By Suresh Mathew
New Delhi, Aug 8, 2020: The subtle line separating the religion and the State has been breached. By performing the bhoomi pujan of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the clock back. His act has taken the secular country to a path not envisaged in the Constitution of India.
It is in line with the ideology of the party in power from whose vocabulary ‘secularism’ seems to have been removed. It is important to look at the issue from what the Supreme Court of India said in its verdict allowing construction of the temple at the site where Babri Masjid stood for over four centuries. The apex court had termed the masjid demolition a criminal act.
Though construction of Ram temple is the logical result of the Supreme Court judgment, one cannot ignore the traumatic memories of millions of people caused by that outrageous act.
The pertinent question is whether separation of religion and state exists in secular India? Eighteenth and nineteenth century philosophers like Voltaire and Nietzsche had predicted decline of influence of religion on State in modern times. But it does not seem to happen in India, looking at the rise of religious fundamentalists and their influence on political parties and governments.
While there is a clamor for unconditional separation of the two, it does not seem to happen as politicians find religion as the most winning plank especially during elections. Hence this “wall of separation” collapses when it comes to scoring political brownies.
The proponents of Ram temple used to substantiate their demand citing strong religious belief of Hindus that Lord Ram was born there. If so, the foundation laying ceremony of the temple, which took place after decades of acrimony and at a cost of thousands of lives, could have been kept purely a religious ceremony.
Giving it a political twist with the participation of heads of governments at Central and State-levels sends out the notion that the nation is closer to ‘Hindutva Rashtra.’ The celebration of the bhoomi pujan is a clear sign of the ‘new idea of India’ which is far from a secular India. It also marks a milestone for the BJP as it is the fulfillment of one of its three major demands. Coincidentally, it fell on the completion of one year of the abrogation of Article 370, another pet demand of the saffron party.
The Modi government may not have the strength to alter the Constitution. But it seems to do it indirectly under various guises. It is doing it through symbolic acts and rhetoric. The prime minister’s comparison of Ayodhya movement with freedom movement is a clear indication of what is in store for the country. While struggle for freedom from the yoke of colonialism was an inclusive movement, no one can put the agitation for construction of Ram temple on the same pedestal.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s assertion that he would not participate in the inauguration of the mosque being constructed in Ayodhya is a clear sign of where the country is headed to.
(Father Suresh Mathew is editor of Indian Currents, which published this editorial on August 2020, Volume XXXII, Issue 33)