Joint General Secretary of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, Surendra Jain tells Aditi Phadnis the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is committed to a Ram temple in Ayodhya but that it must have legal and legislative backing.
The government has spoken about building a Ram Museum, but leaders such as Vinay Katiyar are saying this is just a lollipop, nothing less than the Ram Temple itself will do….
About two years ago, the central government proposed setting up a Ram circuit, along the lines of the Buddhist circuit proposed by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. A Krishna circuit is in the works. The idea was that places Ram visited should be developed, museums built and these areas spruced up. All this was in that proposal. If an individual or government develops the bylanes of Ayodhya, surely this should be welcomed? And building a museum is imperative. Tourism will go up.
I believe this is not in lieu of a Ram Mandir - because the museum is not coming up where the temple should be. And as the proposal was mooted 18 months ago, I don't believe you can link this to the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 either.
As far as the Ram Mandir is concerned, the VHP has always been at the forefront of the struggle for the temple. In fact, it was the VHP which brought the Ram Mandir issue to the point where the Babri Masjid no longer exists there. Ram Mandir is now a reality and no force on earth can shift it from that spot.
The BJP has repeatedly committed itself to building a Ram Mandir there: As recently as earlier this week the chief of the Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP reiterated the intention of building a temple there. The BJP is the only party in India that has the temple as a manifesto commitment. We are confident they will move forward on the issue and take concrete steps to build the temple.
It has been in the manifesto for years. Now the BJP has a Lok Sabha majority. Do you think before the 2019 elections the manifesto promise will be kept?
This is the first time the BJP has a majority government. I believe they will capitalise on this. We want the temple to be built with the backing of the law. The court should also rule at the earliest; we appeal to it to hasten its ruling on the matter. But we still believe the law is the ultimate, and only solution - because even after the verdict of the court, the losing party will have no recourse but to go to Parliament. So Parliament will take the final decision. In the present circumstances - they (BJP) have a majority, and the determination - we believe the present government will take some meaningful decisions in the direction of building a temple.
The UP election is about to be announced. The BJP will announce a manifesto for that election as well. Do you think the BJP should reiterate its promise of a temple in its assembly election manifesto?
It is not a question of an Assembly election manifesto. The question is whether it will become an election issue. Today, the Samajwadi Party has made it an election issue - the very same party, which killed Ram bhakts and ordered with great pride, firing on kar sevaks in Ayodhya. Today, on the eve of the election, the SP suddenly remembers Ram and announces the creation of a Ram Katha Kunj !
It is only after this that the politicisation of this whole issue began. Certainly, parties would like to gain electoral benefit. But the benefit will go to those who work towards the Ram Mandir project with sincerity and honesty and those whom society believes are credible.
Subramanian Swamy has alleged that the central government has done nothing to fast-track the hearing of the court - neither by seeking a separate bench nor by petitioning that the matter be heard day to day… Do you think the Narendra Modi government is responsible for this laxity?
We have no doubts about the intentions of the present government. It is in the manifesto. Repeatedly, the party president has said it is a core issue and that we will resolve it. It is possible that the matter may take time. But we believe the matter will be resolved through legal means. And in any case, the matter will go to Parliament after the court decides. Ultimately, like the Shah Bano case, the verdict will come out of Parliament. But much as we would like the government to move forward on this, I don't believe anyone is required to appeal to the Supreme Court on this. There is an appeal pending with the Supreme Court; it should constitute a special bench and hear the case. The longer it takes, the more it will tax the patience of Indian society. That situation should be avoided.
Swamy has said that because the Manmohan Singh government told the Allahabad High Court to hasten the pace of the order, it gave an order, which is now in the Supreme Court. Swamy believes this government should show the same sort of urgency.
It is not our understanding that the Manmohan Singh government was that proactive in this case. Swamy might know better. In any case, in our country the judiciary is independent of the government. That said, the Supreme Court can, on its own, take up the matter for faster hearings. The case is pending before it.
The government has taken up the Uniform Civil Code and initiated a discussion on it. What does the VHP think?
It is not the government that has taken it up - it is the judiciary. A poor Muslim woman went to the Supreme Court and her plaint brought up four issues: triple talaq, polygamy, halala, and compensation after divorce. These are issues related to the adverse position of women in Islam. No sensible person can support these kinds of criminal traditions. I congratulate the central government that it supported these poor Muslim women, who have been suffering for centuries. I hope rationality will prevail and the Supreme Court will rule in favour of Muslim women and force maulanas to abandon such criminal practices, which keep women enslaved.
If they take steps to outlaw triple talaq it will help the BJP….
Every issue should not be interpreted along political lines. It is not a political issue. It is the issue of survival of women - the pride and self-respect of women. No political colour should be given to it. In fact, all political parties should come forward and help these poor women.
In Kerala, Hindu groups are facing a lot of violence. What has the VHP done to tackle this issue?….
The VHP is doing a lot in Kerala to address these issues being faced by Hindu society. Not only conversion, the problem of love jihad, the problem of exporting girls in the form of nuns from Kerala to western countries - Kerala has become a hub for terrorism, rather, it is a launching pad for terrorism for the entire south India. The VHP is trying to solve all these issues by public awakening.
Those in the Opposition have become alert because they know and realise that our strength is improving day by day. Our support base is growing. That is why they are worried and they are attacking our workers here and there in the state. But this type of politics of crime and violence cannot go on forever. It will have to be stopped and either they will have to come across the table or surrender before nationalist forces. And this will not take long.
We are worried about the economic position of Hindu society in Kerala. Our family organisations are running cooperatives for fishermen, for instance, which is empowering fishermen. They are coming into our fold. That is why the Opposition is panicking.
