The subtle difference between Modi’s ‘Jai Siya Ram’ greeting and ‘Jai Shri Ram’

New Delhi: At the Ram Mandir bhoomi pujan ceremony in Ayodhya Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his speech with “Jai Siya Ram”, instead of Jai Shri Ram, the slogan that has come to be closely associated with the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.

“First let us remember Lord Ram and Mata Janaki… Siya-var Ram Chandra ki jai… Jai Siya Ram,” Modi said.

It has been argued that the invocation of Jai Siya Ram rather than Jai Shri Ram has signalled a departure from the Hindutva notion of Ram, since the latter is seen as a militarised slogan that gained prominence since 1984 with the rise of the Hindutva-led Ram Janmabhoomi movement, and was common during L.K. Advani’s charged Rath Yatra in 1990.

Jai Siya Ram, meanwhile, is perceived to be a gentler salutation, where Ram is inseparable from Sita and is seen as a benevolent king who belongs to everybody. It has historically been used as a common every day greeting, such as ‘Ram Ram’ and Jai Ram ji ki.

Different invocations

According to photojournalist Prashant Panjiar, female devotees in Ayodhya would usually say Sita-Ram, Sita-Ram, while older male devotees would use “Siya-var Ram Chandra ki jai” (Glory be to Sita’s husband Ramchandra).

When people exchanged greetings, they would usually say “Ram Ram” or “Jai Ram ji ki.”

This, according to experts, signified and highlighted a softer image of Ram, where he was a benevolent king, one who belonged to everybody and was devoted to his wife.

The worship of Ram is said to have strengthened in the 12th century during a period of repeated Turkish invasions, as people saw the divine avatar as a kind and just king.

Over the centuries, Ram has been invoked in different ways — in 1920, for example, during the peasant movement of Awadh, he was drawn in as an ally by Baba Ramachandra, who went across the countryside reciting verses from Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas and urging people to replace the greeting “salaam” with “Sita-Ram”.

Mahatma Gandhi also invoked the notion of ‘Ram Rajya’ (the kind and just rule of Ram), but was quick to point out that it was not synonymous to a Hindu Rashtra. In 1929, Gandhi wrote: “The ancient ideal of the Ramayana is undoubtedly one of true democracy in which the meanest citizen could be sure of swift justice without an elaborate and costly procedure… A true Ram Rajya would ensure equal rights to both prince and pauper.”

On one of his visits to Ayodhya, Gandhi invoked Sita in the same breath as Ram, saying: “Praying to god for our own protection is a sin as long as we do not protect the weak… We need to learn to love the way Ram loved Sita.”

Revolutionary Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi, in Doosra Banwas, argued that the demolition of the Babri Masjid was a blot on Lord Ram’s legacy, and he must have thought ‘from where did so many demented ones’ come into his home.

‘Jai Shri Ram’

Panjiar noted that the change in the invocation from Jai Siya Ram to Jai Shri Ram picked up in the late 1980s as the Hindutva-led Ram Janmabhoomi movement gained momentum.

Outfits such as the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal would go door to door, and say “Ram-Ram chhodo, Jai Shri Ram bolo”, Panjiar said.

The difference was more than semantics — the Ram being invoked was not the gentle, benevolent figure who came to be a unifier among many peasants, but the warrior.

The imagery of Ram changed too around this time — Panjiar’s photographs show that Ram was now depicted as a belligerent warrior, ready with bow and arrow, without his beloved wife Sita by his side.

In a 1995 essay in Manushi, journalist Madhu Kishwar wrote: “The aversion of the Sangh Parivar to Sita is understandable… Those who are actively involved in instigating riots and killings, burning people’s homes, killing their near and dear ones brutally in front of their eyes, not even sparing little children, can have no use for a non-macho Ram.”

Mahant Girishpati Tripathi of Ayodhya’s Tewari Mandir explained to the Times of India that while Jai Shri Ram invokes a sense of fearlessness, Jai Siya Ram invokes regard for others. He added that a traditional believer of Ram could not accept the assertive call.

However, UP Vidhan Sabha Speaker Hriday Narain Dixit argued that there really wasn’t a difference between the two slogans.

He said: “There is no difference between Jai Shri Ram and Jai Siya Ram… Both are ways to remember the deity. Also, Mata Sita is seen as an incarnation of Lakshmi, who is also known as Shri… So what’s the difference?”

However, people have often been forced to chant Jai Shri Ram by vigilantes looking to assert their dominance, even in case of lynchings. The latest example of this was meat transporter Lukman Khan in Gurugram, who was reportedly asked to chant the slogan 50 times while being beaten up with a hammer, on the assumption that he was transporting cow meat.

Jai Shri Ram was also used to heckle Asaduddin Owaisi by other members of the Lok Sabha when he stood up to take oath as the MP for Hyderabad.

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube & Telegram