The Ram Temple mobilisation this time around, however, reeks of desperation rather than resolve
In an interview in the late 1990s to a weekly magazine, the progenitor of the Ram Temple as a socio-political movement symbolising cultural nationalism, LK Advani, was honest enough to share his concern that the lumpen element which had attached itself to the movement was a cause of serious worry for him as the head of the BJP. The burden of his song, as it were, was that while he was proud of having played a role in bringing the Ram Temple and allied issues to the forefront of national discourse to expose the ‘pseudo-secularism’ of the Congress and Leftist parties, which had reached its apogee with the overturning of the Shah Bano verdict by a Congress-majority Parliament in the previous decade, the virulence and violence which accompanied the agitation were unacceptable. The current BJP leadership, however, in perpetual election mode, seems to have no such qualms. That is a tragedy not just for the country but also for the big tent contours of the Ram Temple movement its original vocaliser sought to bestow upon it. For the party itself, it is a moment of truth.
Yes, the Supreme Court could have expedited the hearing of the appeal preferred by the Muslim parties against the Allahabad High Court judgement but, in its wisdom, it did not. The BJP may not like it, but it has to either lump it or bring in a law/ordinance to build a Ram Temple at the Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya and seeing where that takes it. As far as political strategy goes, that is the bottomline and everything else is just smoke and mirrors. There is no place for a discourse of hate-mongering and the — till now — verbal violence which is increasingly prevalent on the ground and threatens to spill into the kind of confrontation and conflagration India can ill afford. Of course, the BJP, RSS, VHP, Shiv Sena and many others, whether individuals or organisations, have an unalienable right to agitate for a Ram Temple in Ayodhya. They also have a right — and given their passionate support for the demand over the decades — and duty to try and fashion a mass movement on the issue. Responsibility for ensuring the movement is non-violent and intimidation has no place in it also rests on the BJP leadership just like it did with Advani two decades ago.
On the evidence of the results of the mobilisation over the past few months, though, the traction of the 1980s and 1990s is missing. In fact, even the last time the Sangh and its affiliates attempted to up the ante on the Ram Temple in 2002, they were not very successful. This time around, too, the response has been far from electrifying. Which leaves us with the only conclusion it is possible to draw — the BJP is focussing on Ayodhya, especially in Uttar Pradesh, to try and counter the effect of a putative Opposition grand alliance in that State and is not averse to seeing if Lord Ram helps it consolidate its support base and deflect public attention from its performance in the ongoing Assembly polls in five States.