Ayodhya Stays Secular

KAILASH Chandra Sonipura is among the 60 stone chisellers hired by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and brought to Ayodhya to construct the Ram temple. He specialises in sculpting statuettes of gods and goddesses from stone. But for a traditional sculptor from Rajas-than, it does not matter whether he constructs a temple or a mosque. Hired by the VHP, Sonipura says:"If asked I will work on a masjid also. An artist should be above petty divides of caste and religion." Sonipura’s is not the only voice of secularism in this bastion of Hindutva. He does not belong to Ayodhya but echoes of his sentiments can be heard elsewhere in the twin cities of Ayodhya and Faizabad. It is actually back to the basics in the hotbed of Hindutva.

Surprising though it may sound, despite the BJP’s victory in the Ayodhya assembly constituency, there are few takers for the Ram Janmabhoomi issue. Except, of course, for VHP mahants like Paramhans Ram Chandra Das and Nritya Gopal Dass.

People in general are more concerned about issues like sanitation and regular supply of drinking water rather than the construction of the Ram temple. During the recent assembly election, the issues concerning local self-government overshadowed the temple issue.

The reason why even the BJP did not make it a poll issue is the decreasing popularity graph of the Janmabhoomi issue. "People here are sick and tired of the mandir-masjid issue, they want a peaceful life and minimum basic facilities," said Ram Murty Sharma, president, Faizabad Zila Safai Karmchari Mazdoor Union.

The common refrain—Hindus and Muslims alike—is that by raising the issue the BJP pushed back the development process of the area by several years which badly affected local business. Complains Munsif, a local provision shop owner, "Log mandir-masjid dekhen ya mahangai ki maar se bachen? (people are more concerned about price rise and not the mandir-masjid issue.)"

This was reflected in the poor turnout of voters on polling day. In fact, unlike 1991, even sanyasis did not show much enthusiasm in supporting the BJP.

But Mahant Paramhans refuses to see local problems and says: "Hamein to kahin kachra nazar nahin aata, sirf Ramji nazar aate hein (I don’t see filth anywhere, only Ram everywhere)." He wants to accomplish the task of pulling down "two other dhanchas at Mathura and Varanasi". But why has the BJP been shying away from the temple issue? "The BJP is afraid of religious leaders, because wherever they fight, they win," says the Mahant and asserts that the "BJP will set its agenda according to me, and not the other way round."