Lucknow: Ahead of the prana pratishtha in Ayodhya’s Ram temple on January 22, 2024, the Uttar Pradesh government has issued directions to district authorities to organise Ram katha, Ramayana recitations and bhajan-kirtan (prayer meets), across Ram, Hanuman and Valmiki temples in the entire state. The District Tourism and Culture Councils are responsible for paying for these events that will take place from January 14 to 22 next year.
In his letter to district magistrates and commissioners of the state, UP’s chief secretary Durga Shanker Mishra emphasised upon the recitation of the epic penned by Maharishi Valmiki at Valmiki temples. These temples are mainly visited by members of the Dalit community.
Political observers see the use of government funds for organising religious events as the advent of the ‘Hindu Rashtra’ in a secular-democratic country.
Meanwhile, Dalit thinkers believe that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is focusing more on Valmiki temples to engage the Dalit community with Ayodhya’s grand ceremony and its Hindutva agenda. They think that the BJP government is attempting to woo the community by connecting them to these events to garner Dalit votes in the upcoming general elections.
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It is to be mentioned here that there is a sizeable population of Dalits, nearly 22%, residing in Uttar Pradesh and that they play a significant role in the electoral politics of the state which sends 80 lawmakers to Loksabha.
Traditionally, they are voters of the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), but a large chunk of Dalits, especially non-Jatavs, have swayed into the saffron fold since the entry of Prime Minister Narendra Modi into national politics. The BJP is looking to expand its outreach among other sections of Dalit society, they say.
“It seems that Yogi Adityanath’s government is focusing more on Valmiki’s Ramayana and Valmiki temples to keep the caste group intact with the BJP,” said Dalit thinker Ravikant Chandan. According to him, the Valmiki community is already in the BJP’s fold, but the BJP wants to bring together other sections of the community under the pretence of prana pratishtha” programmes.
Professor at Lucknow University, Chandan also said that the BJP is perturbed about the Dalit votes as after the re-emergence of Ambedkarite movements, a large number of Dalit youths are leaving the BJP. “BJP wants to engage Dalit youths in religious activities and suppress the question of their dignified lives,” he said.
According to the letter issued by the office of the chief secretary, these cultural events will start a week before the prana pratishtha on the occasion of Makar Sankranti. The government says the genesis behind organising these events based on the life of the Hindu deity Ram is to disseminate the idea of establishing the moral, social, and human values of Ram among the people of the country, which according to it are very relevant and important in the present time.
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Mishra also stated in his two-page letter that the state’s people have a very close attachment to this temple in Ayodhya, Ram’s birthplace. So, besides lamp lighting and donation of lamps, etc., the district authorities should ensure continuous recitation of Ram katha, Ramayana, Ramcharit Manas, Sunderkand etc.
Former IAS officer Vijay Shankar Pandey said, “In the current scenario, bureaucrats are ignoring the ethos of the constitution and dancing to the tune of their political masters. It is well known that the Ram Mandir Movement was politically motivated, and it is crystal clear who is reaping the dividend.”
Pandey went on to say that the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 was an assault on our constitution. Nothing is objectionable in temple construction as it is allowed by the apex court of the country but the use of government machinery for it is “an unjust and unfair practice”, he added.
The letter says an order was issued from power corridors of UP to ask the district authorities to organise a nine-day-long chain of events: a programme of sankirtans should be organised in the municipal bodies by including local bhajan-kirtan groups and Ram temple rath and kalash yatras should be organised in the cities.
The government will give priority to the artists and bhajan-kirtan groups who are registered with the culture department.
Sharat Pradhan, a senior political commentator who covered the Ayodhya movement extensively during the late 1980s and early 1990s, opined that the UP government’s circular is against the essence of Indian constitution.
The demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. Photo: Sanjay Sharma/INDIAPIX NETWORK
“This type of government involvement was never seen in the past; it is unprecedented,” said Pradhan. He sees this as a political game plan to transform secular India into a Hindu Rashtra.
To make events successful at the district, tehsil, and block levels, district magistrates will seek assistance from Mahila Mangal Dal, Yuva Mangal Dal, and ASHA Bahus following the government’s nod.
Officers are also asked that after selecting the temples, their list and name, designation, address, mobile numbers, and name of the nodal officer should be uploaded on the culture department’s portal.
It is also a part of their duty to provide the complete address, photo, GPS location, and contact number of the temple manager of the chosen temples in each district on the mentioned portal.
The work of selecting temples for the event is assigned to local administrations and nominated nodal officers will monitor the events. The onus of publicity and propaganda for this mass event is on the Information and Public Relations Department and District Information Officers at the district level.
These events will be organised only after obtaining a no-objection certificate from the competent level. Directions were also issued for arrangements for cleanliness, drinking water, security, carpet laying, sound, lighting (as per requirement), refreshments, etc. at event venues.
Rajesh Ahirwar, Assistant Director (General/Performing Arts), Directorate of Culture, has been appointed as the nodal officer according to the chief secretary’s letter.
Senior journalist Sheetal P. Singh said, “This is an undeclared or unofficial declaration of Hindu Rashtra. Such a decision will create a hostile situation for Muslims, although they are silent over this issue since they lost the legal battle.”
