If there is a fire, it will consume many houses, not just my house
– Rahat Indori
In the glam and grandeur of shining Ayodhya, like the Ram Lalla, people are also mere ornaments.
Their consent is irrelevant.
When mainstream media shoves a mic in their faces, they will smile and chant ‘Jai Shree Ram’. TV channels have a big role to play in making and showing this celebration. The city is decorated with saffron flags with a ‘masculine Hanuman’ printed on them. There is tight surveillance.
But, behind the glitz of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, reports essay a story of massive land grab by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh combine and it is common knowledge that this has meant colossal profits for the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Legal sanction
A total of 4,000 shops and homes have been demolished for road-widening projects and the general beautification of Ayodhya, according to a report by Scroll. For fear of the government – and in the name of Ram – people gave up their lands.
Such stories are heard all over the city which would resemble a tribal village in the Indian heartland where the rights of residents are ignored in the name of development-driven land takeovers.
If it wasn’t for the unrelenting religious pageantry and positive narratives spun by mainstream media, this, indeed would have been the case. However, the displaced people cannot utter a word in protest lest they be labelled “anti-Hindu.”
Over the years, it is common knowledge that the VHP has been collecting donations for a Ram temple.
Vast tracts of land in Ayodhya are under the hold of the VHP-RSS, who have allegedly often occupied it forcibly or through a degree of coercion.
Ayodhya District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha, notably, is a member of the temple trust.
It is common knowledge that it is not just the 2.77 acres of land that was given to the Ram Janmabhoomi trust after the Supreme Court’s verdict, but that large sections of Ayodhya have been sold at profit to businesses.
Recently an investigation about land dealings between local BJP leaders and the Adani group has come to light. The firm linked to BJP leaders sold ecologically sensitive land near Saryu river to Adani for a big profit. This is not the first instance of land exchanging hands between BJP leaders and Ram temple trust. In June 2021, Deep Narayan, nephew of Ayodhya’s BJP mayor Rishikesh Upadhyaya bought 890 square metres of property in February and sold it to the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust for Rs 2.5 crore in May.
It was found to be government land which cannot be sold to another party.
These are some of the stories that have come to light. Many have not.
Ayodhya. Photo: Afaq Ullah
Wealth transfer
According to the Ayodhya district administration, all the land is government land. But there has not been any formal classification of this nazul land. Those who have been living on the land for generations but have no land patta are only compensated for the demolition, not the acquisition of their land. There have been allegations that the compensation is also based on class and caste. Brahmin neighbourhoods have been appropriately compensated while those belonging to other castes have had to give up their land for peanuts or are still waiting for compensation.
Since the zamindari system was not implemented in cities, the land belonged to landlords and tenants had been living and cultivating it for generations. The landlords themselves were unable to evict the tenants. Here too, the administration has allegedly gone ahead and directly demolished houses leaving many tenants homeless. It was landlords who were compensated.
Three years ago, the administration wanted to acquire land near the Ayodhya airport for installation of a large Ram statue. Local farmers protested against the land acquisition and were arrested. Many priests are also unhappy with the fact that smaller temples have been demolished to make way for the new city.
The atmosphere of coercion over land is a well known secret.
Afaq Ullah, a social activist, mentions a saying that is famous in Ayodhya now, “Pehle jab Bhagwan Ram tirpal me rehte the tab hum ghar me rehte the, ab Bhagwan Ram ka mandir ban raha hai aur hum log tirpal me aa gaye hai.”
Translated, it say that earlier Lord Ram was living under a tarpaulin and we were living in homes, now Lord Ram’s temple is being built and we are living under a tarpaulin.
Ayodhya. Photo: Afaq Ullah
A project
Afaq’s house is in the ’14-Kosi Parikrama’ circumambulation route. He is saddened that the front of his house is being demolished and like many residents of the city, he cannot do much. He is also worried about the general sense of fear in the Muslim community.
At 40 years old, Afaq does not have many memories of the Babri Masjid demolition but the change in the last 30 years is palpable, he says.
“Earlier people would hesitate in saying certain things. Now, if we are sitting and someone gets angry, they don’t flinch before saying anti-Muslim slurs,” he says.
The change hasn’t gone unnoticed by professor Anil Kumar Singh who was a Masters student in 1992. “The way Muslims are being alienated in society hides the fact that theywere more than happy for the Ram temple to be built. But this temple now is a VHP-RSS project; it is not a temple for Hindus,” he said.
Singh mentions Sheetla Singh who was a veteran journalist and writer from Faizabad. He has written the book, Ayodhya: The Truth of Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid on one of the most important events of Indian politics, the Babri Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992 and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. In the book he has given details of how the leaders of the Muslim community had taken the initiative for the construction of the Ram temple, but that this was not in the Sangh’s political interests.
Ayodhya. Photo: Afaq Ullah
Changing times
Earlier, Faizabad and Ayodhya were two separate municipalities. The Faizabad station was bigger and there was only a 10-12 km distance between the two stations. After Adityanath came to power, in his renaming drive, Faizabad station was renamed ‘Ayodhya Cantonment’ and Ayodhya was called ‘Ayodhya Dham’.
“Its a city built near Sarayu river, it was beautiful and calm. I used to go to Ayodhya many times during my college days. Now it has become glamorised and commercial and is no longer the serene Ayodhya town. Everything old is being broken down,” Afaq says, reminiscing the old times.
Afaq has decided to become the chronicler of the times and has been collecting newspaper clippings for the last 15 days. “In the next 10-20 years, if a student or journalist comes, I can show them what the local newspapers are printing. Six out of eight pages are devoted to Ram temple-related news”.
Many argue for the tourism and job opportunities in the religious city. Afaq says, “Yes, infrastructure has been built. Everything is grand now. But who will be able to afford an organised tourism company, travel agencies, hotel industries, etc? Definitely not the locals…”.
Professor Singh says that in 1992, when the Masjid was demolished by people from outside the city, locals had understood that it was a political ploy.
“There was a deep understanding and feeling of brotherhood among communities. BJP even lost elections after the demolition. But post-Babri generations have only seen RSS and BJP’s andolans. There is no sense of history now. The youth now says, ‘Where will our temple be built if not at Ayodhya?’. It is being showcased as the Hindu renaissance and hatred has spread everywhere,” Singh adds.
Swati Krishna is an activist and political observer.
