Is it good prep or should we not read too much into the proposed Ayodhya station makeoverIJ
As signals of intent go, this is perfect. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), now in power at both the Centre and in Uttar Pradesh with decisive majorities on its own, has made it clear that the construction of a grand Ram Temple at the Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya is very much on the party’s agenda, as it should be. However, the Supreme Court is still hearing the appeal preferred by the Muslim parties to the dispute against the Allahabad High Court Division Bench order on the title suit. And while there is some hope and much expectation that the verdict will be out before the end of the year, that would depend entirely upon the Court. So, the construction of this symbol of unified India and its civilisational heritage will, unless an increasingly unlikely out-of-court settlement is reached.
Enter, the Union Minister of State for Railways, Manoj Sinha. In a politically audacious announcement loaded with symbolism, the Minister, staying entirely within his brief and promoting the Government’s avowed policy to upgrade heritage tourism sites such as Ayodhya which showcase India’s ancient civilisation on the basis of which it was voted into power, said on Tuesday that the new railway station building in Ayodhya would be a replica of the (VHP) proposed design for a Ram Temple at the Janmabhoomi. A model of this temple design, incidentally, finds pride of place at the main Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas/VHP workshop in the temple town. In a single stroke, Sinha may have just sent out most potent signal in an election year to the millions in Uttar Pradesh and across the country eagerly awaiting a grand Ram Temple at the Vishnu avatar’s believed birthplace in Ayodhya. The proposed railway station, for the remodelling of which he proposes to allocate `80 crore, is to have lifts, escalators and all mod cons that a busy railway station needs, that will give those using it a “feel that they are in the birth town of lord Ram”. The Minister was careful to mention that along with the remodelling of the railway station building and interiors which are expected to have frescoes from the Ramayan adorn it, he was also proposing to sanction `120 crore for the shifting of the railways goods warehouse in Ayodhya.
With signs of anti-incumbency visible as the BJP Government heads into the next General Election, the Minister may have just provided the most apt template, provided he can ensure implementation of both aspects, for all those in BJP thinks-tanks and party circles wondering where the Hindutva-Development golden mean lies. Or then again, maybe we are reading too much into the announcement and it is all a coincidence. Readers will have to make up their own mind.