The dark clouds of apprehension hovering over Ayodhya have cleared for the time being and life in the temple town is fast returning to its normal leisurely pace. The much-awaited showdown on Sunday ultimately turned out to be a face-off that was never intended to be. Instead, it became a platform of sorts for Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray and the seers and saints who had gathered for the much hyped Dharm Sabha. But after much sound and fury, they merely reiterated their resolve and demand to build a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
The build-up had acquired menacing proportions with the highly-publicised visit of Uddhav and his family members, and the arrival of trainloads of his followers to Ayodhya. Their arrival coincided with the Dharm Sabha, although there was no apparent connection between the two.
First, the Dharam Sabha: It passed a resolution that gives a definite indication of what might follow. The VHP said in a statement that this was the “final Dharam Sabha” and after this no more will be held and the construction of the temple will commence.” Mahant Ramji Das of Nirmohi Akhara was more specific and said the dates for temple construction will be announced early next year during Kumbh in Prayagraj.
Nritya Gopaldas, president of the Ram Janmbhoomi Nyas, left no doubt that the agenda of the seers and the Sena is quite different. Requesting the government to do the needful, he said: “We respect the courts. We have great hopes from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. I request Adityanath to pave the way for construction of Ram temple,” Incidentally, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had made an unscheduled halt in Lucknow on Friday while on way to Hardwar. He held closed door meetings with select VHP and RSS functionaries at the airport before leaving. That set the tone for the Dharam Sabha.
But even as the VHP and the seers took the RSS line and indicated that they were in no Mood to rock the BJP boat, the Shiv Sena was at pains to suggest otherwise. Uddhav Thackeray, in fact, raised the decibel level further and said the BJP government at the Centre “may not last” if the temple is not constructed and demanded that an Ordinance be brought in to clear the decks, warning that emotions of Hindus should not be taken for granted.
A day earlier, Thackeray had asked if demonetisation could be implemented without waiting for the court to take a call, what stopped the government from bypassing the Supreme Court and bringing a law on the temple. Sena has even coined a slogan — ‘Har Hindu ka yahi pukar: Pehle mandir, phir Sarkar.’
In the end, it would appear that it was a win-win situation for all: the Shiv Sena had been able to create the perception that it was a indubitable champion of Hindutva; the VHP showcased what it was capable of with the support of saints, but stopped short of initiating trouble; the state government patted its back for maintaining law and order; and the BJP was saved the embarrassment of acting against any potential trouble-makers.
Thackeray’s Shiv Sena has never been a political force in UP, although it is to be noted that in the 1992 event, Sainiks were prominent among those who felled the mosque. But much water has flowed down the Saryu since then and the Shiv Sena in Mumbai has been accused of giving tacit approval to a hate campaign against north Indians – even though cousin Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had taken the lead in sharpening such clashes.
By showcasing itself as a votary of the temple, it has reclaimed somewhat its political space among north Indian migrants in Mumbai and its suburbs Also, given its sharp differences with the Devendra Phadnavis government, the Sena has effectively used the temple movement to establish its credentials of being more “Hindu” than the BJP – a plank that had weakened somewhat after the demise of Balasaheb Thackeray.
Nonetheless, the run-up to super Sunday was a headache for the Uttar Pradesh Government and the local police who feared that even a small skirmish could lead to something sinister. Already, parallels were being drawn with the fateful day of December 6, 1992, when arrival of hundreds of thousands of volunteers had ultimately led to the demolition of a shrine in Ayodhya.
Leaders of the BJP in Lucknow had been openly expressing their reservations about the happenings in Ayodhya for the last many days, and many were wondering in private whether the Shiv Sena was acting on its own, or it was being prodded to do something that would embarrass Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
For the people of UP, the temple issue is seen as a political ploy which helped catapult the BJP into power in the last two decades. People expect the issue to be finally settled through legal means. However, the decision of the Supreme Court in October to postpone the regular hearing of the title suit to January next year had come as a dampener.
Among the hundreds of thousands of people gathered for the twin events of Shiv Sena and VHP, there was no sign of the BJP. The Shiv Sena show ended rather prematurely, with one special train of followers making the return trip to Nashik on Saturday night itself – as against the earlier programme of both trains leaving on Sunday. The other train left Ayodhya on Sunday.