Bhopal: Don’t create controversies, avoid political discussions, and treat everyone equally — these are some of the ‘dos and don’ts’ that senior members of the RSS, VHP and others have issued for their volunteers in Madhya Pradesh, while training them for the Ram Mandir donation drive that started on 15 January.
However, the impact of these ‘dos and don’ts’ is hardly visible on the ground, according to ThePrint’s observations at a rally in Bhopal district on 10 January, six days after the volunteers were given training.
The decision to train volunteers was taken in the aftermath of communal violence reported in the state last month when volunteers were carrying out an awareness campaign for this donation drive, which will go on till 27 February.
In the last week of December, the state witnessed violence during the rallies led by VHP, Bajrang Dal and other Hindu Right-wing organisations to create awareness about the donation drive for Ram Mandir — in Mandsaur district on 25 December, and then Ujjain and Indore districts on 29 December. In Indore, the participants of the rally allegedly tried to damage a mosque and read the Hanuman Chalisa outside its premises.
However, Om Prakash Sisodia, co-convenor of Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan, and the publicity head (prachar pramukh) of the RSS in the ‘Madhya Bharat Prant’, said the dos and don’ts training had been imparted to volunteers not in their capacity as RSS or VHP members, but as persons associated with the donation drive on behalf of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust.
“We are all working towards one goal, which is to ensure maximum contribution for the Ram Mandir. RSS, VHP and other like-minded organisations and persons are working as the members of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust. For this, we trained volunteers on 4 January,” Sisodia said.
Sisodia, who is responsible for reaching out to 21,000 villages under ‘Madhya Bharat Prant’ out of 53,000 in the whole of MP, added: “We have pointed out what exactly is this campaign about, what will be expected from the volunteers, and what all should be done and avoided. Our aim is to reach as many villages as possible.”
Also read: 3 incidents, 1 pattern — what’s behind the violence during Ram Mandir rallies in MP
Bhopal rally
The trainers had also come up with an official list of around 18 slogans that could be raised by the volunteers during the drive, jagran and other programmes. Some of these include Bharat Mata ki Jai, Gau Mata ki Jai, Dharmantaran band ho (stop religious conversion), among others. However, the volunteers have been cautioned to refrain from reacting to any provocation that could lead to confrontation, and ultimately affect the contribution drive.
However, in the rally ThePrint attended on 10 January, which began at Khajuri village in Bhopal district, provocative slogans were chanted by participants.
The rally, which included a sea of saffron flags, blaring music and a huge crowd, began at around 4 pm, with organisers and even children sitting in an open jeep raising awareness about the donation drive, with women as well as the DJ singing devotional songs.
But soon, these songs gave way to chanting such as “jo chhedega Hinduon ki hasti ko, mitaa daalenge uski har basti ko” (roughly, we’ll wipe out colonies of those who irk Hindus). Rally participants even cautioned people to not be like Mughal emperors Aurangzeb and Babar, “else we will reduce you to ashes”.
The local police were present as the rally went from street to street. Bhagwati, a resident, said: “They took out Ram ji’s procession, so we also joined in. Whatever help we can provide, we will.”
Volunteers’ training module
The volunteers’ training module, accessed by ThePrint, included information about the Ram Mandir movement and the “struggles related to it”, and asked them to identify local influencers who can help them spread the word about the exercise.
They were asked to organise all-night jagrans, and take out early morning processions and flag marches in the name of Lord Ram, as well as locate and interact with those who participated in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
The module, also has a section called “caution”, which asks the volunteers and VHP workers to avoid getting into any controversy, to create consensus, not indulge in political discussions, treat everyone equally, be careful with their expenses and avoid extravagant programmes.
The document has been divided into five parts, informing the volunteers about how to collect funds, how to keep them, whom to contact, and how to conduct jagrans and other events.
According to sources, the team working on the donation drive also identified Hindu families residing in the state, asked volunteers to approach them for contributions, and advised them to spend time with these families and share a meal with them.
A VHP leader said a team of five volunteers would go to each village, carrying printed coupons for Rs 10, Rs 100 and Rs 1,000, through which people can contribute for the Ram Mandir.
Also read: Bengal will also get anti-conversion law ‘when’ BJP comes to power — MP Home Minister Mishra