ANCIENT TECHNOLOGY: Hindutva clan claim that as far back as 3000 BC, the time of Ramayana, we had technology to make sophisticated aircraft such as Lord Ravana’s ‘Pushpak Vimana’
By Rajan Narayan
Lord Ram has always been a symbol of love. Ram has stood for righteousness. It is ironic that the value of ‘Purshottam Maryada’ is being used and misused to divide the country.
IN the first place I will not become a BJP bhakt. We carried the Shri Rama Pattabhishekam portrait on our Goan Observer cover of April 1, 2023 at the request of a special industrialist friend of ours who is very helpful! Though I wonder if Dattaraj Salgaocar was more attractede by the quality of the artistry of the artwork rather than the event itself. We know Raj is one of the best wildlife photographers in the country and an art connoisseur. He is also very religious and has set up a temple for Sri Venkateshwara of Tirupathi at Kundaim. The artwork we reproduced was procured from Tirupathi itself and donated to him by Kokilaben Ambani.
The tragedy is that Lord Ram who is supposed to be an iconic symbol of justice has become an object of conflict in the present time for the majority and minority communities of this country. Not just between the majority and minority communities, but even within the majority community itself. On Ram Navami day which is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Ram several clashes took place in various parts of the country, particularly in West Bengal.
The clashes continue in some parts of Bihar and UP. This is perhaps not a coincidence as there are always clashes when major Hindu and Muslim festivals are celebrated by respective communities at the same day. Ram Navami this time coincided with the beginning of the Ramzan period of fasting for the Muslim community.
BJP USE AND ABUSE
THE Bharatiya Janata Party government has been misusing and abusing the revered image of Ram systematically. It all started with the demolishing of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on December 6, 1992. Most people are confused about the connection Lord Ram and the Babri Masjid. The story goes that a statue of Lord Ram existed or was installed in the early part of the century within the precints of the Babri Masjid.
The BJP wanted the statue to be removed and worship of the statue was barred. Unfortunately for them, the Supreme Court upheld the worship of the statue of Lord Ram inside the Babri Masjid. As far as the Babri Masjid is concerned there was a dispute that it was built on the original site of a temple demolished at some point in the past.
In any case the SC ruled that the area in Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid stood would be divided and where there was a mosque a temple would also be built. But the original site of the Babri Masjid was allotted to the Muslim community. It is the demolition of the Babri Masjid by the BJP under the leadership of the than BJP President LK Advani that sharpened the divide between Hindu and Muslims in India.
In the wake of the Babri Masjid demolition came the Godhra incident in which a train compartment carrying karsevak returning from the demolition of the Babri Masjid were set on fire and some lives were lost. This event led to the post-Godhra riots in Ahmedabad in 2021 in which Muslim families were targeted for violence and other nameless acts of revenge killings.
BOMB BLASTS IN MUMBAI
THERE were a series of retaliation by the Muslim community. It is claimed that the first set of bomb blasts in Mumbai were instigated by the one-time don of Mumbai, Dawood Ibrahim, in March 1993. The principle target was a 29-storeyed building. Besides the Bombay Stock Exchange the Air-India-owned Centaur Hotel near the airport was also bombed. There were many other important buildings which were also targeted.
The second round of terrorist violence was even more devastating. It was allegedly instigated by Pakistan and in this violence a group of 11 suicide bombers from Pakistan travelled by ship to a place close to Mumbai where they hijacked a small fishing vessel, to land at an unidentified and unrecognized place at Colaba beach.
From here they spread into the city with their main targets being the Taj Mahal Hotel at the Gateway of India and the The Oberoi at Marine Drive. Hundreds of guests of the two hotels were trapped in the fire which engulfed the luxury hotels and several of them were injured and had to be rescued while the fire was being put out. The family of the general manager of the Taj Mahal Hotel also died in the inferno. Unfortunately for the Pakistan ISI, one of the terrorists was caught alive, namely 22-year-old Kasab and he was given a fair trial and sentenced to execution.
IN THE NAME OF LORD RAM
SO in a sense the beginning of the ongoing conflagration between the Hindus and Muslims started with the Ram Janmabhoom Yatra of LK Advani. The objective of the yatra was totally political. I don’t know whether L K Advani or those who took part in the Babri Masjid demolition cared about Lord Ram. The demolition took place even though then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Kalyan Singh had promised Prime Minister Narasimha Rao and President Shankar Dayal Sharma full protection to the mosque.
Ironically, Prime Minister PM Narsimha Rao himself perceived himself as a devout Hindu and when he was told that the masjid was demolished, he claimed he was performing pooja and should not be disturbed. So in a sense he colluded with LK Advani in the demolition of the Babri Masjid that fateful day.
We are in 2023 now and a grand Ram Mandir has been built where the Babri Masjid once stood, it is expected to be consecrated with pomp and ceremony reportedly on January 1, 2024. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is more or less boasting that the Ram Mandir is the BJP’s and his greatest achievement, but he has also become a symbol of the growing bitterness between the Hindu and Muslim communities in India.