Somnath project

Sir, - In his article ``My musings from Kumarakom-1'' (The Hindu, Jan. 2), the Prime Minister has stated that ``the reconstruction of a temple at Somnath too was recognised by the then government as an expression of the national sentiment'' and that it had set up a committee for this purpose under the chairmanship of K. M. Munshi.

The project involved merely the reconstruction of the once great temple, which, in the words of Munshi, stood ``desecrated, burnt and battered''. There was no dispute about the historical fact that the temple had been repeatedly savaged by the invaders. Although the Ministry of Works, Mines and Power (which was then under N. V. Gadgil) under instructions from Sardar Patel had taken the initiative for the reconstruction, the government did not finance it. In fact, during discussions with Patel and Gadgil, Gandhiji (who had blessed the project) had made it clear that the Government of India should not finance the project and that the funds should come from the public. Also, according to Munshi, ``at the time the policy of the government was that the WMP Ministry should reconstruct the old shrines and they were so doing in the case of certain Muslim shrines and mosques''.

In view of the facts stated above, there should have been no cause for any criticism of the Somnath project. Yet, the project was not without its critics. So long as Sardar Patel was alive ``nobody dared to whisper a word against the reconstruction''. But, with his death before the temple could be rebuilt, ``a whispering campaign was set afoot'' against the project that it was ``no more than an exhibition of Hindu revivalism''. Jawaharlal Nehru, who lent a measure of respectability to the campaign, talked to Munshi about the same and ``the subject was raised even at the meetings of the Cabinet''. Munshi had to do a lot of explaining to Nehru, which he did through a long letter in which he answered the specific charge of ``Hindu revivalism''. The matter ended there, probably because the President, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, was also keenly interested in the project. (Source Munshi - His Art and Work, a commemoration volume brought out by Shri Munshi Seventieth Birthday Citizens Celebrations Committee).

When the Somnath project which had been blessed by Gandhiji himself and which had the backing of such great nationalists as the Sardar and Dr. Rajendra Prasad invited such criticism it would be difficult in the extreme, in the vastly changed circumstances of today, to convince the fairly large section of hardened critics of the Ram temple project that it is ``an expression of the national sentiment''.

V. Krishnamachari,

Mumbai

Sir, - Mr. Vajpayee has come out clearly and categorically about his views on `Ayodhya' and Kashmir. His view is that the demolition of the Babri mosque was a ``flagrant violation of the law and an act that was totally at variance with Hindu ethos''.

This should put an end to the endless controversies raised by the politicians and the media. Communal and caste clashes in our country are a legacy of the British rule, and are now exploited by the political parties to get minority votes. The recent bomb explosion at Tirunelveli inside a mosque was attributed even by responsible political leaders like Mr. Moopanar to Mr. Vajpayee's remarks on Ayodhya, though proved otherwise (as due to a quarrel between a father and son) by the police.

On Kashmir, Mr. Vajpayee says that bold and innovative steps would be taken to solve the problem, but this is not so easy. There is complete consensus in India that Kashmir is an integral part of our country, while Pakistan and the militant `jehad' organisations want it to be annexed to Pakistan or a plebiscite held there. Some sort of a `ceasefire' for a prolonged period may be a temperory solution while a permanent solution is not yet in sight.

S. Venugopalan,

Chennai

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