Ram Mandir Could be ‘Achieved’ — Can BJP Resist Other ‘Pressures’?

Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/The Quint)

With the Supreme Court concluding hearings on the vexed Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute, the Modi government has moved a step closer to implementing another promise from its core agenda – the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Although the court’s verdict will come only around 17 November, when Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi retires, there are enough indications to suggest that a temple will be built, sooner than later. In fact, the government seems to have a plan in mind which is being kept under wraps, like the surprise it sprung when it withdrew Article 370 from Jammu & Kashmir.

A Ram temple in Ayodhya is not just a matter of faith. It’s a political compulsion for the Modi government.

It has won a second term with a bigger majority than five years ago. There are no excuses now for not forging ahead with core issues. The BJP’s Hindu constituency is impatient for results; so is the RSS which had issued a warning on election-eve that “the people of India expect the BJP to fulfill its promise (of building a temple)’’.

Keeping the Hindu Nationalist Sentiment Alive

Modi 2.0 has already checked one box from the core agenda list with the reading down of Article 370. It has partially checked another box by banning triple talaq, seen as the first step towards a uniform civil code. With the temple, it will tick a third box.

Three successes under his belt in the first six months of his tenure will earn Modi breathing space to tackle the elephant in the room – a slowing economy which shows no signs of recovery, despite desperate roll backs and ad hoc measures by the government to boost production and consumption.

They also serve to keep the Hindu nationalist sentiment alive for election purposes.

Note how local issues have taken a back seat in the ongoing campaign for assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana. Instead, the BJP is pandering to muscular majoritarianism with a narrative spun around Article 370 and Pakistan. Ironically, the Opposition has given the saffron campaign a boost by allowing itself to be trapped in a war of words on these very issues, when it should have demanded accountability from the BJP governments in both states, for mounting local problems.

‘Hints’ from Modi that BJP Will Deliver on Ram Mandir

The clearest hint that a temple would be built should the BJP win a second term, came from Modi himself in a pre-election interview. When asked about the demand for an ordinance on the temple, he had said, “Let the judicial process be over. After it is over, whatever will be our responsibility as the government, we are ready to make all efforts.’’

Reading between the lines, Modi seemed to be saying that he would consider promulgating an ordinance, bringing in a law or taking other necessary steps for the construction of a temple, once the Supreme Court had delivered its verdict.

The judicial process has entered the final lap. The judgment is awaited. Interestingly, there was an unexpected development on the last day of the hearing.

This is another hint that the government has a road map for the temple, and it’s being revealed in bits and pieces.

The SC-appointed mediation panel, which had failed to reach an out-of-court settlement with the litigants, suddenly produced a proposal which it submitted to the court in a sealed envelope. According to reports, there are several elements to the proposal to facilitate the construction of a temple.

One is the expressed willingness of the Sunni Wakf Board chairman to give up the Board’s claim to the land where the Babri Masjid once stood. The second is strengthening the Places of Worship Act so that there will be no further attempts to claim other mosques and replace them with temples. Other conditions include the construction of a mosque elsewhere and permission for prayers in ASI-governed monuments.

Will the Rest of Modi 2.0 Go in Settling ‘Ancient’ Scores?

But the most significant element of the panel’s proposal is that the government will take over the land. In other words, the government should either build the temple itself or hand over the construction to another party or a trust which will construct and manage the shrine.

Since the disputed 2.77 acres of land and the surrounding 65 odd acres are already in government possession, this proposal, if accepted by the court, will merely formalise the existing position.

Reports suggest that the SC will weigh the panel’s report carefully while preparing its judgment.

It is interesting that the panel has mooted the strengthening of the Places of Worship Act because the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other Hindu groups have often claimed that many prominent mosques in India were built by ‘demolishing’ temples. In fact, the VHP had coined a slogan at the height of the Ram mandir movement saying, “Ayodhya to bas jhanki hai, Kashi, Mathura baaki hai.’’

The VHP and RSS make no bones about laying claim to the Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi (built on a portion of the Kashi Vishwanath temple) and the Eidgah in Mathura which is supposed to be the birthplace of Krishna.

There are also demands from RSS and BJP leaders to take over the Taj Mahal, which they say was built on the remains of a Shiv temple, and the Jama Masjid in Delhi, which is said to have been a Yamuna mandir centuries ago.

Can the Modi government resist these pressures? Otherwise, the rest of its tenure will go in settling ancient scores instead of concentrating on the big issues at hand, like the economy and the strategic, diplomatic and economic challenge from China.

(The writer is a Delhi-based senior journalist. 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.)