Anil Anand
As the day of consecration of Ram Temple draws near after a protracted political struggle spanning over three-decades, the raging debate is whether the contentious issue will see its burial once for all. Will politics over the issue show signs of relenting?
The high-profile TV anchors and some political pundits were quick to reach such a conclusion after the Supreme Court ruling on the issue. They lost no time in pronouncing that after the Apex Court ruling the curtains would be drawn on the issue. This pronouncement was addressed more to opposition parties and those with secular credentials opposed to the ruling dispensation’s blatant bid to drag religion into politics.
Will the opening of the Ram Temple set the issue at rest now once for all?
Those who think it will do so, are nothing but either naïve or playing partisan politics of a different kind. More of haranguing targeting temple construction on Constitutional basis than anything else. As such the debate is over BJP Governments’-Centre and states- official involvement in the project and per se not staying away from the temple issue. The reasoning of those enthusiastically visualizing the closure of the issue with an onus on those on the other side of the debate, is impaired and far-from ground realities.
It always needs two to tango. Can the opposition parties alone help in keeping the issue aside electorally? Can those holding a diverse view on Temple construction on Constitutional basis help alone in stopping to discuss the issue any further. The answer is no.
Yes, no religious matter should become an electoral or political issue. This is a thought that flows from the spirit of the Constitution. And what if the issue is core to a most powerful ruling party of the world? Can this be achieved without the initiative of, in this case BJP, or involvement of the ruling dispensation of the time? The answer again is no.
It will be an ideal situation that all debates on the issue should stop after construction and consecration of Ram Temple notwithstanding the means of achieving the end goal. But the manner in which the consecration ceremony has been projected as a singular achievement of the Narendra Modi Government and the concerted campaign started by the Sangh Parivar constituents leaves no doubt that the issue would be more vigorously propelled electorally than even the earlier days of Babri Masjid demolition as result of the Ram Janam Bhoomi movement.
The manner in which the stage has been prepared with Mr Modi presiding over the ceremonies and tactical distribution of invitations for the consecration ceremony across the political fault-lines, no one should remain in any misconception that politically speaking Ram Temple issue is all and over. For this to happen an initiative has to come from the ruling dispensation particularly Mr Modi and the RSS hierarchy. This looks unlikely as they have already upped the ante and more feverish pitch would be witnessed as the Lok Sabha elections draw nearer. The workers of various frontal organisations of the RSS have already undertaken a door-to-door campaign in the name of inviting people to the consecration ceremony, and identifying such households by pasting Ram Temple pictures on the gates and delivering related literature at the doorsteps.
The first requisite for seeing the closure of the issue politically would have been for the Governments, particularly the Central dispensation, to avoid involvement in the Temple affair. It seemed impossible at this juncture as the official involvement in the issue has been more pronounced during the last 10-years than ever before. During the period the BJP has often used the Ram Temple issue prominently in various elections with a great polarizing effect. So, the continuous politicization of the issue.
If at all the Temple issue has to be politically rested now, the initiative should have come from the Centre and more so the BJP. It will be wrong to blame the opposition parties and those opposed to the Temple construction on Constitutional grounds for not putting a stop to the issue. How will it help unless the powerful ruling dispensation saw reasoning and came forward?
On the contrary the BJP has politicized every bit of the Temple project. Although it very cleverly sidetracks the issue by insisting that the organisations such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Ram Janam Bhoomi Tirath Trust set up for the purpose, are directly handling the affairs at Ayodhya and not the BJP is responsible. Ostensibly they miss the point that it is a Trust set up by the Government after Supreme Court ruling and the frontal organisations of the RSS including its political arm the BJP those are head-on into the issue.
Given the poll preparedness of the BJP and the agenda that it is setting, there is not even an iota of doubt that the Ram Temple is going to be the main electoral plank along with issues such as dilution of Article 370 of the Constitution that provided special status to Jammu and Kashmir, leading to greater polarization on communal grounds. The result is demotion and bifurcation of the only Muslim majority state of the country.
Honestly, none of the TV anchors and section of the political pundits ever discussed or wrote about how the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya should stop all debates and controversies. The focus of their debate was opposition and not BJP. Logically, the focus should have been on both the parties with greater onus on the ruling dispensation.
There is only one way to end the debate and pull curtains on Ayodhya related issues. And that is the BJP should politically shun the issue and provide a sense of security to the Muslim community. In fact, the party should have taken a resolve and suo motu made an announcement in this regard before sending invitations for the consecration ceremony to other political parties.
There is more politics to it than meets the eye. And that is visible in the manner in which invitations have been sent to leaders of the opposition parties. While a trap has been laid by inviting former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, present party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and the party’s leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, other prominent leaders have been kept.
Similarly, many prominent leaders of other opposition parties have been kept out of the list of invitees. It certainly should not be seen as a binding on the invited leaders to attend the consecration ceremony but at the same time a Damocles sword has been hung over their heads. If they attended, they will be branded as toeing the BJP line and if they decide to give it a miss, they will be described as anti- Ram or anti-Santan Dharma.
There is certainly a dilemma. The best course for the Congress-led opposition will be to take a decision on joint visit to Ayodhya by the I.N.D.I.A block at later date after the consecration ceremony. Does not matter if the ideologically inclined Left parties or DMK types whose political thought is seethed in being atheist attend or not.
The dilemma was best described by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor too in conceptualizing the political context. “If you go, that means you are playing into the hands of the BJP. If you don’t go, that means you are anti-Hindu, this is nonsense.”
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