RIDDLES
OF AYODHYA RAM TEMPLE
Consecration
of Ram’s idol: Which one?
According to the Supreme Court of India (Ayodhya Judgment dated
November 9, 2019),
“The exclusion of the Muslims from worship
and possession took place on the intervening night between 22/23 December 1949 when the mosque was
desecrated by the installation of Hindu idols.” [Supreme Court Ayodhya Judgment, pp. 921-22] The idol of Ram Lalla (Ram
as child) which was placed under the central dome of in the Babri Mosque
(claimed to be the exact place where RAM took birth) was made of metal and was
of nine inches tall. It was the idol which was worshipped that time onward and
continued to be worshipped after demolition of the Babri Mosque on December 6,
1992 in the make-shift temple by Hindus.
However,
on January 22, 2024 a 51-inch stone idol of Ram Lalla will be consecrated through
a Brahmanical ritual called as
‘pran-pratishtha’ (putting soul into an idol) ceremony ) in the newly built Ram Temple at Ayodhya. “On January 22, 2024, PM Narendra Modi will perform the Pran Pratishtha
ceremony under the guidance of Pandit [‘Ayodhya Ram Mandir: Know Pran
Pratishtha Ceremony details here’, The Times of India, Delhi, January 05, 2024.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/106562761.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst]
Since,
PM of a democratic-secular polity of India is conducting this ritual, not only
worshippers of Ram but common Indians too have every right to ask what will
happen to the deity which was worshipped as Ram. Digvijaya Singh, former chief
minister of Madhya Pradesh, a practising Hindus has raised the same issue by
asking: “Where is the idol of Ram Lalla over which the conflict happened? Why
has the old idol not been consecrated?” [‘Where
is old idol of Ram Lala, asks Digvijaya, The Times of India, Delhi, December
04, 2024.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/106529546.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst]
PM Modi must take the nation in confidence about the
status of already consecrated idol of Ram. Will there be two consecrated idols
in the Ram Temple or old idol will be deprived of ‘pran’ or soul?
Is there going to be a ‘pran aparatishtha’ (depriving the idol of soul)
ritual for the discarded idol?
Swami
Dayanand Saraswati on idol Consecration
RSS
and PM Modi glorify founder of Arya Samaj, Swami Dayanand Saraswati as barrage of
the Hindu nation. It will be pertinent to know what Swami said about idol
worship and consecration of idols. All those interested must read chapter 11 of
his masterpiece, Satyarth Prakash (Light of Truth). In this book dealing
with this issue he raised following issues which RSS and Modi must respond:
“If as you say that the God comes into the
image when invoked, why does not the idol show signs of consciousness and why
does not the image also leave when the God is asked to depart? Whence does it
come and here does it go? The fact of the matter is that the All-pervading
Spirit can neither come into and idol, nor, leave it. If you mantras are
efficacious that you can summon God, why can you not infuse life into your dead
son by the force of the very same mantras? Again why can you not bide the soul
depart from the body of your enemy?”
“The
soul is possessed of consciousness, while idol is dead and inert. Do you mean
to say that the soul should also lose its consciousness and become lifeless
like the idol? Idol worship is a fraud.”
“Being
All-pervading He cannot be imagined to exist in any particular object only. To
hold to the contrary would be tantamount to believing that the sovereign Lord
of the earth rules over a small cottage to the exclusion of His whole Empire
and would be an insult to Him. In like manner, it is a blasphemy against God to
imagine Him as existing in one particular object only… If as you say that the
God comes into the image when invoked, why does not the idol show signs of
consciousness and why does not the image also leave when the God is asked to
depart? Whence does it come and here does it go? The fact of the matter is that
the All-pervading Spirit can neither come into and idol, nor, leave it. If you
mantras are efficacious that you can summon God, why can you not infuse life
into your dead son by the force of the very same mantras? Again why can you not
bide the soul depart from the body of your enemy?”
“There
is not a single verse in the Vedas to sanction invocation of the Deity and
vitalization of the idol, likewise there is nothing to indicate that it is
right to invoke idols, to bathe them, to install them in temples and apply
sandal paste to them.”
"The
formless Supreme Spirit that pervades the universe can have no material
representation, likeness or image." YAJUR VEDA 32: 3.”
Destruction
of Ram Temple by Muslims: A fact not known even to Goswami Tulsidas who lived
during those times
It
is no ordinary religious inauguration of a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya to be
slated for January 22, 2024. It has clear political and polarizing agenda
attached to it. Underling this character of the inauguration PM Modi declared
that “Ram Bhakts have waited for 550 years” to see it happen.
‘Celebrate
Diwali across country on January 22, on the day of Ram temple ceremony: [PM
Modi at Ayodhya’, The Indian Express,
Delhi, December 31, 2023, https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/celebrate-diwali-january-22-ram-temple-ceremony-pm-modi-ayodhya-9088953/#:~:text=With%20folded%20hands%2C%20I%20am,the%20evening%20of%20January%2022.%E2%80%9D]
It
is not only in India but almost 60 foreign countries where Hindutva
organizations are active amongst Hindus; the January 22 is to be celebrated
because “After 500
years of struggle by Hindus, Bhagwan Shri Ram Mandir is being inaugurated.” The
thrust of the celebration programmes is that Ram Temple at Ayodhya is finally
built after being destroyed by Muslims 500 hundred years back. It has been 500
year long struggle to see it happen.
[‘Hindu Americans
organise car rally in Washington suburb to celebrate Ram Mandir inauguration’. https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/members-of-hindu-american-community-organise-car-rally-in-washington-suburb-to-celebrate-ram-mandir-inauguration/cid/1987478]
Such
claims by Indian PM and his Hindutva co-fellows in the world are only spreading
hatred against Muslims thus contributing to the Islamophobic narrative in India
and abroad. Sadly, such statements are not only are in contempt of the Supreme
Court Judgment on Ayodhya but also contradict ‘Hindu’ narrative of history.
It
may be interesting to note that RSS archives have no document to prove that
during the British rule since its inception in 1925 ever demanded building of Ram
Temple in Ayodhya.
Supreme
Court inn its 1039 pages long judgment did not admit that Babri Mosque was
built on the ruins of any Ram Temple. It is sad that while religious poison is
being spread openly the Supreme Court remain a mute spectator while its
findings are being mis-reported.
So
far as the ‘Hindu’ narrative is concerned there is no mention of it in the
writings of the most prominent worshipper of Ram to date, Goswami Tulsidas who
lived between 1511-1623. He was the person who penned the Epic, RAMCHARITMANAS (Lake of the Deeds of Ram) in Avadhi language which
angered the local Brahmins as the story of Ram was not written in Sanskrit. This
was the work which mesmerized Hindus of India with the story of Lord Ram and
the latter became house-hold deity of every Hindu home, specially in northern
India. He penned his above mentioned work during 1575-76. According to the
Hindutva version Ram birth-place temple was destroyed during 1538-1539. Thus
RAMCHARITMANAS written almost 37 years after the so called destruction of Ram
birth-place temple should have mentioned this destruction. But it did not
mention it.
Are Hindutva zealots
trying to say that the greatest story-teller and worshipper of Ram and his
Court (Darbar), Tulsidas did not speak truth in his historic work? Is not it an
attempt to question the credibility of Goswami Tulsidas? Are the Hindutva
zealots trying to say that Goswami Tulsidas kept mum on the issue of the
destruction of a temple at Ram's birth-place due to some ulterior motives?
Ramzade Versus
Babarzade
The inauguration of Ram
Temple is blatantly being used to denigrate Indian Muslims. The building of the
Temple is the defeat of ‘Babarzade’
(children of Babar) by ‘Ramzade’ (children of Ram). It is pertinent to know about the nature of
‘Muslim’ rule in India. The Hindutva zealots demanding Muslim-free India must
know that all ‘Muslim’ rulers survived due to the Hindu high Castes joining the
‘Muslim’ rulers in running their empires. How solid this unity was can be gauged
by the fact that after Akbar no Mughal emperor was born of a Muslim mother.
Moreover, Hindu high Castes provided brain and muscles to the ‘Muslim’ rulers
faithfully. Likewise, Mughal rule established by Babar who was invited by a
section of Hindu kings to seize India was the rule of Hindu high Castes also.
Aurobindo
Ghose who played prominent role in providing Hindu foundation to the Indian
nationalism confessed that Mughal rule continued for over a century due to the
fact that Mughal rulers gave Hindus, “positions
of power and responsibility, used their brain and arm to preserve” their
kingdom.
[Cited in Chand, Tara, History of the Freedom Movement in India, vol.
3, Publication Division Government of India, Delhi, 1992, p. 162.]
Renowned historian Tara Chand relying on the primary source material of
the medieval period concluded that the from the end of 16th century
to the middle of 19th century, “it may reasonably be concluded that
in the whole of India, excepting the western Punjab, superior rights in land
had come to vest in the hands of Hindus” most of whom happened to be Rajputs. [Chand,
Tara, History of the Freedom Movement in India, vol. 1, Publication
Division Government of India, Delhi,
1961, p. 124.]
The
contemporary records prove that Aurangzeb rule was also the rule of Rajputs
and Kshatriyas [members of the two of the four
Hindu Castes in order of precedence after Brahmins]. Aurangzeb never
faced Shivaji in the battle-field. It was his commander-in-chief, a Rajput
ruler of Amer (Rajasthan), Jay Singh I (1611–1667)
who was sent to subjugate Shivaji (1603-1680). Jay Singh II (1681-1743),
(nephew of Jay Singh I) was other prominent Rajput commander of the Mughal
forces who served Aurangzeb. He was conferred the title of ‘Sawai' [one and a quarter times superior to his contemporaries]
chief by Aurangzeb in 1699 and thus came to be known as Maharaja Sawai Jai
Singh. He was also given the title of Mirza Raja [a Persian title for a royal prince] by Aurangzeb. The other titles
bestowed on him by other Mughal rulers were ‘Sarmad-i-Rajaha-i-Hind’ [eternal
ruler of India], ‘Raj Rajeshvar’ [lord of kings] and ‘Shri Shantanu ji’
[wholesome king]. These titles are displayed by his descendants even today.
This Rajput chief also gave his daughter in marriage to the son of Aurangzeb
who became Mughal emperor after Aurangzeb. [https://www.indianrajputs.com/view/jaipur and https://www.indianrajputs.com/famous/Jai-Singh-II-Amber.php]
Rajput
commanders fighting for Aurangzeb was no exception. Akbar’s battles against
Rana Pratap were led by one of his brother-in-law, Maan Singh. Maasir al-Umara a biographical
dictionary of the officers in the Mughal Empire beginning from 1556 to 1780 [Akbar
to Shah Alam] is regarded as the most authentic record of the high rank
officials employed by the Mughal kings. According to it Mughal rulers during
this period employed around 100 (out of 365) Hindu high-ranking officials most
of them being “Rajputs from Rajputana, the midlands, Bundelkhand and
Maharashtra”. Brahmins followed Rajputs in manning the Mughal
administration so far as the number was concerned. [Khan, Shah Nawaz, Abdul
Hai, Maasir al-Umara [translated by H Beveridge as Mathir-ul-Umra],
volumes 1& 2, Janaki Prakashan, Patna, 1979.] Interestingly,
Kashi Nagri Pracharini Sabha [established in 1893] “committed
to the cause of Hindi as official language” published Hindi
translation of this book in 1931.
Another
crucial fact which is consciously kept under wrap is that despite more than 500
hundreds of effective ‘Muslim’ rule which according to Hindutva historians was
nothing but a project of annihilating Hindus or forcibly converting the latter
to Islam, India remained a nation with an absolute Hindu majority. The British
rulers held first census in 1871-72. It was the time when even ceremonial
‘Muslim’ rule was over. According to the Census report: “The population of
British India is, in round numbers, divided into 140½ million [sic] of
Hindoos (including Sikhs), or 73½ per cent., 40¾ millions of Mahomedans, or 21½
per cent. [Memorandum on the Census Of British India of 1871-72:
Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty London,
George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, Her Majesty's Stationary Office
1875, p. 16.]
A
poem by Iqbal, a Babarzada eulogizing Ram
The
inauguration of Ram Temple at Ayodhya is being aggressively used to declare
Muslims and enemy of Ram. This kind of pervert Hindutva mind-set has little
knowledge of India’s past. Mohammad Iqbal penned one of the greatest poems in
praise of Ram in Urdu which was titled “Imam-e-Hind” (spiritual leader of
India).
Hai Raam
ke wajood pe Hindustaan ko naaz
Ahl-e-Nazar
samajhte hain us ko Imam-e-Hind
(India is proud of the existence of Ram
Spiritual people consider him prelate of India)
It is quite evident that he does not believe that Ram is leader of Hindus
alone, otherwise he would have used the word Ahl-e-Hind (people of India)
rather than Ahl-e-Nazar (people with vision). For him, the status of Lord Ram
as a spiritual leader is not limited to the Vaishnavas or Hindus only. Lord Ram
lives in the ethos of India and its people.
Talwar
ka dhani tha, shujaat mai fard tha
Paakeegi
mai, josh-e-muhabbat mai fard tha
(He was expert in sword craft, was unique in bravery
Was matchless in piety and in the enthusiasm of love)
Iqbal saw in Ram a perfect role model for the national movement. He is
brave, and can fight wars against any wrong.
Iqbal,
accords Ram not only the status of philosophical fountain head of India but of
the world.
Sab
falsafi hain khita-e-maghrib ke Ram-e-Hind
(All philosophers of the west would have acknowledged India and are fan of Ram).
Deepavali
for Ram or PM Modi
Deepavali
(Festival of Lights) is the most popular Hindu festival in most parts of India.
Deepavli is the celebration of Ram’s return to his kingdom with wife Sita and
his brother Lakshman after defeating Ravan of Lanka. It is celebrated as victory
of truth over evil.
Now
Deepavli for Ram has a competitor which can be named as PM Modi’s Deepavli.
Modi declared this plan during a roadshow in Ayodhya on December 31, 2023.
According to him , “The whole world is waiting for the historic moment. With
folded hands, I am requesting 140 crore people of the country that on January
22, when the consecration of Ramlalla’s idol takes place, light the Ram Jyoti
in your house and celebrate Deepawali. The entire country should sparkle with
lights on the evening of January 22.”
[‘Celebrate
Diwali across country on January 22, on the day of Ram temple ceremony: PM Modi
at Ayodhya’, The Indian Express, Delhi, January 01, 2024
Thus
Deepavali for Ram is being substituted by Deepavali for PM Modi when he appears
in the attire of a rishi or Brahmin saint to put soul into the life-less idol
of Ram. Interestingly, the Hindutva zealots have taken this call very seriously
by calling Hindus to celebrate January 22 as Maha-Deepavali (Great Deepavali); Deepavali
for Ram and Maha-Deepavali for PM
Modi!
Whose
Ram? Common people banned from participating in Consecration Ceremony
Ram is known for protecting his people; uphold
righteousness, compassion and kindness. Ram
is equated with common women/men. His rule is described as Ram Rajya or
a rule for the benefit of common people. According to Gandhi it
essentially meant, “The land of dharma and a realm of peace, harmony and
happiness for young and old, high and low, all creatures and the earth itself,
in recognition of a shared universal consciousness.”
However, these are common Hindus who will not be allowed to join the
ceremony on January 22nd. It was made clear by none other than PM
Modi who asked common worshippers of Ram not
to crowd Ayodhya on January 22. He told them to come later at their convenience
because “this time the navya, bhavya, divya (new, grand, divine) temple in
Ayodhya is not going anywhere and ‘darshan’ will be available for centuries”.
Sadly,
PM Modi did not ask the rich, film actors, industrialists, leading sports
persons to come later. In fact, 22nd celebration participation was
restricted to a galaxy of Very-Very-Very Important Persons. PM Modi overlooked
the fact that the first invites should have gone to those poor worshippers of Ram
who despite miserable life had contributed to the coffers of VHP for building
Ram Temple. It may be relevant here to know that many of the invitees are not
only meat-eaters but have been fond of beef.
Supreme
Court Ayodhya judgment: Trickery over-rides justice
The Supreme Court of India has directly helped the VHP and PM Modi
in becoming the only franchisees of Ayodhya Ram Temple project. The highest
court of justice in India corroborated two important facts.
1. “The exclusion of the Muslims from worship
and possession took place on the intervening night between 22/23 December 1949 when the mosque was
desecrated by the installation of Hindu idols. The ouster of the Muslims on
that occasion was not through any lawful authority but through an act which was
calculated to deprive them of their place of worship.” [Supreme Court Judgment
pp. 921-22]
2. “On 6 December 1992, the structure of the mosque was brought down
and the mosque was destroyed. The destruction of the mosque took place in
breach of the order of status quo and an assurance given to this Court. The destruction
of the mosque and the obliteration of the Islamic structure was an egregious
violation of the rule of law.” [Supreme Court Judgment pp. 913-14]
The Judgment also nowhere mentioned that Babri
Mosque was built after destroying a Ram Temple in the past. [https://scroll.in/article/943337/no-the-supreme-court-did-not-uphold-the-claim-that-babri-masjid-was-built-by-demolishing-a-temple] Despite these findings which talked of “[The] egregious violation of the rule of law” and done not by a “lawful
authority but through an act which was calculated to deprive them of their
place of worship”, Supreme Court took a U turn handing over the site for Ram
Temple building to the same group of Hindutva organization who had conspired in
both the cases. Supreme Court to ensure that no Hindu competitor of RSS-VHP is
allowed any participation in latter’s Ram Temple project disallowed claim of
Nirmohi Akhada, the original claimant of Ram Temple at the site of Babri
Mosque. [Supreme Court Judgment p. 925].
It was apolitical judgment was made
clear by the current Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud (who was one of
the Justices in the Bench which gave unanimous judgment for building Ram
Temple) when he stated: “"The case has a
long history of conflict, of diverse viewpoints based on the history of the
nation and all those who were part of the bench decided that this will be a judgment
of the court.” [‘A judgment of court’: CJI Chandrachud on why Ayodhya
verdict was kept anonymous’ The Week, Delhi, January 1, 2024. https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2024/01/01/a-judgement-of-court-cji-chandrachud-on-why-ayodhya-verdict-was-kept-anonymous.html]
His above statement was, in fact, re-phrasing of propaganda material by
Hindutva organizations. This Judgment legitimized the criminal acts of the
Hindutva zealots; what Hindutva goons could not achieve on December 22-23, 1949
and December 6, 1992 was got delivered to RSS through this Judgment!
Conclusion
Today
Ayodhya is being presented as a case of perpetual war of Hindus against
Muslims. There cannot be a shoddier lie than this. During India’s War of
Independence 1857 Ayodhya it was the same Ayodhya where Maulvis and Mahants and
common Hindu-Muslims stood united in rebelling against the British rule and
kissed the hangman’s noose together. Maulana Ameer Ali was a famous Maulvi of
Ayodhya and when Ayodhya’s well-known Hanuman Garhi’s (Hanuman Temple) priest
Baba Ramcharan Das took lead in organizing the armed resistance to the British
rule, Maulana also joined the revolutionary army. In one battle with the
British and their stooges, both of them were captured and hanged together on a
tamarind tree at the Kuber Teela (razed for the new temple) in Ayodhya.
This region also produced two more great friends, belonging to
different religions that made life hell for the British sponsored armies.
Acchhan Khan and Shambhu Prasad Shukla were two such friends who lead the army
of Raja Devibaksh Singh in the district of Faizabad. Both of them were able to
defeat the Firangee army in many
battles, inflicting heavy losses on them. It was due to the treachery again that
they were captured. In order to desist anyone from such companionships between
Hindus and Muslims both these friends were publicly inflicted prolonged torture
and their heads were cruelly filed off.
The Hindutva rulers of India led by PM Modi must understand that
existence of Indian democratic-secular polity must not be sacrificed for
securing victory for ruling India for 5 more years.
Shamsul Islam
January 16, 2024
Link
for some of S. Islam's writings in English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Malayalam,
Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati and video interviews/debates:
http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam
Facebook:
https://facebook.com/shamsul.islam.332
Twitter:
@shamsforjustice
http://shamsforpeace.blogspot.com/
Email:
notoinjustice@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment