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राम

Vikas
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राम

||राम||

करने जन जन का कल्याण,
करने संतों का उद्धार,
करने दुष्टों का संहार,
भारत भू पर जन्मे राम।
आकाश सनातन के रवि राम।
सत्य, प्रेम के छवि राम।
भारत के परिचायक राम।
भारत भू के नायक राम।।

इस धरा को अब तक है स्मृति
प्राचीन अयोध्या हैं साक्षी।
है ज्ञात राम का प्रचंड पराक्रम
है ज्ञात उन्हें यश ओज कीर्ति

भारत भू थी चिर अभिलाषी।।
हो शीघ्रातिशीघ्र मंदिर निर्माण।
हुई रक्त रंजित सरयू जी
सहस्त्रों वीरों ने तजे प्राण।
है स्मरण श्रीअयोध्या को अब तक
कारसेवकों का अतुल्य बलिदान।

है स्मरण श्रीअयोध्या को ध्वनि
जय श्रीराम के नारों की,
है स्मृति हमें भी अभी तक मुखमंडल,
कारसेवक हत्यारों की।

है आज विश्व भी सनन्दित
है जन जन में आह्लाद भरा।
थे परतंत्रता के अवशेष जहाँ
अब होगा वहाँ निर्माण बड़ा।

थी चिर प्रतीक्षा जिस बेला की
आज समय वो आया है।
है हुआ प्रचंड प्रारम्भ इस सदी का,
सम्पूर्ण विश्व पे भगवा की छाया है।

~~ विकास प्रजापति।

Bhavya Ram Temple- Aspiration fulfilled by BJP-Govt

G Indira
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Bhavya Ram Temple- Aspiration fulfilled by BJP-Govt

 5th August remains the historic -day in the annals of India’s progressive timeline. This government of PM Shri Narendra Modi fulfilled the dreams of crores of Hindus for the -Bhavya Ram Temple- at Ayodhya with today’s Bhoomi Pujan amidst sacred Vedic chanting. It all happened with no violation of the mores of legality, constitutionality or hurt of sentiments of Muslim minorities. This could be said confidently because the government, in its first term waited patiently for the judiciary to take sufficient time to proceed with arguments. Then asked for a day to day hearing without the media glare. The judgement was read out to the satisfaction of both the parties from the Hindus and Muslims-side. Of course, there is some dissenting voice from the minority-side, especially from Muslim Personal Law Board but those are expected in any democracy. Settlement of the Ayodhya Temple issue peacefully, by and large, goes to the credit of the ruling party.

For those millennial (children of this millennia), who are unaware of the history of Ram Temple, it should be known, that it was the result of immense sacrifice made by kar sevaks, at the cost of their lives— all from the RSS cadre— India could achieve to resolve this Ram Temple issue today. For years, there was vilification and calumny on all side against the BJP and RSS, which they valiantly fought to get this dignity and honour to Lord Ram. The opposition parties, mainly the Congress always tried to put hurdles on the way of Ayodhya Temple construction. In its rule of UPA I&II, it was quite muted on the subject. Now, it has nothing to gloat over. The opening of Temple-doors for entry was only a ploy, for; it was never stated by the party or cadre that they had opened the doors for Shilanyas, with a good intention or by respecting the feelings of crores of Hindus. For the Congress, Hindus are non-existent in their secular-psyche! Belatedly, now, regretted for what did and gave a statement that Lord Ram belonged to all.

The BJP bore the brunt and humiliations, for a long period, for supporting the Hindu cause. There was an avalanche of swear words on the party. First, the opposition parties ranted that the party- BJP, was: communal, fascist, revisionist and bigoted.  Then, the party was literally ostracized in political arena. None of the parties allied with them in states for assembly elections. The party was treated as an “untouchable” for over a period, just because it was espousing the cause of building Ram Temple.

After 6th December 1992 i.e. after Babri structure demolition, the party’s woes became manifold. The RSS was banned immediately on 10 Dec; it was big news then. Next, the dismissal of the Kalyan Singh’s BJP-led government in the largest state of India: Uttar Pradesh. It was a heavy loss for the party. The Left and other regional political satraps, blamed the then PV Narasimha Rao’s Congress government as to why, in spite of foreboding (what might transpire that day: likely demolition), the Centre did not do more. The Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao cleverly maintained that the Centre had been bound by the Constitution, and that the Constitution did not allow the Centre to move against a state government merely on the apprehension that the later would not do its duty. The blunder Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav, former U.P CM committed by ordering to shoot the kar sevaks in 1991 in Ayodhya premises, Shri Narasimha Rao shrieked from doing. It was a saving grace to him for which the history is kind to him.  

Soon after demolition, India’s so-called secularism became writ-large and secularists caused rampage all over sloganeering: “secularism is in danger; fascist/communal forces are causing damage to the secular fabric of India” etc. These were all none other than the Congress party cadre, the English Press and of course, intellectuals that joined chorus. Many BJP leaders were arrested and sent to jail. Just to satisfy the secular press and secular media, with no understanding of what the BJP and RSS were seeking. Both believed Lord Shri Ram to be a cultural icon, the representative of Dharma (as per Hindu scriptures Lord Ram is an embodiment of Dharma). His temple is needed to resurrect in the place of His birth at Ayodhya so that the future generations could emulate His character and lead a dharmic life.

Later, in any case, without a rhyme or reason, on December 15, the Congress Govt. dismissed the three state governments of the BJP- ruled states viz. Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, at one-stroke under Art-356. When asked regarding the necessity of removing the other governments in the BJP- ruled states, the prime minister answered—the dismissal was on the apprehension that they would not implement a ban decreed by the Centre on the RSS.  So, therefore, it could be conclusively said that the BJP and RSS had paid heavily for standing up for a Hindu cause.

Ram Janmabhoomi had become a grass-roots movement only because of the RSS and its affiliate VHP. At that point of time, there was no internet-connected social media in place. It was a house-to-house campaign with face-to-face meets and messages through pamphlets distribution. ‘Jai Shri Ram’ was the chant that reverberated in the nook and corner of the country in support of Ayodhya-Temple movement in those days, right from Shri LK Advani ji’s rath yatra. Now, the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, was once the fountainhead of such movement and knows the gravity of people’s desire to see the Grand-Temple at Ayodhya. But for the prime minister and Home Minister Amit Shah ji’s efforts, by expediting the process of judiciary in the Supreme Court of India, this desire would not have fructified.

For years, the Ram-Temple issue could not be amicably resolved. It got entangled in the mire of legal suits because of intransigence of Muslim-community leaders that included the Muslim Personal Law Board (but not the average Muslims). So, negotiations always failed. The court settlement would be a lengthy process, the party felt. To legislate they needed mandate. These were the difficulties they faced to meet their commitment. Many journalists derided the BJP when it promised the electorate: “We will legislate for the Ram Mandir, give us the mandate.” They always used to say that was not likely to work, except for those for whom the Mandir-Masjid controversy remains more important than development and progress. The kind of odd binaries, they had drawn, were meaningless. That was their derision on the culture.

There were so many cynics among intellectuals and journalist that stated—‘the BJP cannot build Ram Temple. It’s only electioneering slogan. That cannot be possible in India’. Whenever, the BJP released the party manifesto before the General Elections, the immediate gleeful news from them was: ‘the party had kept Ayodhya-Temple issue at the back-burner’. Back or front, it was in the party’s heart, as commitment to the people, is now amply evident now. The PM- Modi ji, the CM of U.P Yogi Adityanath ji, the RSS Chief Mohan Bhagawat ji and others at Bhoomi Pujan spoke on unity of the country and progress, to have the Ram Rajya. Wish India would usher into that era of Ram Rajya.

Construction of the Bhavya-Ram Mandir: A Paradigm shift in Indian secularism

soumita
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Construction of the Bhavya-Ram Mandir: A Paradigm shift in Indian secularism

Finally, after a struggle of more than half a millennium, a magnificent temple dedicated to Maryada–Purushottam (man with a supreme modesty) Sri Ram is going to be reconstructed. The 5th of August, the day the stone-laying ceremony was done by our Hon’ble PM Sri Narendra Modi, will go down in history as the day India truly became a secular country. Millions all over the pandemic-ridden world were hooked onto their television screens to witness the historic event. The celebrations were not just about laying the foundation stone of the temple, it was about redressing the centuries of injustice done towards the Hindus and their sentiments. Finally, our Ram is coming back home to Ayodhya and it is truly a cause for celebration, even if it’s confined to the premises of our homes.

The previous Ram Temple was demolished by the Uzbeki-Babur in the year 1528 and began the tradition of doing every evil thing one can imagine in the name of religion. He was an iconoclast and mutilated and killed anyone who was not practising Islam, as supposedly they are all ‘Kafirs‘. Some resisted being converted, while others, in order to save their lives chose to bow down to the orders of the foreign-invader and become converts. But Indians were still amicable among themselves since Hinduism states ‘Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava‘, meaning all religions are equal and lead to God. Thus, there has never been a conflict of interest from the Hindu side as to whose religion is superior.

But this concept bruised the invaders who came from western Asia and wanted to shatter such high beliefs which made them look small. And thus began their spree of destroying Hindu architectural heritages such as temples and universities. I wonder if such places could have been preserved to this day, all the seven wonders of the world would have been found in India itself. But that’s a topic for another day. Now coming back to the point, these foreign invaders brought doom to the lives of millions of Indians, and all Indians should remember this fact in order to right the wrongs. Re-building the Ram Temple, after a struggle of nearly 500 years, is the beginning of that very process of redressal. This very act is rightfully symbolic in many ways.

Ram’s personality was larger than life itself. He emphasized on doing what is right, even in disastrous situations. Whether it is denouncing the throne to keep his father’s word, or going away on an exile in the forest, or staying married to only one woman, or to uphold the love for his motherland than lose yourself in the greed of the riches of a foreign land like ‘soney-ki-Lanka‘ (Land with an abundance of gold). He was so much into taking the right decisions that he sacrificed his love Sita, just because as a King he was obligated to do justice to the people of his kingdom. Sita at that time was carrying his babies in her womb, but unlike many other rulers, he sacrificed that too as he believed that doing justice to his subjects was more important than preserving his lineage. Ram is a symbol of righteousness. There would be no evil left in this world if everyone were to try to follow his footsteps. Re-building the Ram Temple is a step in that right direction.

Today we talk about mental heath and people succumbing to depression, bitterness, faithlessness and even suicide when thing don’t go their way. In a world which has already plunged into such an abysmal condition, remembering and celebrating Ram becomes the only cure. Because nothing in his life went according to his plan and he always found himself in situations which were nothing short of a nightmare. Kaikeyi, the mother who loved him the most, asked for him to be sent into exile in the forest. Had he ever done anything to upset his mother? No. Had he ever prepared himself mentally to denounce all worldly possessions and live as a hermit in the forest? No. Had he committed suicide when put in this situation? Again, A BIG NO.

Then again, while living in the forest, his love Sita was taken away from him. Did he break down mentally at the loss of his love? No. He was a crown prince and could have married a hundred princesses, but did he even consider polygamy? No. Did he go in search of his kidnapped wife with only his younger brother Lakshman by his side? Yes. Did he succeed in building a bridge across the sea to Sri Lanka? Yes. Against all odds, did he win the war he fought with Ravana? Yes. He had won Lanka fair and square, but did he rule Lanka? No. If you’re wondering why he never did rule Lanka, it’s because firstly, he was a righteous person and righteousness dictated that a land should only be governed by someone native to that place, and secondly, there’s no other place greater than one’s motherland, which is why he just had to return to Ayodhya. Similarly, even after his return to Ayodhya, life threw one disaster after another at him. He was forced to sacrifice his wife and his unborn children. But even then he never became a depressed or a spiteful person. Though his personal life was an absolute disaster, yet he remained as calm and as loving as always.

It is because of these reasons that Ram needs to be talked about and drawn inspiration from. His story, the Ramayana, should be sung anywhere and everywhere. He continues to be an inspiration in the present day and age. But there have been attempts to have him forgotten in the name of secularism and divisive-politics. He was a Hindu because back in those days, Hinduism was a way of life and not a religion. So he is definitely not a religious figure! That is why it was of the utmost importance that the temple dedicated to him in his birthplace had to be rebuilt. He himself is the symbol of secularism. He was impartial to the rights of the rich and poor, men and women, young and old. Though other religions did not exist in his time, if it did, he would have been impartial to that as well.

Moreover, secularism in post-independent India has always been about stamping on the sentiment of the Hindus. Back in early 1000 AD, the Somnath Temple in Gujarat was plundered and destroyed by none other than another barbaric Islamist from present-day Turkey called Mahmud Ghazni. But when the temple was rebuilt and about to be inaugurated, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, prohibited the then President Dr. Rajendra Prasad, to not inaugurate it. Though Dr. Prasad did not pay him any heed, Nehru’s act was the exhibition of the biggest bigotry in the name of secularism. One has the right to practice his religion; doesn’t matter if the person is the President of India or a farmer.

Ever since independence, India’s exhibition of secularism has only been confined to the appeasement of a particular minority community. People remember the Gujarat riots but no one talks about who locked up innocent Kar-sevaks inside Sabarmati express on their way back from Ayodhya and burnt them alive. Moreover, people talk about Islamic architecture when some of it was actually stolen away from the Hindus. New findings have brought to light that the Red Fort and Qutb Minar were actually built much long back by the Hindus. Evidence is also being found that the foundation on which the Taj Mahal sits today was built by the Hindus. Moreover, the Taj Mahal is a fake glorification of Shah Jahan’s love for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is a great monument and should be preserved. But projecting it as a symbol of love is completely absurd! Mumtaz was not Shah Jahan’s only wife, so that rules out his true love for her. Moreover, many atrocities were committed while its construction such as maiming the artisans who built it. Love cannot be built on the foundation of blood and gore. In my view, the Ram-Setu, the bridge built by Ram to cross over to Lanka, to rescue his wife Sita, is the rightful symbol of love.

Finally, having a mosque at Ram-Janmabhoomi was not right from any perspective. One can NOT build a temple at Mecca or a mosque at the Vatican. Thus, it was extremely heinous on the part of Babur to demolish the Ram Temple and have a mosque built at that very place. People have the right to practice their own religion but that does not mean that one would take away the rights of the other. Rebuilding the Bhavya-Ram Mandir at Ayodhya and the replacement Mosque at Sohawal tehsil in Ayodhya district marks the beginning of true secularism in India.

राम-भक्त कारसेवकों को नमन

Rajeev Raman
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राम-भक्त कारसेवकों को नमन

कहते हैं की समय बड़ा बलवान होता है, ये बात उन राम भक्तों के अलावा बेहतर कोई नही समझ सकता है, जिन्हे अपने आराध्या का मंदिर बनाने के संकल्प को पहले आक्राणताओं ने कुचल दिया और फिर कालांतर में स्वतंत्र भारत के राजनीतिक वामपंथियो ने एक हास्य बना दिया की ‘मंदिर वहीं बनाएँगे लेकिन तारीख नही बताएँगे. वर्षो से टीवी डिबेट में और जन सभाओ में राम-भक्त हिंदू के मर्यादित कर्मो को एक आडंबर और एक राजनीतिक दल का प्रपंच बता कर उन्हे अपमानित किया जाता रहा. परंतु विधि को शायद कुछ और विधान रचना था, इसीलिए सदियो की प्रताड़ना और अवहेलना के बाद भी अंततोगत्वा सर्वोच न्यायालय ने मर्यादित निर्णय मे श्री राम मंदिर का मार्ग प्रशश्त किया. 5 अगस्त राम भक्तो के द्वारा उन कलयुगी राक्षस विचारधारा के उपर जीत का दिवस है जो उसके आत्मस्वाभिमान और गर्व पे सदियों से प्रहार करता आ रहा था. यह उस सब्र और उम्मीद की जीत है जो क़ानून के द्वार पे बैठा न्याय की उम्मीद लगाए दशकों से तपस्यरत था. जिसके आराध्य ही मर्यादा पुरुषोत्तम हों उनके भक्त भी इसी आशा मे थे की क़ानून उनका फरियाद सुनेगा और अंततः अब मन्दिर निर्माण की आधारशिला रखी जा रही है.

5 अगस्त 2020 उत्सव मनाने का उपलक्ष्य तो है ही साथ ही साथ उन सुर-वीरो, महानात्माओ को याद करने का भी समय है जो जिन्होने राम-काज में आपने प्राणो की आहुति दे दी. कौन भूल सकता है 30 अक्टूबर 1990 का दिन जब हिंदू संगठनो ने अयोध्या में कारसेवा की घोषणा कर रखी थी, पूरी दुनिया से लोग कारसेवा करने के लिए अयोध्या आ रहे थे. अयोध्या जाने के सारे मार्ग बंद कर दिए गये थे. ऐसे वक़्त उत्तर-प्रदेश मे मुलायम यादव की सरकार थी, वो सरकार जिसने ये घोषणा कर रखी थी की ‘अयोध्या मे परिंदा भी पर नही मार सकता’. ये स्वाभिमानी हिन्दूओं के लिए एक खुली चुनौती सी थी, उन मौका परस्त लोगो के द्वारा जो तुस्टिकरण की राजनीति के लिए किसी भी हद तक जाने के लिए तैयार थे! मैं उस वक्त किशोरावस्था में क़दम रख रहा था जब धावनियों मे रक्त दुगनी रफ़्तार से दौड़ती थी. रेडियो, टीवी और समाचार-पत्र ही समाचार के मध्यम थे, लोग रेडियो स्टेशन की फ्रीक्वेन्सी बदल बदल कर अद्यतन खबर जानने की कोशिश कर रहे थे, ऑल इंडिया रेडियो और दूरदर्शन की खबर ऐसे वक़्त पर विश्वसनीय नही मानी जाती थी, लोगों का भरोसा BBC पे ज़्यादा था. लोग नुक्कड़, चौराहे पे जमा हो कर पल पल की ख़बरे जानने  की कोसिस कर रहे थे, मगर जैसे जैसे मिनिट की सुई आगे बढ़ती थी मन निरासा और ग्लानि से भरा जाता था. लगता था करोड़ो हिंदुओं की आत्मगौरव कुछ लोगो के हाथो दफ़न हो जाएँगे. दिन का सूरज माध्यांत्र की तरफ बढ़ता चला जा रहा था तभी एक खबर मिलती है की किसी ने बाबरी मस्जिद के उप्पर भगवा धवज फहरा दिया है.

मुझे ये पता नही था कौन थे वो लोग जो करफ्यू में भी, बिना अपने प्राणों की परवाह किए बगैर बलिदान होने को तत्पर हो गये थे; हिन्दूओं की प्रतिष्ता के लिए इतना बड़ा ख़तरा मोल ले लिया. अचानक एक दिन मेरे मुहल्ले में अस्थि कलस यात्रा आई, पता चला ये उन कारसेवकों का अस्थियाँ है जो 30 अक्टूबर 1990 के पुलिस फाइरिंग मे बलिदान हुए. कुछ दिनो के बाद पता चला की कोलकाता से दो भाई कारसेवा करने निकले थे दोनो पुलिस फाइरिंग में शहीद हो गये, ऐसी खबर मस्तिस्क पे दीर्घकालिक अवसाद छोड़ जाती हैं, मन में ये खबर बार बार चलता रहा की उसके माता पिता, परिवार की क्या मनोदशा होगी जिसने अपने दो-दो लाल एक ही दिन में खो दिए हों.

बड़ा हो कर खबरओं को जोड़ने की कोशिश करता हूँ. पता चला की दोनो भाई का नाम राम कोठारी और शरद कोठारी है, कोलकाता के रहने वाले थे. ये दोनो भाई ही थे जो बबरी मस्जिद के गुंबद पे केसरिया पताका लहरा कर हिंदुओं की मान मर्यादा की लाज बचाई थी. मेरे पापा कोलकाता में व्यवसाय करते थे, तो मैं कोलकाता जाया करता था बस घूमने के लिए, कोठारी बन्धूं का घर था बस हमरी गाली से 500 मीटर की दूरी पे. राम और शरद घर वालों से कह कर गये थे की अपने बहन की शादी की सारी तैयारियाँ कर के रखने के लिए, वो ज़रूर आएँगे! लोग कहते हैं 30 अक्टूबर से 2 नवंबर 1990 के बीच में सरयू नदी का पानी पुलिस के गोली से मारे हुए राम भक्तो के रक्त से लाल हो गया था. मन में भगत सिंह की ये पंक्तियाँ ख्याल आती हैं-

हम भी आराम उठा सकते थे घर पे रह कर
हमे भी पाला था मा बाप ने दुख सह सह कर

ऐसी कितने ही कहानियाँ होंगी जो कालांतर में खो जाएँगे लेकिन बनने वाला भव्य राम लाला का मंदिर के उप्पर का पताका आने वाले पीढ़ियों के लिए ये याद दिलाते रहेगा की ये भगवा धवज की कीमत अमुल्य है! समय बलवान होता है, ये पता था मगर नियती (डेस्टिनी) उससे भी बड़ी होती है, ये आज पता चला और नियती उनका साथ देती है जो धर्म के तरफ खड़े होते हैं! अपने आराध्य के लिए अपना सर्वस्व निछiवर करने वाले सभी कार्यसेवकों को मेरा शत्-शत् नमन!  

Only Ram’s Bharat can de-radicalize Project Medina victims

Ankit Shah
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Only Ram’s Bharat can de-radicalize Project Medina victims

The re-birth of Bharat at Ayodhya is a watershed moment of our history! The massive conversion that the Indian subcontinent saw during the invaders’ rule laid the foundation of the massive identity crisis among the Muslim community of today. It’s no surprise that the community now and then seeks out in search of its origins. Some search in Iran, some in Arabia, some in Malay or Mongol ancestry and Pakistanis go to the extent to search their blood in Ottoman-turkey. It is this identity crisis which has resulted in world powers easily renting Pakistan as a hired war zone. A culture which is clear about its mother and motherland cannot act as agents of chaos in the very sacred soil where they belong. The refusal to Vande Mataram is understandable from this vantage point.

Here is a rich civilization which is so accommodating that every child takes up minimum of three languages and wishes new year to every community of the world. This same land of Bharat is a witness to Muslim brothers eating at Hindu homes and Hindus funding to build mosques and even marriages of Muslim children in the recent past.

Why this rich land of cultural enlightenment is moving again towards a point where the holy cows are publicly tortured to death purposely to hurt sentiments and lacs of Pandits driven out of their homes? Invaders are long gone, but Project Medina is sneaking to enter again.

Let’s learn from how middle-east, which was mostly Pagan, Jewish & Christian, was weaponized with Arabic desert life-style of loot to cut off the innocent Muslims from their motherland, cultural identity and civilization to use them for violence.

  • Desert lifestyle calendar starts with Hijrah. It is moving from an Islamic land to a non-Islamic land. Turns out as a starting point of terror. Many of the middle-eastern countries let radicals in on humanitarian grounds as they pleaded under the garb of being refugees and victims.
  • Desert lifestyle of burqa & short length trousers meant for sandstorms and walking in sands. Turns out that it was used to dominate and rotate women and children in several families for abuse, where in fact there is no desert-sands. Why would people wear such clothes when there was no desert where they lived. The pictures of Afghani-Iraqi-Irani women till 1970s are available in public domain. The middle-eastern countries visibly modern back in time, turned to ashes and ruins within decades.
  • Desert lifestyle of worshiping the moon after facing harsh sun-light all the time. Turns out as symbols of subjugation on flags of some failed-states and terror groups operating even today.
  • Desert lifestyle of burying the dead as there was no surplus wood to burn the bodies in desert. Turns out it became a land-grab, persecution tool in the middle-east as no other communities would live around the cemetery.
  • Desert lifestyle of eating animals in absence of pulses, cereals and plant diversity due to paucity of water. Turns out as actions of chaos to bully and hurt sentiments of others. Christians, Sikhs, Parsis and Jews still being butchered in the middle east. The mob behavior of selling off the entire community as a mass vote block in favor in the decision making systems turned out as exploitation of looting wealth of other communities routing through those charged with governance in the name of taxes and allowances to get their polygamous behavior and huge population sponsored. In the middle east, this basically became a model of killing and outnumbering the other communities using their own funds.
  • Desert lifestyle of marrying in relations as no outside community would like to give their daughters in deserts. Turns out as a suppression tool for women at home and women of other communities were considered as a prize of loot after riots and bombing. The stories of Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and so on, are terrible.
  • Desert lifestyle of eating in one vessel in absence and scarcity of water for cleaning purposes. Turns out that too continued in other geographies.
  • Desert lifestyle of mob-based attack and loot of the caravans transporting goods through the desert as there was no manufacturing or agriculture base. Turns out mob-based riots were planned to take-over the ready wealth of other communities who leave the area after panic-selling their properties. Otherwise harmless appearing parents in the middle east became used to sending 9 out of 10 children to riot.
  • Desert lifestyle of polygamy which is a known war strategy of fast human replacement in war. It is not a peace time behavior. The bigger the mob, the better the loot in desert. The long beard made sense to save the neck from the swords or weapons. Turns out as a cause of multiplying perpetual poverty and a sense of victim hood rooted in personal lives spilled all over the society and the middle east region.
  • Desert lifestyle of not allowing modern education and skills using religion as an excuse so as to continue the exploitation of poor to use them in riots as mobs. An entire army of clergy in the middle-east misused mosques as weapon-storage, indoctrination hub through hate-speeches and as flag posts-land grabs tool, the areas after which no law enforcement agency would dare to enter, forget about other communities residing. Turns out others cannot even think of entering these areas. The roads get blocked, highways encircled with radical shops on both sides so nobody can escape. The cities literally became no-go zones for common people, while the clergy freely ran parallel government and courts.
  • The Desert 90+5+5 Formula was adopted after crossing 25% of the total population throughout the middle east. 90 in the community acting to be good and moderate, but silently swallowing away the wealth won after riots/terror attacks for negligible prices as others leave the area. These 90 give cover fire to the institutionalized crime of rioters by comparing with other criminal acts to confuse others and showcase it as some normal thing. 5 in the community who are really honest people, the ones that conduct terror strikes or riots and strongly believe that they did some noble task. And 5, who know everything about what is right and wrong, but keep mum as they are afraid of the extremists.

After a period of using this formula, there was no trace of a stable governance model, democratic values or human rights throughout middle east. Only one economics worked, the one of looting and plundering the other communities in the name of Jizya tax, riots and what not. This went on until the free crude oil was discovered.

The bigger question is do this desert tribe life-style spare Muslims?

The answer is No.

Once the countries are declared Islamic and no other community is left in terms of status as equal citizens, the desert life-style tribe ensures spelling out new religious interpretations, mark the ones who are wealth-creators as non or less-believers and not a real Muslim and start attacking those. The Kafir labeling factory continues as they don’t have any viable, non-violent economic plan after taking over. Every year millions of Muslims are killed throughout the middle-east by packaging and introducing new rules-interpretations of desert life-style as religious compulsions. With last 30 years of free crude oil stock remaining, the middle east will be boiling with this desert tribe formulas in triple speed towards a tragic disaster.

Modern-day Bharat has to take a leaf out of the horrors, the middle-east has gone through and pre-empt the causes at the earliest. There is absolutely no scarcity like that of a desert here. There is plenty of water, clothing friendly climate, education and economic opportunities, modern concept of nation-state governance under a healthy democracy for all its citizens.

आज न सिर्फ उत्सव मानना है अपितु कार सेवकों के बलिदान को याद कर प्रपंचों से भी लड़ना है

@ in_amangupta
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आज न सिर्फ उत्सव मानना है अपितु कार सेवकों के बलिदान को याद कर प्रपंचों से भी लड़ना है

आज प्रभु राम की नगरी में भव्य मंदिर का शिलान्यास हो रहा है, इस अवसर पर अयोध्या नगरी ही नहीं सम्पूर्ण भारतवर्ष ही अपने आराध्य के लिये सजा हुआ है। किंतु इस उत्सव के मध्य उन लोगों को भी याद रखना आवश्यक है, जिन्होंने इस पुण्य यज्ञ में अपने जीवन को आहूत किया है। यह उन लोगों के प्रति न सिर्फ कृतज्ञता प्रकट करने का अवसर है, बल्कि वर्तमान पीढ़ी को अवगत कराने का भी समय है कि आखिर कितने संघर्ष के पश्चात यह सुअवसर प्राप्त हुआ है। जिस तरह प्रभु श्रीराम ने जब रावण का संहार किया तो उनकी सेना के भी कई सैनिक वीरगति को प्राप्त हुए थे, उसी तरह वर्तमान में प्रभु राम के मंदिर के लिये भी हज़ारों राम भक्त कार सेवकों ने अपने प्राण आहूत किए हैं।

आज जब बाबर की बर्बरता को सुधार कर करोड़ों राम भक्तों को न्याय मिल रहा है तो वक्रदृष्टा एक बार फिर सक्रिय हो गए हैं। ऐसे में इस शिलान्यास तथा इसके लिये बलिदान देने वाले और इससे जुड़े व्यक्तियों की छवि को धूमिल करने के प्रयास भी तेज़ हो गए हैं। आगामी दिनों में संविधान, सेक्युलरिज्म और कोरोना को आधार बनाकर कई प्रपंच रचे जाएंगे। इसके नमूने भी दिखने लग गए हैं तथा अलग-अलग समूह ने जिहादी और वामपंथी विचार से प्रेरित होकर सोशल मीडिया पर नकारात्मक ट्रेंड चलना प्रारंभ कर दिया है। जैसे- जैसे मंदिर निर्माण परवान चढ़ता जाएगा, वैसे- वैसे इस समूह की गतिविधियां तीव्र हो जाएंगी।

अब प्रश्न उठता है कि इन वक्रदृष्टा जिहादी और वामपंथी कलुषों के साथ क्या किया जाए? पहला विकल्प है कि इन्हें यूहीं महत्त्वहीन मानकर छोड़ दिया जाए। वहीं दूसरा विकल्प है कि हम अपने उत्साह और आनंद की चरम अभिव्यक्ति करें तथा इन्हें स्वयं की ईर्ष्या अग्नि में भस्म हो जाने दें। इतना ही नहीं इनके हर प्रपंच पर तीक्ष्ण हमला करें तथा इनके हर तर्कहीन बौद्धिक हमले का आक्रमकता से प्रतिउत्तर दें। 

आज न सिर्फ श्रीराम के चरित्र की महिमा जानना है, बल्कि उनके मंदिर निर्माण के लिये अपना सर्वस्व न्योछावर कर देने वालों के बारे में भी जानना आवश्यक है। देश के हर शहर, कस्बे और गांव के कार सेवकों ने क्रूर अनाचारी मुख्यमंत्री के आदेश पर चली गोलियों से अपने प्राण गवांए थे या अपने शरीर को क्षित-विक्षिप्त किया था। आज इन राम भक्तों के शत्रुओं को पहचानने का भी दिन है। इसके साथ ही राम मंदिर निर्माण को न्यायालय में हर प्रकार से रोकने का प्रयास करने वाले राजनीतिक दल के रामभक्त होने के दावे के पाखंड को भी सार्वजनिक करने का दिन है। आज न सिर्फ राम मंदिर की आधारशिला रखी जा रही है, बल्कि नए भारत निर्माण के संकल्प का वास्तविक आगाज भी हो रहा है। आज से हर राम भक्त दायित्व है कि अपने धर्म के विरुद्ध रचे जाने वाले प्रपंच और मिथ्या दुष्प्रचार का खंडन करे तथा अपने धर्म और कार सेवकों के बलिदान की शुचिता बनाए रखे।

The off track Sushashan: Tracing the straying governance in Bihar

By Neha Perween । Yasir Mumtaz Ansari
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The off track Sushashan: Tracing the straying governance in Bihar

In 2005, people of Bihar entrusted Nitish Kumar (JD(U) allied with BJP) for CM’s position. Before 2010 election he gained the Title of Sushasan Babu. The CM, “Sushashan Babu”, on 16 June 2013 JD(U) ended a 17-year-old alliance with BJP and quit NDA. In 2015 Mr. Kumar who got the leadership in the banner of Grand Alliance once again broke up and moved with NDA in 2017. The track of Sushashan seems to be lost in the battle for chair. Analyzing the aftermath complexities of the Nitish regime possibly indicates whether Mr. Kumar stood out in justifying his title, “sushashan babu” or not.

Education:  Passport for Future.

The Government of Bihar increased budgetary allocations on education by 10.5% in 2017-18 and 25% in 2018-19. But a report by NITI Aayog in Oct 2019 confirms that merely allocating money does not guarantee the quality index. Under that report, Bihar secured 19th position by scoring 37.3%, among 20 other states in the ‘State Education Quality Index’ (SEQI). The report further elucidated enrollment ratio only 32.7% population from the 16-17 age group, 44% transitioned from secondary to higher secondary, and 84.64% from elementary to secondary. In access to school, the state secured 42.9%, 41% in Learning outcomes, 57.7% in Equity (treating students equally), and in infrastructure and facilities the state got second the last position with 10.9%. 

As per the ranking, Bihar has witnessed a sharp decline of 9.3% in access to the schools’ category. In state there has been a systematic failure in teacher-pupil ratio, teaching quality, infrastructure, dropouts at the secondary and higher secondary level, irregular classes, etc. Another survey of Child Rights And You (CRY) and Centre For Budget And Governance Accountability (CBGA) has acknowledged that despite allocation 1/5th of the total budget, Bihar’s per-student spending is much less(₹ 9,583 per student) than state’s like Goa (which spent about ₹ 67000), Kerala (approx ₹ 39000) and Tamil Nadu (approx ₹ 24000). The state also reported only 52% professionally trained teachers implying a critical Right to Education parameters resulting in classrooms attended by a handful of unqualified teachers with almost 2 lakhs vacant post. Interestingly, only 1.6% of the school budget is spent on teacher’s training. 

Women safety and empowerment : freedom not feardom.

Being one among ‘Saat Nishchay-Vikas ki Guarantee’ agenda of JD(U), women’s safety and empowerment is a big failure. Between 2005-10, Mr. Kumar offered the female electorate a taste of freedom, reserved an unprecedented 50% seats in Panchayat and local body elections for them; his flagship initiative was the “Mukhyamantri Balika Cycle Yojana”. But the challenges are still there, just a year ago, Muzaffarpur shelter home rape case hit national headlines after a report by Tata Institute Of Social Sciences (TISS) went public. The abuse and sexual violation of the young inmates of the Muzaffarpur-based NGO (Sewa Sankalp Evam Vikas Samiti ) point to how the government failed, also nefarious activities of several state agencies got highlighted. Chandeshwar Verma, husband of Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma was accused of frequently visiting the place and spending hours there. In June 2019, a 48-year-old woman and her newly married 19-year-old daughter were punished by shaving hair and parading in a village (Bihari) of Vaishali to deprecate the rape bid against ward councilor Mohammad Khurshid. During lockdown on 3rd April, a migrant woman was sexually abused in Gaya hospital where she was kept in an isolation ward. Three days later, she died due to excessive bleeding. Behind the scene of reserved seats of local bodies election, women contesting elections as proxy candidates appears to be the status quo across Bihar. In several villages, they contest as proxy officials on behalf of their husband, who came to be called mukhiyapatis and sarpanchpatis. According to Bihar Gender Report Card 2019, issued by the Government of Bihar, 17,472 number of crimes against women was recorded in Bihar during 2018-19. Kidnapping alone constitutes 50% of the crimes committed against women in Bihar. 20% of cases filed under the Dowry Oppression, while 6% are Dowry Deaths, 9% of crimes are Rape, while 12% are under the broad bucket of Women Atrocities. The same report says that Bihar has the lowest labor force participation rate among women (aged 15-59) in India, just 4.4%. This is significantly lower than the male LFPR (71%) in the state. The average wage earnings among female regular workers are 27% lower than male regular workers.

Accountable care Healthcare.

Healthcare system happens to be a basic parameter for good governance, but  Nitish Regime did not even bother to include the health care facilities in its seven decision manifesto “Saat Nishchay- Vikas ki guarantee” in 2015 elections. Bihar’s fractured healthcare system came to limelight in 2019 when Acute Encephalitis Syndrome  ‘chamki Bukhar ‘ took more than 100 innocent lives.  AES has been killing children since 1995. In fact, according to ‘National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme’ between 2008 and 2014 AES epidemic with 44000 unknown cases and 6000 deaths across India mainly in UP and Bihar. That crisis again showed the failure of government agencies. Unsurprisingly in the NITI Aayog health index titled “Healthy States Progressive India” in 2017- 2018, Bihar secured the second-lowest position.

That was not all, it also marked as having ‘Deteriorated’ with the highest number of indicators which have fallen in the category of “deteriorated” and “most deteriorated”. An official agency of Health Ministry in 2018 – 19 revealed that 98 Primary Health centers did not meet the requirements of having one medical officer, two nurse – midwives, and not even a labor room. The district hospitals did not even qualify the minimum criteria in the state’s healthcare apparatus. The Cleanliness Survey Undertaken by the Clean India Campaign listed Bihar as least hygienic in the country. Despite receiving dubious distinction after the report and an additional 300 crore under PM-JAY/ Ayushman Bharat, no efforts have been made to change the health system. With such a horrible healthcare system, how the state is dealing with coronavirus outbreak is a question of apprehension.

Space to Social Harmony.

Mr. Kumar has followed a policy of zero tolerance towards communal forces, as he had said “he will not ruin Communalism”. But the collapse of Grand Alliance in July 2017 and the homecoming of Kumar to NDA, led BJP higher control.  Nitish did succeed in penalizing the rioters of the Bhagalpur massacre (1989-1990). But now it is rarely possible, his ally, now a dominant one cannot allow him to do so because of the hindutva card being played by his ally as an electoral savior. A report by The Indian Express in early 2018 claimed that since July 2017 after quitting the grand alliance by Mr. Kumar the state has seen a flow of communal tensions.  The report said that more than 200 cases of communal tensions have been recorded by the police including 64 in 2018. With 270 cases 2017 recorded the highest number of communal incidents in recent times.

According to the NCRB report, of the 723 incidents (India) of riots, 163 (highest in all) are from Bihar communal/Religious riots in 2017 this number is marginally increased to 167 in 2018. The involvement of Arjit Shashwat, the son of union minister Ashwini Choubey in Bhagalpur violence on 17 March 2018 which leds tension in another nine districts and the FIR against Shashwat is termed as a piece of garbage by his father Mr Choubey. Same domination was seen in Patna in last September of 2018 when district administration issued an order calling for the immersion of all the idols of Durga Puja within the stipulated time as Muharram was to follow a day later none else but the Union minister of state Giriraj Singh publicly flayed the Nitish Kumar government. Ultimately the administration withdrew its order, indicating dilution in the sushashan and promises of Mr. Kumar.

Still Sick: BIMARU and Bihar.

From 2004-05 to 2014-15 Bihar emerged as the fastest-growing state in India with 10% annual growth and remained in double-digits in 2016-17 with 10.3%. But, the economist, Kaushik Basu’s remarks, “Bihar’s high growth did not translate into a significant reduction in Poverty”, draws everyone’s attention to the fact  that between 2004-05 and 2009-10 the percentage of poor people hardly declined and has even increased in past 5 years. In the 2018 “Multidimensional poverty index ” 50 districts in the country came in BIMARU states and from 1998-99 to 2015-16 Bihar remained a multidimensional poorest state. The state massively lacks industrialization and several other factors such as apathy towards family planning,  corruption, illiteracy has contributed to poverty. Bihar’s policy makers need to centered around bringing qualitative strategies and new vision that can alleviate poverty  and not just focused annual growth. 

Weak lumps: Flowing Liquor.

Bihar prohibition and excise act came into effect on April 1st, 2016 which prohibits manufacturing, bottling, distribution, collection, storage, possession, purchase, selling or consumption of liquor. Later in 2018, this law was amended by Bihar government due to huge pressure from critics, watering down its stringency. The implementation of the law barely impacted the availability of liquor, rather, cross border smuggling or ferrying, has defied prohibition imposed by the government. 

Due to liquor being sold abundantly in the black market statewide at high prices, episodes of death owing to country-made liquor have also been reported from across the state. The ban also led to the emergence of gangs of local bootleggers and increasing corruption in the Bihar police force. This liquor ban card was played by the government to safeguard the votes from women suffering from alcoholism of men in the family. Instead of stopping, this ban acted as a catalyst for the crime and a reasonable surge by 46% from 14279 in April 2016 to 20915 in May 2020 (as per Bihar police crime data) was seen.

Nailing these points arises a questionnaire on Nitish’s Sushashan’s tag. But Bihar’s Sushashan Raj can be revived and retrieved by allocating adequate resources, along with pledged team for execution. With the loftiest youth population in India, just a resolute personality is needed to kick start the pace of development. For state to overcome its rouge attitude, people of Bihar need to redeem their ignorant behavior of glorifying past and neglecting present real issues.

IPL– It’s a factor in evolution of Indian Cricket

Rituraj Baruah
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IPL– It’s a factor in evolution of Indian Cricket

Following cancellation of T20 World Cup due to Covid-19, BCCI got a window to go for the IPL which was originally scheduled for March-April’20. Now they are planning to organize it at three locations in UAE from September’20.

Questions were raised, if a tournament like IPL can be organized following all Covid-19 protocols why T20 World Cup cannot be organized. BCCI is blamed for putting its weight on ICC to get the T20 World Cup cancelled to make way for IPL.

It’s a million dollar question who persuaded whom, difficult to ascertain. Even if it is true, it is not an issue because IPL is more than just a tournament for Indian Cricket.

Another hurdle the BCCI had to overcome was the sponsorship. Amidst nationwide emotional cry for boycotting Chinese product and Chinese money, BCCI was in a fix as Vivo, the Chinese technology giant, was the major sponsor of IPL. It has a contract with IPL for five years from 2018 for Rs. 2,199 cr, yearly it comes to Rs. 440 cr. It’s a huge money. As the tournament was nearing, getting a new sponsor was not the right choice. More than that it was the commitment. Credibility was at stake which cannot be overridden by emotions. BCCI took a decision to continue with Vivo.

But, now some quarters have asked BCCI not to go with this sponsorship, if need be the tournament itself to be cancelled. Subsequently, Vivo is also expressing its desire to exit from the sponsorship for this year.

So, BCCI is seemed to be in crisis to keep the tournament on this year. Getting a sponsor within this short span of time and that too with the kind of money the present sponsor was offering is a huge challenge. It’s a big blow to the tournament and Indian Cricket.

Let’s have a look how IPL contributes to Indian Cricket.

IPL is a domestic club cricket in India, so, it is not a high level tournament. But, considering the popularity of the game in the country it is a very innovative concept to monetize the game which benefits players and general people as well. The players are purchased by the Franchises in an auction through bidding and they get attractive money, depending on their capabilities and past performance.

At the same time BCCI also earns huge money by way of TV right, sponsorship, advertisements, etc. The major part of this money is ploughed back into the game in the country for its development.

Franchises also invest money and do their own part to get the return and invest it back in their own fields.

So, one can imagine the number of people involved in this whole set up who gets opportunity for gainful employment. This is in general.

Coming back to cricket, we have seen taking Cricket as a career was a far cry a decade or two back. It used to happen accidentally, not by choice. A player has to play for the country for a considerable period of time to consolidate his financial position for a decent post cricket life. Only a small number of cricketers were fortunate enough to achieve this. So, people from middle class families cannot take risk by opting for cricket as a career.

Now, the scenario is quite different; a player can be a professional without even playing for the country. If we see beyond IPL, in domestic Cricket, players are becoming professionals by playing Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and other domestic tournaments. A Ranji player is paid Rs.1.4 lakhs per match. Moreover, many states pay the players on graded system through annual contracts which is substantial and over and above match fee. In junior level tournaments also a player earns between Rs.0.5 to 1.0 lakh per match.

But, on the contrary, these domestic tournaments cannot earn money, rather it requires money for organizing matches, logistics and other administrative supports. How BCCI will earn money to support this? IPL is a major source of getting revenue for BCCI. It gets around Rs. 300 cr. This money is critical to keep domestic cricket remunerative and competitive.

We have seen now players coming from small towns. It’s happening because the domestic cricket is made competitive by overhauling the entire set up over a period of time. More and more players are coming out to make cricket a career as it is designed to be rewarding.

Players like Sheldon Jackson of Saurashtra, despite playing very well in domestic cricket, cannot find a place in the national team because of the stiff competition. He is not having many more cricketing years left as he is already 33. So, he has to make quick money in next few years to have a decent post cricket life. Now got an opportunity with Puducherry who has given him a contract to play Ranji Trophy at a much higher rate, much to the dismay of Saurashtra Cricket Association. This is development.

Again, players like Karun Nair, who scored a triple century in tests in the recent past, not finding a way back in to the Indian team. How stiff is the competition!!

Wicket Keepers like Wriddhiman Saha, Rishab Pant and K.L. Rahul are fighting for one slot, whereas all three are capable of finding a place in the main XI.

Today, if somebody is dropped due to injury his return may be sealed by his replacement. That is the kind of bench strength we have now.

Because of this competition our national teams getting strengthened with best of the best players to the envy of others.

This is development, rather this is an evolution of the game in the country and we all should be proud of it.

IPL is a big factor in the evolution of cricket in the country and it deserves a priority, if needed, let there be an exception.

Rituraj Baruah

The Uniform Civil Code debate

dhairyagehani
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The Uniform Civil Code debate

Abdul and Zubaida believe that the name of the creator who created everything is “Allah”. Rahul and Suhana believe that the name of the creator who created everything is “Brahma”. John and Susan believe that the name of the creator who created everything is “God”. All these people are entitled to their opinions and have a constitutional right to uphold them. Beliefs are not questioned no matter how illogical they seem. But it should not be forgotten that beliefs are “Theories” and not “Facts”. We cannot allow “Theories” to govern our country no matter how much respect we give to them.

Unfortunately, this is the sad reality of today. Abdul, based on his beliefs can marry 4 women at the same time while Rahul and John can only marry 1 woman at a given time. Why? Just because Abdul “believes” that the creator’s name is Allah? This will create an atmosphere of injustice also for the women who “believe” in Allah for they cannot question their husband’s choice of bringing home a second, third or fourth wife while Suhana and Susan can go against their husbands if such actions are performed by them. This not only creates inequality between a Muslim man and a Muslim woman but also between a Muslim Woman on one side and a Hindu or a Christian woman on the other. Thus, inequality not only on gender basis but also on religious basis even though the gender of the two individuals may be the same.

If Suhana or Susan’s parents pass away without a Will then they are entitled to inherit an equal share of property as their male siblings. But if Zubaida’s parents pass away without a Will, then she is only entitled to half of what her male siblings get. Why? Just because she is female and “believes” that the name of the Creator is Allah?

The same goes for the Goa Civil Code which transferred into the Indian Constitution in the year 1961 as a continuation of the Portuguese law which criminalises polygamy in the State of Goa but gives the legal right to a Hindu man to practice bigamy if his wife fails to deliver a child till the age of 25 or a male child till the age of 30. Why? Just because a woman and her husband believe that the Creator’s name is “Brahma”? I personally neither believe in “The Creator” or religion nor do I necessarily respect every claim, commandment or acts performed by the so called Creators that are written in the scripture. What I respect is the Fundamental and Constitutional Right to uphold whichever belief suits the being of an individual since I uphold the sovereignty and integrity of the Constitution of India.

The same Constitution contains the Article 44. Article 44 of the Directive Principles in the Constitution says the “State shall endeavour to provide for its citizens a uniform civil code (UCC) throughout the territory of India.” Your beliefs are your beliefs but you need to accept the fact that they are still “beliefs”. One may uphold his/her beliefs but in no way is it logical, humane or any example of equality that in the same country, there are two different set of laws that are being implemented on two different people, males and females where females are disadvantaged on the ground of their gender merely because of their “beliefs”.

Ram Janmabhoomi: A tribute to the centuries old struggle

Rudra Prasanna Banerjee
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Ram Janmabhoomi: A tribute to the centuries old struggle

Introduction

Ramayana narrates the story of lord Ram, the seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is believed he had taken birth as a human to restore balance in this world. Ram was a descendant of Ikshvaku, a legendary king of ancient India. The dynasty originates from Shraddhadeva Manu, the seventh of 14 Manus of current aeon. According to Matsya Purana, Shraddhadeva Manu had saved the lives of Saptarishis during the great deluge. He was the son of Vivasvan hence is also called Vaivasvata Manu. One of the ten sons of Shraddhadeva Manu was Ikshvaku, who was the progenitor of the solar dynasty or Suryavansh. The region of Koshala (modern day Awadh in the Indian state of UP), was their kingdom. Koshala had three major cities, Saket, Shravasti (birthplace of Maharaja Suheldev) and Ayodhya.

According to Hindu religious text “Garuda Purana”, Ayodhya is also considered as one of the seven sacred places to attain “Moksha”– the Indian concept of liberation of the soul from the cycle of birth and death. It is also the very place where billions of Sanatanis believe lord Ram was born. So, Ayodhya is considered to be one of the most sacred places as the lord Himself had taken birth in the sacred city.

Historical References

The great Sanskrit poet Kalidas in his immortal work “Raghuvamsa” mentions different rituals related to Lord Ram in Ayodha during 600 B.C. Ram is considered to be one of the 63 illustrious people known as Salakapurusha. Ram is considered to be a Bodhisattva in Buddhist literature in Dashrath Jatak, Anamak Jatak etc. Ramayan is mentioned in at least four places in the Mahabharata. Innumerable places, temples have been associated with Ramayana across the subcontinent, since time immemorial. There are hundreds of versions of Ramayana within India and many more like Turkistan’s khotani Ramayan, Tibetian Ramayan, Indonesian Kakben Ramayan, Thailand’s Ramkiyen, etc all celebrate the story of lord Ram in much grandeur and passion.

Around 11th century A.D. many temples of Lord Ram were built up by the King of Gandhabala dynasty. The famous Historian and Indologist Hans T. Bakker clearly mentioned the existence of many temples including a Vishnu temple in the birthplace of Lord Ram in his book “Ayodhya: A Hindu Jerusalem. Besides Parabhram Shiva temple in Java and ancient Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia has Ramayan engraved on it. Every ancient or medieval temple have references to Ramayan curved on it’s walls.

Destruction of Temples: Mughal period

Many researchers and Hindu leaders claimed at least sixty thousands temples were destroyed during the Mughal period (1526-1857) in India. However the numbers are sure to rise if the earliest Islamic invaders are considered starting from Arab invasion of Sindh in the 7th century followed by Mohammed Bin Qasem, Mahmud Ghazni, Salar Masood, Muhammad Ghori or Afghan, Turkik invasions.

Though it is claimed the disputed structure was constructed after demolishing the existing Ram temple by Mir Baki following the orders of Babar, the Mughal invader. In 1574 the Vaishnav saint Tulsidas in his writing “Ramcharitmanas” and in 1598 Abu al-Fazal also in his third volume of Akbarnama mentioned the Lord Ram birthday festival in Ayodhya. They did not mention any existence of a mosque. The first existence of a mosque was mentioned in a book written by the granddaughter of Aurangzeb and she also mentioned demolition of temples and desecration of other sacred Hindu cities like Varanasi and Mathura..

Similar observations were also mentioned by many foreign travelers like William Finch and Joseph Tiefenthaller.

Constant struggle

In 1717, Jaisingh II purchased lands and established Jaisnighpura in all Hindu religious centres across North India including Ayodhya. This provided “safe space” for the Sanatanis where they could perform their daily rituals without fear or intimidation.

There is recorded history that Guru Govind Singh ji came to defend the temple and fought alongside Sant Vaishnav Das ji against the iconoclastic forces of Islam.

Since the temple complex was occupied and desecrated by Mir Baki, Babur’s general, Hindus waged constant battle to reclaim the land. The history of Mewar by James Todd mentions multiple attempts by descendants of Rana Sangha to reclaim the sacred land. ‘Sanatani’ people from across the country have waged multiple battles with a fair share of success and failure. The only example of an inspired human effort of such a large scale to reclaim something held so sacred can only be found in the history of Crusades. An FIR was filed by the police official of Awadh on 28th November 1858 mentioned that about 25 Nihang Sikhs entered the Babri structure, conducted ‘Hawan-Pujan’ for weeks. Using charcoal, they had also graffitied the inner walls with the name of Ram. This shows the name of Ram is held sacred by the different Dharmic traditions born in India. In 1885 Hindus appeal for construction of Ram Temple was rejected by Court to favour status quo condition.

Post Independent Movement 

In 1949, Sant Digvijay Nath of Gorakhnath Math organised a 9-day continuous recitation of ‘Ramcharit Manas’ and at the end of which the Hindu activists broke into the mosque and placed idols of Rama and Sita inside. 

In the 1980s Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) started a campaign to build Ram temple in Ayodhya. In 1984 the president of VHP Ashok Singhal initiated a nationwide movement. As a result, PM of that time Shri Rajiv Gandhi ordered the opening of the mosque door for Hindus to perform their rituals. 

BJP: the political face of the movement

In 1990, Iron Man of BJP Shri LK Advani started Rath Yatra from Somnath with full support from Vajpayeeji. Present PM Narendra Modi was the organizer in charge of that Rath Yatra. Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, Sadhvi Ritambhara, Uma Bharati were some of the other heavyweight leaders who actively shaped up the last struggle for reclaiming the sacred land.

Demolition of Babri structure

6th Dec 1992:  Thousands of ‘Kar Sevaks’ of VHP and allied organisations were accused of demolishing the mosque. Advani Ji famously roared “30 oct ko waha pahuch kar kar seva karenge aur Mandir Wahi Banayenge. Usko kaun rokega, kaunsi sarkar rokne wali hai ” (We will reach there on oct 30th for KarSeva and we will build Mandir on the sacred space. Who can stop that? Which government can prohibit that?)

BJP stalwart Vajpayee Ji gave an iconic speech when he said “zameen ko samtal karna padega” (the land has to be flattened) for doing Bhajan, kirtan. Kalyan Singh Ji, the then UP Chief Minister refused to fire bullets on ‘Kar Sevaks’ and later resigned. He will always be remembered for his decision which saved thousands of lives. The iconic leader of this movement was Ashok Singhal Ji who had a very simple opinion. He said we are not against Islam or Masjids, you are welcome to make your player hall at a place of your choice; but, it cannot happen in the birthplaces of Ram (Ayodhya), Krishna (Mathura) or one of the 12 original Jyotirlingas (Varanasi), the Tridev ( 3 great lords) of Hindu Pantheon.

Some observers may be of the opinion that it was a gender specific movement where only “men” participated. It may be a news for them that Sadhvi Ritambhara, Uma Bharti ji inspired the whole generation of Kar Sevaks. Sadhvi Ritambhara insisted “Mandir Wahi Banayenge” (We will construct the temple on the very spot) while Uma Bharti ji bellowed “unki goliya kam padh jaengi lekin sina kam nehi padenge” (they will run out of bullets but we will not run out of people to face them).

Liberhan Commission

PM Narasimha Rao ordered an investigation and formed the Liberhan Commission under the Justice Liberhan. Hindu and Muslim groups filed petition in Court for the land.  The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) studied in depth in order of the High Court and concluded the existence of a large temple under the Babri mosque. To maintain status quo Allahabad High court ordered to distribute the disputed land between Hindu and Muslim group.

Petition to Supreme Court

Challenging Allahabad High Court’s verdict, all parties appealed to the Supreme Court. K Parasaran and Dr. Subhramanian Swamy are the most prominent faces who fought for Hindus’ demand of Ram temple. While Parasaran Ji was fighting on the technicalities of the case, Swami Ji, inspired by Periyava (the jagatguru of Kanchi Peeth) opened a new front that played a huge role in this case. Swamiji appealed on the basis of fundamental right to worship at the stop where tradition tells us Shri Ram was born. And as it is well known that a mosque is a prayer hall which can be shifted according to convenience, it is very different from a temple. Sanatanis believe that post the elaborate process of “Pran-Pratishtha” a deity is invoked at a sacred spot and the God lives there. And the devotees may only see the moorti (idol), but the God residing in it observes us.

Hence it is a personal question of faith and according to the Supreme Court of India, faith is unquestionable. As ASI (Archeological Survey of India) under KK Muhammad ji provided proof of a pre-existing Hindu temple structure, it became obvious that the medieval structure was constructed by demolishing an older Hindu temple, a residence of the residing deity and also, according to an interpretation of Islamic laws, no mosque can be erected by demolishing any other place of worship.

Final Verdict from the Supreme Court

6th August 2019: 5 judge constitution bench headed by CJI Ranjan Gogoi started final hearing. In the end, the disputed land was given to the Hindu party only for construction of temple and ordered the Government of India to provide alternative land to the Muslim for construction of mosque.

Back in the day when the ironman of BJP, Shri LK Advani ji had thundered that we will go to the very spot and construct a grand temple to Ram, no government, no individual can stop it, he was mocked and jeered by the self declared progressives, liberals and leftists. Now after all these days, Advani Ji has the last laugh.

Conclusion

As Swami Vivekananda said “I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance”. The World largest democracy again proves the realization of Swamiji. Almost 80% of the population patiently waited for seven decades after independence for their fundamental right to pray. Such is the integrity of India and patience of Sanatanis. But the world usually interprets patience as cowardice. The construction of this Ram Temple is an assertion of the indigenous Hindu identity. The declaration to the world that we can be defeated only for a time being, but we will always be back to reclaim what is rightfully ours. We are the most stubborn of all as time and again we have proved our mettle. Be it reconstructing Somnath Mandir, Puri Jagannath Mandir over and over again at the same spot or the Grand Ram temple now. We Indians have proved ourselves to be the rightful descendants of our ancestors who refused to succumb under constant barbaric Abrahamic onslaught during the middle ages.

Jai Shree Ram, Bharat Mata Ki Jai.

Authors Profile:
Rudra Prasanna Banerjee and Rajarshi Mukherjee
Rudra Prasanna Banerjee is a Genetics Researcher in University of Alberta in Canada and Rajarshi Mukherjee is a Community Medicine Expert in Alberta in Canada.

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