May 16th 2014, the day BJP led NDA won a whopping 300+ seats in the Lok Sabha elections, the celebrations across the country were palpable. Every nook and corner of India reverberated with chants of Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram, Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkaar. Yet there was one section which quietly exchanged Jai Shri Ram and Mandir wahi Banayenge.

My father, who was a long serving Swayamsevak with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) greeted me with Jai Shri Ram. It was unusual but only a swayamsevak in me could understand the intent behind the greeting.

We were kids when Sri. LK Advani, Sri. Atal Behari Vajpayee, Sri. Murli Manohar Joshi, Sri. Kalyan Singh, Sri.Ashok Singhal and several other stalwarts of Hindu cause were making fiery speeches on the importance of Hindu pride, equating it to national pride. We were too young to realise the content and intent of this Hindu-ness. We were amused with the news and the march of thousands of karsevaks to Ayodhya. “What is all this commotion, Nanagaru?” we used to inquire. My parents were glued to the TV and newspapers most of the time, reading every bit of news and opinions from reputable journalists those days. An occasional Sangh (RSS) pracharak used to visit us for dinner. Stories and updates used to trickle on the valour and courage shown by karsevaks.

We grew up watching Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana. Lucky for us we had recorded episodes and it was a compulsory watch with our grandmother every day. Ram still for me is Sri. Arun Govil. Grandmother used to watch these and weep at many scenes. She taught us few shlokas for recitation every night before sleep. As kids we were innocently enquiring what happened to Laxman, Urmila, and did Sita miss her parents etc. along with us an entire nation enjoyed, Aarti-ed, cried and celebrated Rama’s victory over Raavana. A nation without contemporary limitations of religion enjoyed and connected to the Maryada Purushottama, a cultural icon and a civilizational hero, Rama.

An exodus of pilgrims from across the country searched for Rama in Ayodhya, only to find their Purushottama locked in the Babri masjid. None could enter and free him. Ramayana serial gave the sleeping Hindus a wakeup call. Their icon is held behind bars just because the local Muslims and Hindus were put in a never ending battle of Courts, restrictions, endless brainwashing of a majoritarian influenced autocracy of the status quo was changed. It was a mischievous denial of Right to pray for a Hindu.

Between 1989 and 1990, Karsevaks made an unsuccessful attempt at performing a Sila-Nyas and even attempted taking down the disputed (and not so historically significant structure) the erstwhile Babri masjid. The videos shot by Doordarshan and BBC crews were scary to say the least. Hundreds of karsevaks were fired at, beaten and murdered in Ayodhya lanes. Hundreds of years of wait and karsevaks couldn’t hold back their emotions resulting in a mob like behaviour.

In 1992, on Dec 6^th, the karsevaks waited for two long years for the Indian Polity, Law & Order and Judiciary to respect their Aastha and handover the holy land for constructing a Ram Mandir. Only this time, the numbers were exponential. The disputed structure was no more. There was no force that could prevent it. Even the Police were seen praying at the ruined Babri debris. It was a wakeup call to the Indian Polity and Judiciary on their eligibility to preside over Hindu Faith-full matters. Hindu homes were buzzing with Ram Mandir and some apologetic Hindus even taught secularism and how the majority Hindu should remain an example to the minority religions. None had a clue or conducted a research into the history of 500 years of the struggle.

The repercussions of this change in attitude among a seemingly polite, cow worshipping populace of India alarmed many inside and outside the country. Pakistan activated many sleeper cells which resulted in bombings and riots across many cities and towns. To keep the pot boiling, the enemy’s nation should be kept at the brink all the time. The blame was obviously put on the ever patient and severely trampled Hindu. Because he found a way to find hope in reviving his culture and identity through a Rama Mandir. Yet the intellectuals, self-proclaimed historians and shamefully state controlled media projected that the riots were not because of extreme elements like ISI and Jehadis operating from outside the country but by a saffron clad karsevaks. This left the fissuring cracks long left to gangrene into full blown religious identity wars. The Mughals and British had their agenda complete.

The other apologism provided by these gangs is “because the minority will feel bad and retaliate, Hindu should apologize”. This shows their lack of trust on the very minorities they volunteered to represent. We grew listening to these double-faced, double-tongued opinion makers. But an everyday Indian wouldn’t have had such ill in their hearts or heads (irrespective of religion).

Through our growing years my father shared all these things in a subtle manner, not blaming any group or people on either side. Maybe his intention was not to fill our hearts with a useless emotion called hatred.

Commissions, Cases, Media trials, Self-proclaimed ‘Eminent’ (Gaddafi style) historians questioned the very existence of Rama or his Mandir. Political parties scavenged on this collective guilt thus built on Hindus. India had seen it all, tolerated all and prevailed all.

From 1993 to 2002, except for one important turn of event where the Supreme Court ruled that a mosque was not integral to Islamic faith, nothing much happened. None took heed to the ardent pleas from the Hindu community.

In 2003, High Court of Allahabad commenced hearing the case as a ‘Land Dispute’ between Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board and local petitioners. Yes as a land dispute only!

It was heart breaking that Ram Lalla through his representatives was fighting for his Janmasthan, where Crores of Hindus believe he existed, ruled and gave the world an ideal way of leading life. He was on a long legal battle in the court of 21st century, which was applying contemporary logic to a civilizational truth. Many Asian nations would have wept at this situation. Yet Truth prevailed. None could question the Right of a Hindu to pray, as per Constitution. This paved way for today’s Ram Mandir.

Locally, no Hindu and Muslim in Ayodhya would have wanted to prolong the dispute. But the eminent historians and distortion experts that provided expert witness in the case tried to show that the people who were fighting for Rama’s cause are uncouth and illiterate in front of their scotch-laced, English-speaking intellect. Eventually they made a fool of themselves.

Unlucky for India, the likes of Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib sent sacrificial lambs on their behalf and whose expertise and witness were repudiated by the court. One should take time and read the transcripts of the events in court those days. Indian History lost a golden chance to be rewritten immediately. But as experience shows, nothing that comes quick, lasts long. For the benefit of India, ASI found evidence of a destroyed temple underneath the ruins of Babri. These Eminencies blamed the ASI teams for planting broken sculpted rocks.

In September of 2010, the high court delivered a ‘secular’ verdict with 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3 to Ram Lalla, Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara of a 2.77 acres (1.2 lakhs sq.ft) land. All parties contested the verdict and was rightly overturned by the Supreme court in 2011 after due consideration.

From 2018 the case took traction and in 2019, Supreme Court asked for (in a just manner) mediations to resolve this in an out of court settlement. Several celebrity Gurus also offered mediations. Since these didn’t work, the Supreme Court constituted bench of judges held day to day hearings and marched expeditiously towards a verdict.

The strength of the “ecosystem’ could be seen in Kapil Sibal, a celebrity lawyer and a Congress member, who tried to influence the Supreme Court judges to delay their verdict until the end of 2019 Lok Sabha elections since the good will that could be generated towards the BJP-led NDA could be minimized. This arrogance resulted in the defeat of Indian National Congress miserably again.

On Nov 9th 2019, the verdict was spelled. Irrefutable evidence, conviction in doing the right thing, unwavering faith in Rama upheld the Hindu’s battle to get Ram his due. That day was a celebration for many across the globe. A Hindu could find his place even in the matters of faith in the court of law. The battle that started in 1528 ended in 2019.

For the several karsevaks who lost their lives fighting for the Mandir, the leaders who stood steadfast in their Lakshya of getting justice, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and connected organisations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Akharas, the petitioners (on either side) who wanted a resolution to end the dispute, the several swayamsevaks who toiled to spread the word of truth, the several lives lost on account of the external enemy creating fissures in our society, the Hindus who still look up to Ram and treat him as the Maryada Purushottam, the Yogis, Gurus, Panths, Religious figures, my parents who believed in emulating the very principles of Rama and lastly to the steadfast conviction of Modi and Shah to find ways of getting things done.. I bow in reverence!

The Bhavya Rama Mandir Bhoomi puja ceremony was beamed across several media outlets with much pomp and show. This time it was people’s victory. No foreign power could prevent it. As Sri. Narendra Modi, Sri. Yogi Adityanath ji and Ma. Sri Mohan Bhagwat ji extolled the importance of the day, there were tears for many. For people who had the chance of witnessing these things unfold in front of their eyes, it is a blessing. For the generation who fought for it and could not witness, be assured. A new Bharat has risen.

Rama Mandir will pave way for peace among communities. Politics will now need a pure development and poverty alleviation agenda. The Myth-ology of Hindus will be debunked and serious academic studies should give rise to a new paradigm. The World needs it.

Every Mandir should get freed from the clutches of Government control. Let Dharmic people of the locality decide what is best for their Mandirs. Every temple should find its true purpose not in crowd control or hundi collections but as an institution of knowledge, culture and faith. Let Temple Tourism end!

May Prabhu Ram and Sita Maa bless you all. Sarve Jana Sukhinobhavantu.

Image Credits: Organiser