Herald View: The Government’s bid to light a ‘pre-election’ Ayodhya fire

No government has been able to find an amicable solution to the Ayodhya dispute festering since at least 1949 when an idol of lord Rama was placed below the central dome of the Babri mosque by a mob. Discretion was thought to be the better part of valour by successive governments which avoided getting involved, leaving the dispute to be resolved by the courts. But then, the Sangh Parivar and the BJP deliberately stoked the fire in the late eighties, organised worship of bricks across the Hindi belt and Mr LK Advani embarked on a Rath Yatra before the climactic demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1991. In less than seven years thereafter, the BJP was in power at the Centre. But having achieved their target and after securing power, the Sangh Parivar merrily put the issue on the back burner. The NDA governments, led first by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and thereafter by Narendra Modi, showed no urgency in resolving the issue. Over the best part of the last five years, the Modi government paid at best lip service to the Ram Temple issue while the Prime Minister even at the beginning of this year told a ‘pliable’ interviewer that his government would abide by the court’s decision. What then explains the government’s prayer to the Supreme Court, seeking permission to return the acquired land adjacent to the disputed site? The Supreme Court had clearly ruled in 2003 and reiterated it in 2011 that status quo had to be maintained and no activity, religious or otherwise, was permissible on the acquired land. It is unlikely that the court will revise that considered ruling. But by making an exhibition of filing the petition, the Modi government hopes to signal to its supporters that it is not just serious about the temple issue, but it is the court which is coming in the way.

Whether the core constituency of the Sangh Parivar and BJP buys it or not is another issue. But what is clear is the desperation within the government to project Ayodhya as an unfinished agenda. The petition filed barely 100 days before the term of the government ends, shows the anxiety in the government as its prospects for a second successive term diminishes by the day. Having failed to deliver on promises made to the people, with the Modi magic having waned and the talisman of ‘Vikas’ having failed to take off, the Modi government doesn’t seem to have too many options left to fall back on. It is clearly hoping that the temple card will help it polarise the voters again. But the temple alone may not suffice and that is why there is grave and real threat of a revival of ‘hate speech’ and the lynch mob to instigate trouble. The country will have to take a leaf from Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru’s books to thwart these evil designs.