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Ayodhya – A possible solution: Open letter to the PM

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Vijaya Dar
Vijaya Dar
Born in Kashmir. Indic by culture. Occasional writer, avid reader. Love serious cinema, but not TV. Eternal student.

Dear Prime Minister:

Today, minutes after the Supreme Court began proceedings to decide on the title dispute in the Ram Janmabhoomi case, one of the bench members, Justice U. U. Lalit, recused himself from the case. The excuse this time was the objection taken by the advocate representing some Muslim petitioners in the case, who pointed out that Justice Lalit had represented former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh two decades back in a connected contempt case. The Chief Justice quickly adjourned the hearing to January 29, by which time, it was hoped, that a new bench would be formed.

I do not intend to go into the genesis of the dispute or the perfidious history of the courts in delaying and thereby denying the petitioners justice in the matter. Ram Mandir is a red rag for the Liberal claque, of which the Congress is the primary member, and it has used its entire might to subvert the judicial process. I am sure nothing whatsoever will happen even on January 29th or on any other date thereafter.

I remind you of what you said about this dispute in your candid interview on 2nd January. Giving your thoughts on the demand for the promulgation of an ordinance on the subject, you said that since the matter was before the Supreme Court, possibly in final stages, it would be better to wait for it to be completed.

Let the judicial process be over. After the judicial process is over, whatever will be our responsibility as the government, we are ready to make all efforts.”

Two days after you uttered these words, the Supreme Court adjourned the matter to 10th January, for no apparent reason. Now, today, it has manufactured a reason for a further adjournment. I am sure you know that this process will continue ad infinitum as every possible excuse will be used to keep this matter hanging in the balance forever.

May I suggest a solution that could be considered to not only resolve the Ayodhya dispute but also to break the hold of the Lutyen’s cabal on the nation?

I have said it before, and I say it again, there is a very strong case for shifting the national capital from New Delhi to another location in the country. No doubt the city has a hoary past, a large part of which has also been gory, but the miasma of centuries of corruption and greed has completely enveloped it and its very air reeks of pollution: pollution, not only of the atmosphere and the environment, but of the very soul of man.

There is a saying that physical contact with the mitti of Gwalior destroys whatever good there may be in man. Legend has it that Shravan Kumar of the Ramayana, who traveled all over the land, carrying his blind, old parents on his shoulders, immediately cast them off the moment his feet touched the mitti of Gwalior. He would have left them there and then to die, but they were aware of the reason why he wanted to abandon them. They entreated him to just carry them to the next town and then he need not carry them any further and go his own way. But the moment he left the mitti of Gwalior, the thought of abandoning them vanished from his mind and he carried on like that till his fateful, fatal encounter with King Dashratha.

Similarly, there is something in the mitti of Delhi that puts iron in the souls of men and makes them abandon all ethics and values. Ancient and modern history of Delhi and its seven cities bears witness to the continuous interplay of intrigue, treachery, war, and death. Delhi is the greatest corrupter of the subcontinent and it has not left even a single regime untouched by its foul miasma.

You would do well to reflect upon this past of Delhi and seriously consider the idea of moving the national capital away from there. It will resolve a number of issues, besides the poisonous air of the city. Political squatters, who have made them into hereditary endowments, have occupied prime real estate in New Delhi. A case in point is Babu Jagjivan Ram’s daughter Meira Kumar. The sprawling bungalows of Lutyen’s Delhi have become private Jagirs of politicians who continue to cling to them like leaches even when they have been rejected in the elections.

Apart from these, quite a few have been converted into museums, ostensibly to preserve the memories of their occupants, but in reality to let the families retain control on them. The bureaucrats and politicians connive together in perpetrating these frauds and even the orders of the various courts asking the squatters to vacate have been flouted with impunity. Delhi is also a vast necropolis occupying large acres of prime land around the samadhis of departed (and mostly unlamented) politicians. Where there is not enough space for a poor family to build a makeshift hut with discarded cardboard and plastic sheeting, it is a tragedy to see so much land being garnered by dead and forgotten politicians.

Many new nation-states have built new capital cities after independence and broken away from their dreadful past. Even a new state like Pakistan chose to build a fresh capital in Islamabad, giving both Karachi and Lahore a vote of no confidence. We too could emulate them and make a clean break from the past if we shift our capital to a new location. A new metropolis could be built providing adequate and not opulent accommodation for the legislators and the bureaucrats who form the bulk of the government. There is no need to put them in sprawling bungalows that require a retinue of servants and staff to maintain. A small, smart city with small and smart houses and apartments can be built from scratch. Modern technology can be incorporated in the design to maximize security and functionality. It is a whole new idea that needs to be explored and seriously considered. Although I am not sure if this declaration will need a Constitutional amendment, but even if it does, a legal luminary like Shri Arun Jaitley should be able to tell you how to go about it.

Here is where I think you can make a stupendous contribution to the political discourse of the country, a paradigm shift like none before. Declare that the national capital is going to be shifted and that it could be located in no other place but the city that is in the heart of every Nationalist Indian – the city of Ayodhya, on the banks of the river Sarayu. Ram Rajya, with all its attendant munificence, justice for all, “sabka saath aur sabka vikas” will naturally emanate from a place that is the holiest of holies, a place that has a history going back more than 20,000 years. And, what would be more natural than to have a magnificent Ram Temple to adorn the new capital of India!

A question an interlocutor might ask would be about the source of funds for such a project. The answer lies in the sale of the real estate that the government owns in Delhi. Going by the market prices of land in the city, I would think that the government would be able to raise enough and more funds for building a new national capital at Ayodhya.

Mr. Prime Minister, please go for it. Make the announcement before the next general election dates are made public.

Thank you,

Yours truly,

Vijaya Dar

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Vijaya Dar
Vijaya Dar
Born in Kashmir. Indic by culture. Occasional writer, avid reader. Love serious cinema, but not TV. Eternal student.
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