Of Statues, temples and religious gatherings

Many years ago, I found out the 101-ft high statue of Hanuman, monkey God revered in my home town. I asked a colleague as to why they found it necessary to build one and why did not they build a school, college or a hospital. His answer was- people like to be blessed by God and hence, they are willing to donate. However, it is difficult to get donation for social cause. People think that it is the job of Government to provide for infrastructure, educational and other facilities.  A statue of Hanuman draws a crowd of 50-100 every day and being on a roadside and railside, people see it daily even from a distance and have their blessings.

Yesterday, a neighbour of mine visited us with a pamphlet of Indraprastha Vishwa Hindu Parishad which is organizing a “Great Religious (read as Hindu) Gathering” at Ram leela Ground on the 9^th Dec., 2018. And this gathering is meant to prevail up on the Government to remove all hurdles in the construction of Ram Mandir (temple) at Ayodhya. Of course, Ram Mandir issue is hanging fire for many years. Hindus claim that during the Muslim rule in the 16^th century, Ram Mandir, a birth place of deity Ram, was destroyed to build the Babri Masjid. On Dec. 6, 1992; a large gathering of Hindus, about 150,000, destroyed the Babri Masjid despite the prohibitory orders, as police just could not control the mob that had gathered there. Since then, idols of Ram and other Gods are placed in the makeshift camp for people to revere and get blessed. Ruins of Babri Masjid stand as they were. The ownership of the place is disputed by Muslims and Hindus and hence, is now a fortress guarded by the police all the time. And the Supreme Court is in no hurry to take up the issue as to who own the disputed land.

On Oct 31, 2018, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled a Statue of Unity in honour of India’s first deputy prime minister Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel, credited with unifying various regions of the country following Independence. The Statue of Unity is the World’s tallest, 182 mt high built at the cost of Rs 29.9 billion and took about 4 years on the bank of river Narmada, about 200 km away from Ahmadabad. The Government of Maharashtra is building a Statue of Shivaji, Maratha 17^th Century king who fought muslim rulers and others to establish his own kingdom, that he called Swaraj (our own kingdom). The statue, 212 metre high, is being built in an island in the Arabian sea, close to Mumbai, the state capital. A few days back, Government of Uttar Pradesh unveiled the plan showing statue of deity Ram to be built on the bank of river Saruyu near Ayodhya.

There are opponents to this current culture of statue building. Some calls its resurrection of Hindu religious fundamentalism; while for others, it is a correction of history to have a Hindu faith its rightful place and mention. Some laments injustice to those whose lands are acquired without adequate compensation while others call it waste of public funds. It is also viewed suspiciously as the political party in power wants it an important issue to contest the forthcoming elections in 2019. Statue and temple building goes hand-in-hand, as it covertly identifies with Hinduism that the majority of India’s population profess to practice.

The gentleman who brought in this pamphlet is a member of Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Hindu religious group, supposedly non-political NGO). He was a Professor at the prestigious IIT in New Delhi, prior to his retirement. It is difficult for me to make him understand that religion should not be mainstream issue now or in future. It is the faith that people should practice in private, and tolerate in public.  And hence, I felt it necessary to inform him of my agony that this gathering at Ram leela Maidan is likely to push back more fundamental issues of development (Vikas) that this Government talked of in 2014 when it came to power with Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas (with the company of all, development for all). (Many millions go hungry even today despite self-sufficiency in foodgrain production.) And this temple building at Ayodhya is not likely to be the last. It is spinning off with change of names of iconic cities, towns, roads, institutions, historical buildings, constructions of many more gigantic statues and religious places, and may be more radicalization of what we read and think. Thanks to internet, the misinformation spreads faster. Of course, I am not participating. My God lives in my heart.