JOIN USBJP’s bhoomi pujan for a new Mandir in the Hindu heart
The Ram Mandir bhoomi pujan ceremony marks the end of a long journey for the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. But it also inaugurates an era guided far more frontally by the Sangh’s ideology than ever before in the 40 years of the BJP's existence.
After the ground breaking ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5, a new goal and target was set for the BJP. The RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat provided a clear-cut direction: “Even as the Ram temple comes up here [in Ayodhya]... that Ayodhya [in our hearts] should also come up. And before this temple is complete, the temple of our hearts must be ready,” he said.
Although not spelt out, it is clear that the RSS sees itself as the custodian of this mind-temple of common Hindus (and non-Hindus who are ready to adopt this worldview). The BJP is the vehicle through which it will reach them all.
A potent symbol
These pronouncements make it apparent that the Ram temple is now no longer just a physical structure for which the RSS-BJP launched a movement and fought. It has grown into a larger symbolic objective, an ideological goal, towards which an agitation will still continue. Bhagwat also laid out the roadmap to make this happen: “Creating the person and the society that will accept as their own not just their fellow Indians, but the whole world, that is the work,” he said, describing the temple as a symbol of such a possibility and a source of inspiration.
Although these words sound perfectly reasonable and even welcome, it’s worth asking what the attributes of this person will be from a political point of view. A “self-confident” Hindu (although Bhagwat word used the word ‘Indian’) who will work to make India ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant). Language usage is key to understanding how the Ram temple ties in with the government’s workings. The Modi government has already launched an economic programme aimed at shoring up India’s fortunes in these uncertain times of the pandemic and global realignments called the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan’. It’s interesting that at the center of all these attempts to reimagine the Indian, whether in a local or a global context, is the new self-assertive Hindu.
Start of a new phase
It becomes clear from the pronouncements of both Bhagwat and the Prime Minister at the August 5 function that the BJP’s raison d'etre is no longer linked to fulfilling a single objective or even a group of linked objectives. The party has been recast, in a sense, as the medium through which Hindus will reclaim their place as the ‘world leader’ (vishwaguru) on their own terms, in their own religious idiom and through their own symbols of civilisational pride. The winning of elections and running of governments is an important element of this project as things stand and that is the BJP’s part to play.
Although it seems like this was always waiting to happen, it has not been a straightforward journey to this point for the BJP since its inception in 1980. From just two seats in the 1984 elections, the party grew through the decade of the 1990s, thanks to the Ram temple agitation which led to demolition of the Babri masjid. The bringing down of the Masjid was a key moment in the development of the party. The pre-and-post Babri party were very different from each other. BJP’s Swapan Dasgupta sees them as distinct phases in the development of the party. The violent phase behind it, the BJP set about trying to achieve its goals through “constitutional and relatively peaceful means” he believes. The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be the culmination of that phase. But it may not be wrong to argue that the party’s third phase has already begun – on August 5, 2020, when it fully emerged as a Hindu party on the Indian political stage.
Modi’s contributions
What is the role of Narendra Modi in these events and how far will his persona influence things going forward? The short answer is that he has been pivotal to these proceedings and it is possible that without him and his popularity the RSS project might have taken much longer to fructify.
That said, though the BJP may be overshadowed by the presence of Modi as long as he remains in active politics, the story of the party’s transformation and its future trajectory are likely to be independent of him. From Modi to the next BJP leader, the transition is likely to be dictated by the inexorable logic of the RSS’ calculations.
Before concluding, however, it is necessary to point out to the utter failure of India’s old party of power, the Congress in providing a convincing alternative to the RSS worldview and ideological position. Until a new Opposition party or leader comes on the scene and makes the BJP-RSS reassess its route, this new journey seems to be well and truly on its way.