While I was watching the documentary "Ram ke naam" by Anand Patwardhan I remembered the tension and turmoil of those days. Back then (between 1989-1992) I was a teenager with a very confused and impressionable mind. Along with me Indian politics and society were also going through a transition phase. Political and economic discourse was changing for the first time after independence. The central government was thinking of opening its economy, radical reservation policy was announced to increase the participation of backward sections of society. During the same time there was a new emerging star on the horizon of Indian politics in the name of BJP. The actual party was formed in 1980 but it could make its presence felt only after it started Ram janmabhoomi aandolan.
The propaganda and highly charged speeches delivered by some excellent orators of that time (like Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Bal Thackrey) attracted many people to this movement. It was said that as Babur and the Mughal king destroyed a temple and built the mosque (Babri mosque) now it is our (Hindus) turn to take revenge. We Hindus should destroy that mosque and build a Ram temple as that was the very place where lord Ram was born. I don't know what archaeological evidence they had to claim that the site of the mosque was the exact spot where Ram was born but this was what was propagated very aggressively. It was also told to us that it is not a legal matter but it is a matter of faith and when there is a question of faith then all laws and courts should stay away from this as it is a matter of faith for 80% of the population of India, if they all think this is right then it is right and the court has no authority to say anything about this. The logic and oratory skills of many speakers who were propagating these ideas very aggressively attracted a lot of people to this movement. Young kids like me also felt that it was very logical to reclaim our heritage and build a temple by destroying a mosque. There was huge polarization in Indian society with a lot of tension, this polarization worked in favor of the BJP and it slowly became a major political force in many states as well as in the center.
After listening to all these speeches and watching some videos made by VHP and related organizations about why it was necessary to destroy that mosque I had many questions in my mind. Some of them were, what problems that one more Ram temple would solve? What evidence do we have that Ram was born at exactly that place where the mosque stands? India was facing many serious problems back then (many of them still exist) what purpose does this temple was going to serve to solve any of those problems? If Babur broke any temple back then and now we go and break that mosque then what is the difference between him and us? No one from my immediate surroundings was willing or capable of answering those questions so I decided to get more information and study the issue myself. After much research and reading I discovered that all this movement and polarization was purely for political gain. It was all done to get votes and grab power, no one was actually interested in a temple there but everyone was interested in using that issue as a political tool to polarize voters. That was the time when I got detached from the political philosophy of the BJP. I was attracted to it because of my young and impressionable mind but when I realized that it was instilling communal feelings in me, making me hate Muslims for no reason or for something that happened centuries back, I moved away from it. Since then I have seen some leader or other belonging to BJP trying to make use of this brand of politics to serve their political purpose. This type of brand spreads divisiveness and hatred among different sections of society. There is no doubt that this polarization helps to consolidate votes based on religion or caste, and win elections but I feel this is really bad for society as it sowed seeds of divisiveness among different sections of society. It encourages hatred and demolishes trust between communities. It destroys the social fabric of a country by creating a rift between different sections of society, especially, the majority and minority. This is the main reason why I stay away from their brand of politics. This is a very simple story of my attachment and detachment from the BJP. I don't oppose BJP blindly but I oppose their brand of politics. I oppose each and every attempt by any party or politician to create a communal rift in society. It seems that the BJP is trying to improve, they and their supporters claim that it is a secular party and believe in taking all sections of society together but so far it doesn't reflect in their actions. The day they really start practicing all-inclusive politics, I am sure many more people from different communities and religions will join them to take India forward. Until then, they may win elections and stay in power, but their brand of politics will only polarize India.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
The propaganda and highly charged speeches delivered by some excellent orators of that time (like Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Bal Thackrey) attracted many people to this movement. It was said that as Babur and the Mughal king destroyed a temple and built the mosque (Babri mosque) now it is our (Hindus) turn to take revenge. We Hindus should destroy that mosque and build a Ram temple as that was the very place where lord Ram was born. I don't know what archaeological evidence they had to claim that the site of the mosque was the exact spot where Ram was born but this was what was propagated very aggressively. It was also told to us that it is not a legal matter but it is a matter of faith and when there is a question of faith then all laws and courts should stay away from this as it is a matter of faith for 80% of the population of India, if they all think this is right then it is right and the court has no authority to say anything about this. The logic and oratory skills of many speakers who were propagating these ideas very aggressively attracted a lot of people to this movement. Young kids like me also felt that it was very logical to reclaim our heritage and build a temple by destroying a mosque. There was huge polarization in Indian society with a lot of tension, this polarization worked in favor of the BJP and it slowly became a major political force in many states as well as in the center.
After listening to all these speeches and watching some videos made by VHP and related organizations about why it was necessary to destroy that mosque I had many questions in my mind. Some of them were, what problems that one more Ram temple would solve? What evidence do we have that Ram was born at exactly that place where the mosque stands? India was facing many serious problems back then (many of them still exist) what purpose does this temple was going to serve to solve any of those problems? If Babur broke any temple back then and now we go and break that mosque then what is the difference between him and us? No one from my immediate surroundings was willing or capable of answering those questions so I decided to get more information and study the issue myself. After much research and reading I discovered that all this movement and polarization was purely for political gain. It was all done to get votes and grab power, no one was actually interested in a temple there but everyone was interested in using that issue as a political tool to polarize voters. That was the time when I got detached from the political philosophy of the BJP. I was attracted to it because of my young and impressionable mind but when I realized that it was instilling communal feelings in me, making me hate Muslims for no reason or for something that happened centuries back, I moved away from it. Since then I have seen some leader or other belonging to BJP trying to make use of this brand of politics to serve their political purpose. This type of brand spreads divisiveness and hatred among different sections of society. There is no doubt that this polarization helps to consolidate votes based on religion or caste, and win elections but I feel this is really bad for society as it sowed seeds of divisiveness among different sections of society. It encourages hatred and demolishes trust between communities. It destroys the social fabric of a country by creating a rift between different sections of society, especially, the majority and minority. This is the main reason why I stay away from their brand of politics. This is a very simple story of my attachment and detachment from the BJP. I don't oppose BJP blindly but I oppose their brand of politics. I oppose each and every attempt by any party or politician to create a communal rift in society. It seems that the BJP is trying to improve, they and their supporters claim that it is a secular party and believe in taking all sections of society together but so far it doesn't reflect in their actions. The day they really start practicing all-inclusive politics, I am sure many more people from different communities and religions will join them to take India forward. Until then, they may win elections and stay in power, but their brand of politics will only polarize India.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
Links:
1. In the Name of God - Ram ke Naam (1992 Documentary on Babri Masjid Demolition)
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQaV2cWL1D4
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