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Across the rural swathes in north India and its urban centres it is common to hear Hindus saying ‘Ram-Ram’ to one another, as a form of daily greeting. Quite often it fetches ‘Sita-Ram’, meaning Sita’s Ram, as reply. Till almost three decades ago, whenever Lord Rama, the king, had to be celebrated, either on Dussehra, Ram Navami or other religious functions, the words ‘Jai Siya Ram’ would reverberate through the assemblage and get carried away beyond it.
Egalitarian words that the three were, they meant ‘victory to Sita’s Ram’ and emphasised that for several centuries that the maxim was used, people practiced gender equality without any jargon – that in folk culture, Rama drew his complete identity as a suffix to Sita, his wife. Not the other way around.
Also Watch: Ramayana Museum: Mahesh Sharma Reaches Ayodhya to Survey the Site
Jai Shri Ram Battle Cry
This began changing when, with the advent of the Ram Janmabhhomi agitation, spearheaded initially by the VHP and later by the entire Sangh Parivar, this gentle affirmation got converted from a folk idiom into a Sanskritic battle cry. In the process, Sita lost her place in the maxim. From the 1980s, Jai Shri Ram became the battle cry of Hindutva zealots who were nowhere near being maryada purushottam or the ‘one who follows rules ideally’.
Violating laws, resorting to violence and using the ‘liberation’ of Ram Janmabhoomi for political purposes became hallmarks of the Ayodhya agitation because, as L K Advani elaborated in the course of the agitation, the real objective was not to build a temple, but to use it to propagate the idea of cultural nationalism.
BJP’s Latest Twist
Over the past three decades, Indians have witnessed numerous occasions when the now non-inclusive three words rent the air as the Hindutva vanguard used them with an intonation and voice modulation that made no pretence to hide the objective. So when it was announced that on Dussehra Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not be present at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, which he joins traditionally along with a galaxy of leaders cutting across parties and had instead decided to be in Lucknow, there was no escaping the sense that a new twist was on the anvil in the three decade-old conflict over the once-decrepit, now-demolished 16th century shrine at Ayodhya.
That the Ram Mandir issue was being resurrected by the BJP became certain when Modi began his speech by shouting Jai Shri Ram, Jai-Jai Shri Ram. It thus came as no surprise when the Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma declared that the Centre would build a museum at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
On Tuesday, he visited the temple-town and declared that he was glad that he “got a chance to build something in Ayodhya and this is my good fortune. Not everyone gets a chance to serve Lord Ram.”
Politics in Tourism’s Name
Sharma isn’t the only one who wishes to serve Lord Ram. Last Monday, a day after India’s cultural czar made his Ayodhya designs public, the UP government commandeered by Akhilesh Yadav too made another proposal for the temple-town but for the same purpose: promote tourism. The state cabinet cleared a project to develop a Ramlila Theme Park in Ayodhya to suggest that the lure of temple-politics does not draw only the BJP.
The fact that barely a month and a half ago, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi visited the town suggests that not much has changed since 1989 when Rajiv Gandhi launched his election campaign, barely weeks prior to the controversial shilanyas ceremony at the disputed site. The father had launched his electoral campaign which saw his ouster from politics and the son too flirted with soft-Hindutva, and this stopover has not given a boost to the Congress’ prospects.
Despite its failure at securing electoral benefits by compromising with communal forces, both Samajwadi Party and Congress are yet to learn their lessons. Whatever one may have against her, barring Mayawati, not a single political leader has said “no” to using the Ram temple issue for political gains.
Banking on Ultra-Nationalism
That the BJP has made its move on the issue is evident from the fact that funds for the Ramayana Museum were released four months ago and almost a year after the announcement of the plan. The fact that the party waited for the assembly polls to come close, points to a well-worked strategy to try milking the issue once more. This suggests that BJP leadership is yet unsure whether any of its tactics are working in the state or not.
The party knows that with nothing substantial to show by way of achievement of the central government, Modi’s magic will prevail only in the event of the campaign being conducted on a mix of social polarisation, ultra-nationalistic jingoism backed by a dash of development. The BJP’s problems also stem from the fact that there is little or no anti-incumbency against the government of Akhilesh Yadav per se. The poor image that the SP has is due to family squabbles and the way in which the party is managed.
Charges of corruption may exist against the hydra-headed Yaduvansh, but the chief minister is personally untouched by it. That despite this he too jumped on the Ayodhya bandwagon suggests that Akhilesh’s confidence is not high. This is understandable given recent developments within the SP and lack of clarity on the extent to which he will be able to choose candidates.
Katiyar’s ‘Lollipop’
While Ayodhya is back on centre-stage, there is a certain amount of cynicism. BJP MP and one-time firebrand leader Vinay Katiyar has said that the museum plan is nothing but a “lollipop”. The hardliners in the Hindutva camp would settle for nothing but beginning the construction of a Ram temple to replace the makeshift structure that was allowed to come up by the P V Narasimha Rao government after the Babri Masjid was demolished. That, however, is not feasible as the Supreme Court is still hearing the case and does not appear to be in any seeming hurry.
The RSS leadership has also said repeatedly that while it believes that a grand temple must be built at the site, it should be either by consensus or by legal settlement. This indicates that the RSS is not keen for another phase of agitations and public mobilisation on the issue.
Also Watch: Rahul Gandhi’s Ayodhya Visit an Attempt to Woo Brahmin Voters?
People Have Lost Interest
Over the past two and a half decades since the disputed shrine was demolished, political parties have resurrected the temple issue in every election. Yet, the issue has never resurfaced as a major factor in polls. As far as people are concerned, it appears that the Ayodhya movement has lost its relevance and other concerns dominate their electoral choice.
They too support the demand for constructing a temple but are at ease with the existing structure because the ‘problem’ was with the ‘symbol of Hindu subjugation’, i.e., the Babri Masjid. The continued attempts of all parties to ride the temple bandwagon are a pointer to their insecurity, lack of confidence in their strategies and inability to understand the prevailing mood of the people.
(The writer is an author and journalist based in Delhi. His most recent books are ‘Sikhs: The Untold Agony of 1984’ and ‘Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times’. He can be reached @NilanjanUdwin. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)
Also Watch:
Ayodhya DeQoded, Part 2: Did a Divine Monkey Unlock Babri Masjid?
Ayodhya DeQoded, Part 3: Ram Mandir First Politicised by Congress
Ayodhya DeQoded, Part 4: Political Desperation Led to Shilanyas
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