Mohan Bhagwat RSS chief. PTI
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, January 22
Moments after the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya on Monday, the ruling BJP’s ideological mentor RSS called for burial of past bitterness that marked the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, which the Supreme Court closed in 2019 by ruling in favour of Hindu petitioners.
Speaking after the consecration ritual for which he joined Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the temple’s sanctum sanctorum, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said, “Josh mein hosh ki baat karney ka kaam mujhe hi diya jaata hai…(I am often tasked with being the voice of reason amid excitement). In the remarks that followed, Bhagwat said it was time to “bid farewell to rancour and bitterness to transform India into a world leader”.
“We will have to quit the habit of fighting over small issues. We will have to adopt the conduct that citizens displayed in Ram rajya. They lived by four principles of satya (truth), karuna (compassion), shuchita (discipline) and tapa (penance). The thought that what I believe in alone is right is not correct. Others have a viewpoint too...We have to maintain patience and discipline..,” he said, describing the Ram Temple as a symbol of new India that would rid the world of chaos and terming citizen duty the highest form
of patriotism.
Bhagwat also mentioned the reason why Lord Rama was exiled for 14 years in the first place.
“The reason was family conflict. The Lord finally returned after ending unrest in the world. He has returned again today. This is a golden day when we salute the memory of those who sacrificed their lives to bring the temple to fruition. But it is equally a day that gives us the message of duty, inherent to Ram rajya. Good conduct like those of people in Treta Yuga when Lord Rama ruled is essential to establish Ram rajya,” Bhagwat said.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also struck a note of conciliation saying “Ram Lalla’s installation in Ayodhya heralds the rise of Ram rajya, which is based on the principles of non-discrimination and inclusion”. Yogi, however, also said that what was seen in India had no parallel in world history.
“In no other country would the majority community have struggled at so many levels for so many years to build a temple to their deity,” Chief Minister Yogi said, expressing elation that the temple was built where it was promised to be built.
Chief Minister Yogi’s reference was to the 1989 Bharatiya Janata Party slogan “Mandir wahin banayenge”. It was in the June 1989 Palampur national executive that the BJP first adopted a resolution demanding the Ram Temple at the site of 16th century Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. The mosque was finally demolished in 1992 leading to years of bitterness between the two communities.
RSS’ call for peace during the ceremony ahead of the Lok Sabha elections mirrors the ruling dispensation’s urge to expand its electoral appeal beyond some communities.
That explains the Ram Mandir Trust’s invitation for the temple ceremony to Iqbal Ansari, the son of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute’s oldest litigant, the late Hashim Ansari.
Iqbal Ansari attended the opening today in acceptance of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s campaign to build bridges with minority communities.
At the last BJP national executive meeting in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had clearly urged cadres to “engage those who vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party and also those who don’t”.
2 core poll promises fulfilled
With the Ram Temple inauguration on Monday, the BJP has fulfilled two of its three core poll promises, the other being the abrogation of Article 370. Now, only the Uniform Civil Code pledge is pending.
Follow Lord Rama’s path: Babri litigant
New Delhi: Iqbal Ansari, former litigant in the Babri Masjid case, said the land dispute was over and people should follow the path of Lord Rama. “Whatever may have been the struggle, people should now visit and see what all is there in Ayodhya,” said Ansari, who was invited for the consecration ceremony. — TNS
Five-century-old dispute, litigation
1528 Babri Masjid built by Mughal ruler Babur’s commander Mir Baqi
1885 Plea filed in Faizabad court to build canopy near structure, rejected
1949 Ram Lalla idols placed under the central dome of the structure
1986 Local court orders govt to open site for Hindu worshippers
1989 HC orders status quo
1992 Mosque razed by ‘karsevaks’
1993 Act passed for acquiring land by Centre in disputed area
2010 HC rules three-way division of area between Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla
2011 SC stays HC verdict
2019 SC’s Constitution Bench grants entire 2.77 acre land to Ram Lalla; orders allocation of 5 acres elsewhere to build mosque
2020 PM announces formation of trust to construct temple, lays foundation stone of Ram Temple
2024 Ram Lalla’s idol consecrated
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