New Delhi: The red sandstone house in Jangpura Extension bore a desolate look on a rainy Wednesday afternoon. “No one is home. Don’t disturb them unnecessarily. What is there to talk about? They will not talk,” said a security guard deployed outside the house owned by former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.
Aiyar (82) was in for a rude shock on 21 January when he received a letter from the Jangpura Extension Welfare Association (JEWA) suggesting that his daughter Suranya “not provoke anyone by creating hatred and mistrust” or “move out to another colony where people and RWAs (resident welfare associations) can turn a blind eye to such hatred”.
The letter was a reaction to a Facebook post Suranya shared criticising the consecration ceremony held at the Ram temple in Ayodhya on 22 January. In the post dated 20 January, she announced her decision to fast for three days to protest the consecration.
She also expressed solidarity with Indian Muslims and denounced what she described as “Hindu chauvinism”.
“How can anyone celebrate a temple being built on the back of such lies, violence, spite and vengefulness? How can this be squared with the teachings of Hinduism,” she added.
The next day, the Aiyars received a letter from the Jangpura Extension Welfare Association — which describes itself as a “non-political organisation founded in 1951” — saying it had been “approached by residents” over Suranya’s “recent stand/monlogue (sic)/rant”.
“What Ms Aiyar said through social media was certainly unbecoming of an educated person who should have understood that the Ram Mandir was being built after 500 years and that too after 5-0 Supreme Court verdict,” read the letter signed by JEWA president Dr Kapil Kakar.
“A hate speech and act by a resident like you, Ms Aiyar, for announcing a 3-day fast in a peace-loving locality, where most residents came from Pakistan after losing all their wealth, is highly unfortunate. We request you to follow the norms of a good citizen and not provoke anyone by creating hatred and mistrust,” it added.
Suranya clarified in another Facebook post Wednesday that she did not live at the house in question which is owned by her father, as mentioned in his past election affidavits. “What matters is that whatever point of view we put forward, whether people are able to see some sense in it. And if at the end of the day, at the end of this process, in India, we can even just find a more civilised, a more thinking and a more sincere way of talking and feeling about these things, then we would have achieved something. [Because] right now things are pretty pathetic. And that’s all I have to say,” she said.
However, the objection raised by the resident welfare association had already snowballed into a controversy with BJP’s Amit Malviya terming it a “terse letter”.
“This ought to be a warning to everyone who believes that misusing Hindu beliefs is commonplace,” Malviya wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
This should serve as a message for everyone, who think abusing Hindu beliefs is par for the course. The Jangpura Extension Welfare Association, in a terse letter, have asked Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar and his daughter to apologise for defiling the Pran Pratistha ceremony… pic.twitter.com/6eQ0U1AmzW
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) January 31, 2024
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‘Didn’t ask Aiyars to vacate, awaiting response’
JEWA president Dr Kapil Kakar told ThePrint Wednesday that the letter was sent because he was approached by “3-4 hurt and angry residents” who saw Suranya’s post and sought action. He added that the RWA saw the post found that the first three minutes were “objectionable” and “provoked the residents”.
“As RWA heads, it is our responsibility to not wait for the situation to escalate and quell it right when it begins.”
“She (Suranya) claims that Muslims have been hurt. How does she know that? Have there been any instances? None that I have heard of. She further claims that as a Hindu she is hurt by what is happening. I am a Hindu too. As a Hindu, we are taught to respect all religions. A Hindu goes to a mosque, goes to Ajmer Sharif, a gurdwara without any qualms. But what kind of a Hindu are you if you respect other religions and not your own.
“The temple in Ayodhya was not made illegally, but by the verdict of the Supreme Court. Why are you hurt about it? And if you are hurt then the residents too are hurt by your action,” he said.
Kakar said he believes such actions can create divisions among residents and stoke communal tensions. “To prevent such an incident from manifesting, we wrote this letter and asked her to either ‘regret’ what she said and if she doesn’t, then we suggest that she leave this society and go elsewhere where they will turn a blind eye to this kind of behaviour.”
He reiterated that the RWA had in the letter urged Mani Shankar Aiyar to condemn his daughter’s behaviour.
The father-daughter duo, said Kakar, have been model residents and no complaint has ever been lodged against them. “In fact, 5-6 years ago, Mani Shankar Aiyar also gave a speech during Independence Day celebrations, but this act is unacceptable,” he added.
Kakar was quick to add that if Suranya felt so strongly about the issue, she could have registered her protest in court. “You can speak, everyone has freedom of speech but even the Supreme Court says that it is not absolute. You can’t be saying anything. If she had a problem, she could go to court and ask for an extension on the bench. What is the need for all of this?”
Asked what the RWA plans to do next, he told ThePrint: “We did not direct them (Aiyars) to vacate, but we are waiting for a response (to the letter). If they refuse, we request them to relocate. In case they refuse to relocate, people can choose to socially boycott them. If not, they won’t.”
While most neighbours or passers-by refused to comment on the matter, an elderly Jangpura Extension resident who wished to remain unnamed said the whole matter was being “politicised”.
The letter was written because Suranya is the daughter of a politician, he said. “This is pointless. I have seen Kakar grow up in front of my eyes. I have seen Aiyar walking in these parks. How can what they do lead to disharmony? She did it because she can do it. She has the power to. Unki himmat hai toh wo bolenge. Main ya aap kahan bol sakte?”
(She did it because she had the courage to do so. Could you or I have done it)
Asked how he would have responded had the RWA sent such a letter to him, the elderly man responded: “I would throw it in the dustbin.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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