Ram Mandir : Attempt to reimpose brahmanical values on Indian people

Politics of Ram Temple in Ayodhya

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat


The October 30th Judgment of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court is being challenged by both the parties involved in the case, in the Supreme Court. Lot of things have been said and political parties are positioning themselves accordingly. Whatever be the result in the Supreme Court, a few things need to be examined and explained.

Reams of paper have been wasted in dubbing this verdict as ‘historic’. Television channels brought back the old redundant saffronites for a ‘united India’. We saw, the Maulanas and Brahmins at the helm of the affair of India again. Lord Rama is the conscious keeper of India and Advani’s heart melted as he felt exonerated for his anti-national act of destruction of the Babari mosque on December 6th, 1992. These forces were totally out of power in Uttar-Pradesh and Bihar and have been waiting for this issue to reinforce their Brahmanical vision on India. While media and political analysts may say that much water has flown in Saryu and India has moved ahead yet it is the media which revived the issue and not the people. The cut throat competition in the media was so much that for the entire day they ‘analysed’ this on various shows and all the saffron Sadhus and their favorite chant, ‘we respect court verdict, statement became the hall mark of the day. We forgot the same saffron gang shouting loudly led by both Kalyan Singh and Uma Bharati that the issue of faiths can not be decided by the court of law and that no court was bigger than the court of Lord Rama.

The decision of the court was more shocking. It ventured into an area which will open a can of worm. Was the issue before the court really ‘whether Rama was born in the same place where the mosque existed?’ ‘Should the courts entertain such petitions? How can court decide on it? What will happen if the courts are asked the same question related to Mathura and Kashi? The judges in their wisdom decided to distribute the land between three parties. Actually, it is two parties but how interestingly it is that Nirmohi Akhara is a separate party other than the ‘Hindus and Muslims’. How can they be the separate then Hindus? The issue of illegal occupation of the mosque was side tracked as how the idols of Lord Rama were placed into the mosque in November 1949. The court did not make any inquiry into it and therefore those perpetrators of a gory crime got legitimized by the courts though inadvertently.

The time when the judgment came and afterwards the saffron forces were in full flow. Ravi Shankar Prasad, speaking as lawyer appearing for ‘Hindus’ appealing to ‘Muslims’ to ‘honor’ the court verdict. Prasad should tell his party president to honor everything that the court says and mourn the planned demolition of the Babari mosque even after the then chief minister had assured the Supreme Court as well as the National Integration Council for protecting the mosque at all cost. Yet, it was demolished and created an unprecedented anarchy in India which could be compared to partition days only. The saffron forces were always interested in that as they are losing hold over the masses and need some tantrums to show us their legitimacy. Hence, this judgment can not be called a judgment in legal sense. It is more a political judgment to keep two religious groups happy and hand over the leadership of the two communities which want to move ahead from the religious thugs both the sides. India need to look ahead to the path of democracy where the voices of marginalized are continuously asking questions and seeking their space in our democratic set up. The religious rights are feeling marginalized in their own way and need to show the predominance over the masses. The media run by the capitalists on the guidance of the religious thugs is always happy to play the dirty game of ‘sarva dharma samabhava’ thus marginalizing those voices which challenge the ‘popular discourse’. Hence those who question the very legitimacy of Lord Rama as an idol of India are not only marginalized but targeted and forced to keep quiet. The Sangh Parivar has succeeded in it as almost each one of us are shouting ‘Jai Shri Rama’.

All the babas who have amassed huge properties through their crooked deals were basking on a ‘grand Ram Mandir’ to be built at Ayodhya. One does not know what does a ‘grand temple mean. And why should they need 67 hectare of land for the temple. Does India lack temples and mosques? One is amused by this focus on the temple by the top brass of the Sangh Parivar. The Hindus have lot of problems to resolve but the Sangh Parivar and its very offshoots only need the issue which involves the Muslims. The right wingers of the Muslims also want the same so that the voices of the Pasmanda remains on the margins. Though it is very clear that Muslims feel betrayed by the judgment but the fact is that their leadership too used the ‘respecting court’s verdict’ according to their fancies. We all know what happened to other issues including that in Shahbano case. Justification can always come from Mr Shahbuddin about Ayodhya but the fact is that it is the religious leaders of both the sides that are fixing the agenda and that does not hold good for a secular democracy.

In the High Court, we saw the lawyers with the red mark on their forehead. Such marks never used to be part of their fraternity. These days, a Tilak is used in such a way, as if it is ready to attack all those who do not agree with it. This show of militancy at every level has to be rejected. Indian courts must admonish those lawyers who show their religious faith outrageously in the court. It is trying to put pressure on the judiciary. Each party was saying that it respect the court verdict. Then, why are they again thinking to go to the higher court. The Muslims as an aggrieved party are taking it to Supreme Court. The Hindu Mahasabha wants the entire area to be declared as the place of Lord Rama. Every body is asking for huge temple and we all know in this wonderful land, there is no land ceiling law applicable to huge land amassed or collected in the name of temples or mosques, muthths or churches, Gurudwaras or farm houses. So, as India’s poor continue to lack land to live and cultivate, the likes of Ramdev, Advani, Imams will have thousands of acres to cultivate their gods and goddesses. The state is a party to it. The media knowingly handing the entire issue to these gangs who want this issue to rise so that they can have their TRPs.

Till the 30th, we all were debating the issue of land rights, tribal rights, issue of caste based census and many more things but from that day, all the dead woods are back to business. The sarva-dharm champions are back with the candle lights. It is nothing but trying to bring back the Brahman cal supremacy in Indian life. One has to understand the entire game of Ayodhya and its Ram temple. The brahmanical forces know equally well that the Muslim religious lunatics too would not like to ‘accept’ ‘defeat’. Both need to feed each other and hence the issue will continue. These Babas have earned millions of rupees and now they want entry to the Parliament and save their illegally grabbed money.

While I fully endorse the view that rule of the law has to prevail but what is rule of the law in this country. It is brahmanical values. That RSS and other Hindu organizations with the help of other parties have been able to again put forward their own castiest agenda on the country and all other issues are out. One friend wrote in the face book that there is no OBC-Dalit priests in Ayodhya. Unfortunately, he is wrong. OBCs are the foot soldiers of the Hindutva brigade and the day they understand it, it would be better. I can provide many OBC babas in Ayodhya living in their Akhadas and part of brahmanical value system. They have to understand that Advani’s Rath yatra started to eliminate the Mandal effect that time and it failed as the Mandal forces were very strong enough but in that entire process the Sangh Parivar got Mandalised and co-opted the shudras. This time the target is the caste census issue. Advani and congress both do not want census on the basis of caste and want the issue to get diluted. They have foot soldiers like Ram Dev and others who are here to repose our faith in those brahmanical values that degraded the Bahujan masses of the country. This is dangerous. These ‘ so-called’ non Hindutva Babas also want the same domination in Ayodhya. None of them talks about the annihilation of Buddhist culture from entire Avadh region. We must ask this question. I had posed this question to a Swami in Ayodhya during an interview and he proudly proclaimed that we threw the Buddhists away. He clearly admitted that Ayodhya was a Buddhist place named as Saket and that we threw them away. Even today, Ayodhya has a number of places which can easily be termed as Buddhist places. Our Buddhist friends actually could not do their home work well or may be in the din of Hindu Muslim noise, the voices of Buddhists and Dalits were ignored. I have visited number of temples in Ayodhya which I can say are Buddhists particularly some of their statues but have been converted into Hindu Gods.

The Supreme Court must take all issue into one. It must punish those who perpetrated the ghastly crime of dismantling the mosque on December 6th, 1992. It must also punish those who put the idols in the mosque. The court also must seek clarification from the Archaeological Survey of India. It said during the Setu Samudram Finding that there is nothing as such Ramsetu in Rameshwaram region and that all that was fictitious. How can the same department say that there were signs of the birth of Lord Rama in Ayodhya. There could have been a temple but can any one prove that Lord Rama was born there. Can court was capable enough to decide about this matter. The Supreme Court must hear this petition with a longer bench and give a verdict so that tomorrow such issues do not come up. The verdict should not be given in isolation. The verdict must involve all those issues related to Ayodhya and demolition of Babari Mosque. The courts must aske the government as what has it done to the promise made by the then Prime Minister Narsimha Rao to the nation that a mosque would be rebuild there?

Can we undo the injustice of history? And if yes, then how. If Babari Masjid was the symbol of victory of aliens then what was Rama’s victory. Can you undo the Muslim contribution to India and its four hundred old histories? Can we demolish Taj Majal, Red Fort, Qutub Minar and much beautiful structure which were made by the Mughal Kings? Will we not listen to Mohammad Rafi and Bagum Akkthar simply because they were Muslims? Buddhists and Dalits have beliefs that Ayodhya was Saket and that many temples and idols there have been demolished by the Hindus and converted them to Hidu Gods and Goddesses. Things were explained to me by several Buddhist friends and I did record events there. But Buddhists are not a party. History has enough evidences that a large number of temples are actually built on the edifice of Buddhist structure. What should the Buddhist do? Should they also start undoing the historical wrong and if yes, then how?

Undoing the history could prove expensive to the Hindutva forces. How will the Dalits and Shudra undo the history? Should they start thrashing these Aryan forces? In democracy, it is number that matter. The numbers are with the Dalit, Shudras, Adivasis and other such people oppressed by the brahmanical tyranny in India. If they all unite and start undoing everything Hindu dharma will collapse as it is based on a fad of caste hierarchy. It is time for these religious lunatics to come to senses and leave their false egos aside and work for an equitable and united India. Let them work for the eradication of untouchability. Let them work against dowry system. No, those who started the practice can not go against it.

The courts have to come clear on these issues. The faith of the so-called majority community can not be the rule of law in the democracy. But unfortunately that is happening. Our political parties, intellectuals have conspired against India’s indigenous people. One side they are being thrown away from their homes in the name of ‘development’ and ‘beautification’ of our cities and towns, the other side, they are being fetched by these religious thugs through cultural annihilation. Imposition of Rama culture by mass media on India people is actually an attempt on annihilation of the indigenous culture of India. The new history is being written by the Dalits, Adivasis, Shudras by questioning the relevance of these patriarchical gods and their brahmanical masters. Ambedkar questioned it long back, Periyar moved against, Phule exposed them. The Hindus want to build a Ram temple while the Muslims want to build a mosque there. The best option for the oppressed communities is to read more ‘Sachchi Ramayana’ and ‘Riddles of Hinduism’ by Periyar and Ambedkar respectively so that they can understand the conspiracy of these classes against oppressed Bahujan masses of India. Remember, the Hindutva is not against Muslims, it can not actually do anything against them, and its target is to curtail the growing assertion of the Dalits, Shudra and Adivasis in the country. We must not keep quiet. We can not watch the game from outside which affects us. Speak up for human rights and humanist values. Let us send these hate mongers to their den only. Let us not allow them to lead our polity. Let us be careful as the Hindutva were first to indulge in social engineering work after Mandal. The war for supremacy of Brahmanism has begun as despite political defeats they are still active, aggressive and manipulative as they run their agenda through culture. It is time to combat it with our counter culture which is more humane, more rational and more civilized.

Ambedkar and demolition of Babari Masjid

Remembering Baba Saheb Ambedkar

Demolition of Babari Mosque : An assault to democratic principals of Ambedkar



By Vidya Bhushan Rawat


17 years have passed when the lunatic fringe of the Hindutva variety under the disguise of Hindu nationalism and pride brought down a three hundred years old mosque supposedly constructed by Mughal King Babar, in Ayodhya. The fringe wanted that every other structure in India termed as mosque is actually some temple and deliberately destroyed by the Muslims to spread Islam in India and kill the ‘native’ Hindu dharma.

Mughals had four hundred years of history in India and then came British who ruled over us nearly for three hundred years. In all these years, the Christian population remains in India below 5% while the Muslim population remain 12% but the Hindutva’s fanatics are roaring and feel that this 17% or say 20% population will take over India some day jeopardizing its political interests.

It would be highly simplistic to consider L.K.Adwani’s w(rath) yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya in 1990 just to strengthen Hindu Unity. We all know how the Hindu upper castes created ruckus in north India on the implementation of Mandal Commission Report decided by the government of India on August 7, 1990. The Dalits and the backward communities came together. In fact, in the fight for reservation under Mandal, there were more Dalits in the streets than the backward communities. L.K.Adwani and his Sangh parivar bosses knew very well that once the Dalits and backward communities come together, it will be lethal blow to the brahmanical hegemony in India. And that is why they thought what could be better than the movement for Ram mandir in Ayodhya. Create an enemy of Muslims among the masses and convert all the Dalits and backward communities into one monolith Hindu group. Adwani’s agenda was that under the broader framework of Ram mandir, all the internal contradictions would melt and he would become the leader of entire ‘Hindu masses’ fighting for its dignity against the Muslim assault on its holy structures particularly at Ayodhya, kashi and Mathura.

For the Ram janmbhoomi campaign, the backward communities became special target. I still remember having visited one Gujar village in Haryana two days before the destruction of the mosque where a friend actually mentioned that they were going prepared to build the grand Ram Temple. The movement of hate was created all over the country. Hindutva’s ‘intellectuals’ infiltrated in media and started writing about the entire movement in a very nationalistic way. Indian nationalism was converted into an upper caste north Indian Hindi nationalism. The bricks were collected and Dalits were used. On one side, Arun Shourie kind of pamphleteers were targeting Ambedkar but for Sangh parivar he became ‘pratahsmaranaiya’, one who should be remembered first in the morning. The ‘ Shila pujan’ were conducted by some of the Hindu Dalits as they completely fixed in the Sangh Parivar’s broader ‘Samarasta’ concept. Samarasata for them mean co-option of your identity.


On October 30- 31st, 1990, Mulayam Singh Yadav, the then chief minister of Uttar-Pradesh, actually took unusually strong stand against Hindutva’s lunatic fringe. All over Uttar-Pradesh, the police assaulted any one who said Jai Shri Ram. In Ayodhya, police fired killing several ‘kar sevaks’. Many states went into communal disturbances. The central government headed by V.P.Singh also took bold step to arrest L.K.Adwani in Bihar, before he could complete his Yatra. But the gap between rhetoric of Mulayam Singh Yadav and Central government was too big and the Hindutva forces understood it well. Adwani’s arrest forced withdrawal of the support from the National Front government and it fell in the Parliament.

In the subsequent elections, Mulayam Singh’s mistakes paid way for BJP’s ascendency in power curtsy the backward communities particularly of the Lodhas. Kalyan Singh, who is today oscillating between different political outfits for survival, became the biggest mascot of Hindutva. The Shudra were completely turned into the food soldiers of brahmanical Hindutva. Once they had their government, BJP and Hindutva’s outfits realized that it is time to act. Sangh Parivar is a multi headed monster and it work thinking in different directions. Once government in power, it felt the need to communalise the entire country. Already, their paid volunteers in the media were writing and glorify their ‘nationalism’. No need to say, insiders in the Sangh Parivar were worried about Dalits hence with great strategy, December 6th was selected as the day of kar Seva in the Ayodhya’s Ram temple. It was solely aimed as Sanskritising the Dalits so that they too get involved in the anti Muslim sentiments. Broadly speaking, once both the Dalits and backward communities forget their pain, and issues of power, you would only have upper caste Hindus are your leader defending ‘ Hindu nationalism’. Already, upper caste journalists were angry with the janata Dal for Mandal commission report which they felt would threaten the very hegemony of the upper castes hence their the Sangh parivar which never had got any sanctity from middle classes and intelligentsia got wide acceptance and support from it. It was the fear of Mandal that forced these elite editors and reporters to be with them.

On the fateful day of December 6th, 1992, the nation watched with horror one of its worst nightmares which the Hindu terrorists, a term used by late Prabhash Joshi in his editorial in Jansatta, destroyed the age old mosque at Ayodhya. The central forces were kept away five kilometer from Ayodhya and were not given any marching order to contain the unruly and unlawful kar Sevaks. Adwani, Joshi, Ashok Singhals and all their upper caste friends where jumping in glory as if they have won gold madal for India in an Olympic event other than Hockey. The nation erupted into communal frenzy. It was a mishap of gigantic magnitude which rocked the basic foundation of our constitution so laboriously drafted by Dr B.R.Ambedkar.

The central forces can not act with out the permission of the state government. Kalyan Singh government was immediately dismissed by the then prime Minister Narsimha Rao but all know that he was equally guilty in participating this heinous crime against the secular constitution of India. Narsimha Rao addressed the nation on the night promising the rebuild the mosque at the very same site. Jurists like H.M. Seervai wrote in Economic Times that Hindu organizations have their legal right to claim the temple as they have unlawfully dismantled the place of worship which was sub-judice.

Ayodhya’s impact was big on nation. It survived yet the wounds are powerful. The nightmare in Mumbai in 1993 after the Shiv Sainiks and other hooligans targeted Muslims, the Gujarat 2002, are example of the state of Muslims in India and how state watch their killings in utter helpless situation.

It is in these circumstances that the Communal Violence bill being brought by the Central government in the Parliament is a welcome step. We all know those who have come to power on the wounds of others, will always oppose it. The bill gives right to central government to declare any area as disturbed area and send its forces directly. The state governments obviously feel it as an infringement in their rights. But if we understand what Dr Ambedkar wanted in the constitution to protect the rights of the Dalits and tribals was strong constitutional safeguards so that state can not do injustice to them. That is why act like SC-ST prevention of atrocities acts are central act and state have no power to amend them. It is also important to understand that Dr Ambedkar always wanted center to be proactive in protecting the Dalits and minorities.

It is important to understand that in the event of communal violence or Gujarat like situation, the central government can not just be a mute spectator with prime minister reminding the chief minister his ‘raj-dharma’. The government need to more than just reminding as how can a country allow its own citizens to be butchered by the others with connivance of the local authorities. It is also important for the government to secularise the state. The state should have no religion. It can not be a place for every lunatic from different religions to blackmail the state in the name of their identities. Dr Ambedkar challenged the religious scriptures not just of the brahmanical one but he also had the capacity to even walk out of a very personal meeting with Pope in the 1930s, which has been well described in the Times magazine.

If India need to modernize itself, Ambedkar’s forthright ideas are the best example. Ambedkar never ever glorified villages like Gandhi. He was critical of the whole village economy based on caste. He wanted to modernize and brought Dalits to negotiating tables. One can understand that despite all their tortures and humiliations, today, Dalits in India are relatively better positioned, politically, socially and educationally, compared to tribals. That is the contribution of Ambedkar as Dalits are developing their leadership, they are looking forward, they are rejecting religion and moving ahead in the democratic frame work of India. Dalits have become a big middle class and in the coming days we will have more of them in Media, companies, sports, music and every where of life. That is the silent revolution of Ambedkar which saved India from catastrophe and making it look forward. It does not come from symbol of political empowerment but over empowerment through modern education and changing themselves and not by merely romanticizing our past and our cultural value system.

Our political class needs to show strength of ideas that Ambedkar had. A vociferous reader, Ambedkar lived to the convictions. Those who lay the first brick in the name of Rama should know what Ambedkar said about Rama. He refused to accept the greatness of Rama and wrote about the pain of Sita. He wrote about how our religions were anti poor and anti women. So Ambedkar’s Ayodhya can not be that of Rama. It can be that of Buddha’s Saket. Ambedkar’s Dalit will only be enlightened one, modern looking and can not be those with jai Shri Ram on their lips and with a Trishul on their hands to kill the innocent. Those Dalits, OBCs who want to become part of such hate mongers can not be really Ambedkarite and will only serve the purpose of the brahmanical forces in India.

December 6th is a day to remember Ambedkar, who inspite of pains became modern india’s tallest intellectuals, who defended right of every individual, who cared for women’s right, who wanted land to be nationalized and who told us to be modern, to get best education and move ahead. December 6th is a day when all these ideals of Ambedkar were sought to be bullied by the unlawful, unruly and barbaric fringe who did not just destroy Babari Mosque but the secular edifice of this nation.

One sincerely hope our political leaders will have sagacity to think on these and will not play with the emotions of people in future. If India has to survive as a nation, it must respect diversity and its democratic constitution must be made applicable to defend the people, the marginalized and minorities so that they have confidence in government and its structure.