The Hindu : A system under siege

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 24, 2003

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

A system under siege

AGAINST THE BACKDROP of the shrill campaign the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has been drumming up over the past few months about its resolve to go ahead with the Ram temple construction in Ayodhya, legal injunctions notwithstanding, the fact that the VHP-sponsored Dharam Sansad (a congregation of sadhus and sants) has desisted — for now, that is — from setting a firm date for the start of the work would appear to be a change of strategy on its part. In practical terms, this means there will be no immediate prospect of an open confrontation between the VHP elements and the administration on the Ayodhya front of the type witnessed last year, now that the Sansad has, for the moment, shifted its focus away from the contentious site. As such, the development should come as a relief.

But then, the day the Atal Behari Vajpayee regime, after confabulations with some pro-temple interlocutors such as the Kanchi Sankaracharya, moved the Supreme Court for the lifting of its interim order prohibiting any "religious activity, either symbolic or actual" on the acquired land, it became obvious that the VHP would scrupulously avoid forcing a showdown with the Centre. After all, in seeking an "early" decision by the apex court on a pending petition that critically hinges on the `status' of the so-called undisputed land, the Government is only trying to plead the VHP's cause and facilitate the release of such land for the temple construction to commence even while the court's verdict on the original title suits is awaited. That the VHP and the sant sammelan should not precipitate matters at this stage would appear to be a part of the understanding the BJP-led regime had reached tacitly with them when it chose to make the palpably partisan move towards re-transferring the `undisputed' land. All the harsh words the VHP leaders and the Sansad have said against the Centre are clearly intended to sustain the pressure, and in full public view, on the BJP leadership in power so that it would feel compelled and be better able to push the temple agenda vigorously, overcoming its coalition-linked constraints.

The threat of an imminent showdown on the soil of Ayodhya may have now receded. But the action plan the Sansad has unfolded for stepping up the temple campaign in the coming months is typical of the Sangh Parivar's mobilisation strategy as it evolved from the pre-Babri Masjid demolition days. To start with, it is proposed to organise `dharnas' and demonstrations from February 27 (the day on which the horrendous Godhra carnage occurred last year) and this is to be followed by religious marches and meetings countrywide from March 5 to 24, the stated objective being to highlight the sacrifice made by the `Ram sevaks' who perished in Godhra and to express "anguish" and "disappointment" over the Government's "slackness" vis-a-vis the temple construction project. For all their democratic correctness, these programmes are potentially explosive, what with the highly provocative ways of the VHP (and its cousins such as the Bajrang Dal) and the characteristically divisive nature of the Sangh Parivar's majoritarian agenda. An added incendiary element is the injection of `Godhra' — a gruesome act of terror which the saffron forces exploited in an utterly cynical fashion to polarise Gujarat on communal lines and run a hate campaign against the Islamic community — into the Ayodhya temple movement. What this deadly combination portends for the country's long cherished values and traditions of secularism and communal harmony is not difficult to visualise. If the Vajpayee Government is true to its professed commitment to abiding by whatever verdict the court gives in the pending title suits in the Ayodhya dispute, it has to send the message, loud and clear, that all kinds of high voltage pro-temple campaigns, mobilising people and whipping up communal passions, must stop forthwith, as they vitiate the socio-religious atmosphere and threaten public peace. The VHP's motive clearly is to build up the pressure and besiege the political and even the judicial system.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

Stories in this Section

A system under siege

A blot on Africa

Strategy for change

Important precedents being set