Lord Rama unifying force, temple will bind people together: JNU VC

New Delhi, January 12

JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit today said building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya was important to reconcile with the civilisational history of India. He said it would bring a paradigm shift in the country.

Stating that Lord Rama is a unifying force, Pandit advocated the need to create a space where no one should insult others’ faith. “Every faith has its own religious place like the Vatican or Mecca. Why should the Hindus not have their own belief and safeguard their places? For us, it is not about acquiring a space, but rather our ‘kshetra’. For us temples are symbols of energy. Lord Rama is a unifying image and symbol for me,” she added.

Her remarks came after an incident in December, when graffiti and slogans calling for the rebuilding of Babri Masjid were scribbled on walls of a building on the JNU campus.

She said, “The building of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya will bring a paradigm shift in the country and if one has to feel one with their country, it is these symbols that will bind people together. Ram is a unifying symbol across the country. The building of Ram Mandir is important to reconcile with the civilisational history of India.”

Pandit said the university is taking steps to ramp up security measures on the campus to avoid instances of religious “intolerance” following the incident.

Talking about the graffiti on the wall of JNU’s School of Languages, she said the administration is in talks with the Centre to repair the broken walls of the campus, from where outsiders often enter the university. She said these outsiders might be responsible for writing such things to gain attention.

“The problem we have had is we don’t have enough cameras on campus. Secondly, we have security, but they are at the entrance and many people enter the campus from the broken walls. So, we don’t know who exactly wrote it— whether it’s an insider or an outsider,” she said.