Ram Temple Consecration By Modi Will Benefit Hindutva, Not Hinduism

The January 22 event, that of the supposed ‘consecration’ of Ram Temple, will not only have a major impact on the identity of Bharat or India, it will also vertically divide the Hindu community and Hinduism. The worst sufferer of this temple sanctification will be the Sanatan Hindu Dharma.

Mughal invasions and even incursions of the Britishers failed to impair Hinduism and did not manage to obliterate the Hindu society. But this single event has posed a serious existential threat to Hindus and Hinduism. What is quite shocking is the Sanatan Dharma is facing threat from RSS, which claims to uphold those very traditions of Sanatan Dharma and champions the political line of supremacy of religion over politics. RSS is using Prime Minister Narendra Modi to accomplish its mission to subvert and smash the ethos of a polyphonic Hinduism, turning it into a quasi-monotheistic, North Indianised Ram-worshipping faith that’s alien to most Hindus, practicing or otherwise. Modi would certainly to be remembered as the leader who changed the destiny of India, irrespective of the fact whether it was good or bad. His authoritative stance and public disrespecting of his seniors are the signs of this psyche.

The manner in which Modi has been roaming around in South India and prostrating before every deity and god symbolises his shakiness as well pretention of his being a devout Hindu. He wants to be reminisced as the longest serving premier, which is why he is desperately trying to use the event of inauguration to titillate the Hindu sensitivity to refurbish his sagging image for winning the election. To achieve his objective, that of a coveted third term at the Centre, he would certainly not deter from wrecking the Hindu religion and split the Hindu society.

In his quest to brand himself as the creator of New India, he has not cared to undo two major wrongs: firstly, not to postpone the consecration till the temple construction is complete; and second, not to install the original statue of Ram, the Ram Lalla Virajman. For years, the RSS has been claiming that the Babri Masjid of Ayodhya, stood on the very spot where Ram was born. In December 1949, with the connivance of local officials, Hindutva groups smuggled in an effigy of Ram to bolster the claim. In December 1992, the RSS and BJP cadres razed the mosque, the idol was put under a tent. Incidentally on December 20 last year, Modi while describing Ayodhya’s infrastructural development as ‘Pragrati Ka Utsav’, had said there was a time when Lord Ram was ‘virajman’ under a tent shade and now, not only Ram Lalla, but also 4 crore needy people have got a permanent pucca house.

He had said: “Be it any country in the world, if a country wants to touch developmental heights, it is very important for it to preserve its heritage. And our heritage inspires us, shows us right path and it is for the same reason today’s India is a blend of old and new India and is moving along”. Even during the time deadly coronavirus was at its peak, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath attended a ceremony to shift the Ram Lalla from the makeshift tent temple to a temporary pre-fabricated temple on the Ram Janmabhoomi premises on the first day of the nine-day Chaitra Navratri festival which also marks the Sanatan Nav Varsh (new year).

Surprisingly, instead of installing the old statue of Ram Lalla, a new statue has been built and on January 22 the new one will be consecrated. Of course, everything should be NEW in NEW INDIA. Obviously, the old Sanatan Dharam and its tenets and preachings should be replaced by NEW tenets and preachings. His exuberance to project himself as the creator of New India and the supreme Hindu leader has been so acute that he is not at all willing to listen to the advice of the most revered Hindu Dharma Gurus, the Shankaracharyas.

What is most shocking is the four tallest saint of Sanatan Hindu Dharma are being insulted and trolled by the BJP cadres and leaders. This has been going on for a week. But ironically, so far no RSS leader, not even its chief Mohan Bhagwat, forget the BJP leaders, who claim to be stern believers of Sanatan Dharma and Manu Smriti, have dared to pullup these leaders or silence them. What does it imply? Their passive silence obviously intends to send the message across the Hindu society that these Shankaracharyas are worthless guys and have no place in Hindu religion. Only a week back, a Lucknow-based senior journalist wrote a piece on a social site that one of the Shankarachryas was Congress party member and had also contested student union elections as a Congress candidate.

It is not that they have been resorting to these nefarious activities only to demean the Shankaracharyas. A deeper look will make it clear that it is a part of the nasty conspiracy to alter the character of India and Hindu religion.

Modi acting as jajmanand performing the consecration and not installing the old idol of Ram is a part of this design. It is a known fact that the RSS cannot think of building its Hindu Rashtra on the foundation of old Sanatan Dharma, which has been the foundation of Hinduism. A look at the political trajectory of Modi will underline that from his days of being inconsequential local BJP leader in his native Gujarat to becoming the prime minister, Modi has always exploited and ruthlessly used Hindu religion and Ayodhya for his ascent. He had realised that his mentor L K Advani leading the campaign for demolition of Babri Masjid was the only way to become a favourite of the Hindu masses. It is worth recalling that his political guru Advani had already started decrying secular leaders and forces as “sickular”. Modi picked up the thread from him and for emerging as the genuine Hindu leader started treating Muslims as second-class citizens.

Why the RSS and BJP desire to replace the old Sanatan Hindu Dharma tenets with their concept of new Hindu Dharma has a political dimension. Modi came to power on a dangerous lie. The RSS had floated the theory that secular forces, especially the Congress have been rendering India unsafe and that Hinduism was under threat. Indians, especially the middle class, never sought to question them. Hindus survived Mughal Raj and British Raj. How they were feeling threatened in Independent India? Incidentally, it has been historically proved that upper caste Hindu Rajas and Maharajas had surrendered before Mughals and Britishers.

RSS and Modi have been trying to radicalise the Muslims in order to fulfill their mission. Polarising Hindus would lead to Muslims being alienated. RSS chief Bhagwat must realise that he has been doing the greatest disservice to the country and its people. Indians or Bharatiyas will lose their national identity if the religion-based hatred continues to intensify and spread across India. For Modi, inauguration of Ram Temple may represent more than just the honouring of a decades-long Hindu nationalist pledge but it will ultimately finish the cultural and social ethos of the Hindu society.

One aspect of Modi’s move that needs serious attention is he is combining Hindu nationalism with social welfare. Apparently, it is part of the electoral strategy, but in true sense it is a mechanism to goad Muslims. They claim that Aurangzeb had ordered demolition of the Vishwanath temple in 1669, but they maintain silence on Akbar building the Vishwanath temple and Modi destroying 146 Shivlings in Varanasi to make way for new construction.

Indeed Modi has an imaginative mind. At a rally in Solapur, held a couple of days back, Modi drew parallels between the inauguration of houses for the poor and the imminent establishment of a permanent abode for Lord Ram. He said: “Sri Ram Jyoti will serve as an inspiration to eradicate poverty from your lives”. Ram Lalla who cares for the entire humanity will be finally provided with a “residence” by Modi on January 22. “On January 22, the long-awaited historic moment arrives as Lord Ram takes his seat in the grand temple, putting an end to decades of darshan in a humble tent”, he said. This is the highest order of travesty. It simply underscores arrogance of Modi and nothing else. (IPA Service)