Temple should become a symbol of unity

With the consecration of the idol of Ram Lalla on Monday, the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya is a reality. It is the sacred abode of their popular deity for millions of people who will visit the temple and worship there in the years to come. The consecration was a grand spectacle and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the master of ceremonies at the event.

It needs reiteration that it was inappropriate for the Prime Minister of a secular country to be so deeply involved in a religious event. The Prime Minister, the BJP and the Sangh Parivar have always made the construction of the temple a part of their politics. That is why large campaigns and mobilisations were made in the country in the last many days which have culminated in the consecration on Monday. It may be noted that the consecration also marks the launch of the BJP’s campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, which are weeks away. 

The temple has a different meaning for the believers in the country, however, and perhaps even for others. It has the support of most of them. Ram has been worshipped as a god and adored and followed as an ideal human being in the country for ages. He has been a part of its culture, and has represented its best values.

It is only now that he is being claimed by politics. The Ram at the centre of this politics is not the Ram who has traditionally resided in the hearts of the people. It would be a mistake if the fervour and mass adulation in the country is mistaken as support for the politicians’ Ram. The Ram in Ayodhya should be taken as no different from the god in thousands of his other temples in the country. If the temple is the rebuilt abode of Ram who once flourished there, he cannot be any different from the Ram of our lore and traditions. 

It would be a great injustice to make the Ayodhya temple a symbol of Hindu triumphalism, an act of correction of history and of political revenge. There would also be temptation to consider the consecration, presided over by the country’s political chief executive, as the unofficial declaration of ‘Hindu Rashtra’. That would also be wrong and disastrous. Ayodhya needs to be retrieved from its immediate past because the agitation over it was divisive and polarising. It should now be a symbol of unity and reconciliation and should appeal to all people in the country. Ramrajya is a great ideal, but Ram and Rajya are different. Ram should be given what is due to him, and Rajya what is due to it.