It was a hectic day for me on January 22 as I appeared in many television panels and also was a speaker in some events in Mumbai to celebrate the pran pratishtha of Ram lalla in Ayodhya. While one can always debate about the nuances of this dispute and the rights and wrongs of it, there can be no debate about the energy unleashed by this event across India.
In the week preceding and succeeding the event, I travelled to various parts of the country and the euphoria at the ground level is palpable everywhere. Only a fool can discount this event as a mere religious fanaticism or propaganda-induced euphoria. Some of my fellow panellists in the television debate, sometimes goaded by the anchors themselves, were expressing a kind of triumphalism that was disturbing.
We should be thankful that this long-standing dispute culminated peacefully and the rule of law prevailed. There are different ways of looking at this event. One way is to see it as the culmination of a medieval war and revenge for the atrocities committed by the Islamic invaders of those times.
The shrillness exhibited by a section of the Hindu society is a chill reminder that there are at least some who are relishing the prospect of a civil war and use this as a springboard for furthering a ‘Hindu Rashtra’ of their own definition. Another way of looking at this, like how the most fanatic among the so-called secular brigade does, is to see this as an attack on minorities and the end of secularism in India.
They are frustrated that the majority of Muslims are not reacting the way they had predicted and seem desperate that the civil war they have been warning about from the day they were electorally defeated has not yet come true. The Supreme Court judgement, which the losing side has accepted gracefully, means nothing for this tribe. I am no one to predict the future, but the way the Muslim community has responded so far to such grave provocations from the fringe groups among Hindus and the secular fanatics who are prodding them has been commendable.
A third way of looking at this event, which the Prime Minister said in his speech after the pran pratishtha, is perhaps the most mature way of looking at things. He said that it is rare for such a dispute to reach its logical conclusion through a legal process in any country. Both parties had fought a legal battle rather than a street battle and the Supreme Court had come to a judgement after considering all the aspects of this case.
Neither parties had tried to take the law in their hands to build the temple or to stop it from being built. And the losing side had accepted the verdict gracefully, without taking it to the streets. The Hindu side, which won the legal battle and has built the temple, should take the initiative to ensure that the wounds caused by the illegal destruction of the disputed structure is healed by the speedy completion of the masjid in the court-directed site in Ayodhya.
Religion is a potent weapon. It can be used both destructively and constructively. The euphoria generated by the Ram Mandir construction should be guided properly for nation-building. Most of the Hindu pilgrimage sites are now in pathetic conditions. The temple towns across India suffer from crumbling infrastructure and crass commercialism. Our holy rivers are perhaps the most polluted water bodies in the world. The neglect of many historically important structures, most of them works of unparalleled art, is heartbreaking.
Some claim the building of Ram Temple marks the ‘Hindu Renaissance’. Waving a few saffron flags and shouting slogans through blaring loudspeakers and plenty of cacophonies cannot be termed as ‘renaissance’. Any renaissance period has been marked with a flowering of art, music, literature, aesthetically pleasing architecture, majestic cities, leap in science and technology, and so on. It will have to elevate every aspect of human lives and contribute to the overall welfare of humanity.
There are countless temples and temple towns in India. In a country of 150 crore people, domestic pilgrimage tourism itself can boost the economy and give livelihood to millions. For that, these towns will have to once again become the epicentre of art, culture, handicrafts, pilgrimage and knowledge. If the new temple of Ayodhya is the beginning of such a renaissance, then every Indian, irrespective of their political, religious or linguistic affiliation should welcome this wholeheartedly. If the temple is just a symbol of triumphalism and a vote-gathering tool, then we are all doomed. This is a leaping board for the nation. It can either soar to greater heights or jump into the ditch of the communal cesspool and drown. The choice is ours.
Anand Neelakantan
Author of Asura, Ajaya series, Vanara and Bahubali trilogy
mail@asura.co.in