started aggressive ways of expanding their religion. They
too used violence to suppress the Hindu population who were not only
tolerant but receptive to all diversity which was the heritage of
India. It was the pluralistic heritage of India that welcomed people
of all cultures and religions with honour.
The Hindutva leaders and their groups
today are following the same aggressive methods which Christian and Muslim
invaders and missionaries used in the past. By abandoning the original Hindu
ways of pluralism and universality they have adopted aggressive
nationalism and misinterpret universal family spirit of
Hinduism. They have adopted the destructive culture of violence
and exclusive nationalism to establish Hindu Rashtra which is not Ram
Rajya of Lord Ram. As Jesus was misused for political purpose Christian
rulers, Lord Ram is also being misused by Hindutva forces which go
against the ethos of Hinduism and the soul of India.
(Published
on 10th August 2020, Volume XXXII, Issue 33)
