New Delhi: The construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya is not just a religious event, but “liberation” from mental, ideological and cultural slavery, according to RSS joint general secretary (sah sarakaryavah) Dattatreya Hosabale.
Hosabale also hit out at Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who had criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans to attend the bhoomi poojan ceremony in Ayodhya on 5 August.
At the launch of the book Ram Janmabhoomi by Arun Anand, journalist and research director at the RSS-associated think tank Vichar Vinimay Kendra, Hosabale said the Ram Mandir is an assertion of the “identity of India”, and a moment that reflects freedom from religious and cultural “ghulami” or slavery.
“This work should have been completed soon after independence, like the Somnath Mandir (in Gujarat). It is a question of Indian identity… Ram Janmabhoomi is connected to the identity of India; it was not just a religious movement,” Hosabale said.
“It is not only piece of land, but a symbol of nationalism. The construction of the temple is a reflection of freedom from political, religious, cultural and ideological ghulami,” he said. “It was a natural quest for reasserting our civilisational identity through this struggle, and it was meant for regaining the self, which was damaged by foreign aggressors.”
Also read: Reader View: Building Ram Mandir now is not the right time, Modi shouldn’t attend ceremony
Attack on Owaisi
Hosabale took a direct shot at All India Majlis-e-Ittihadul Muslimeen chief Owaisi, who had said by attending the 5 August ceremony, PM Modi would violate his constitutional oath, because the Babri Masjid stood at the site for 500 years, only for idols to be surreptitiously placed there in 1949.
“A few people are opposing the PM’s participation purely for political reasons, but the Hyderabad MP’s logic is stupid. Is he right to create such controversy? In America, there was racism for 500 years… the British ruled in India (for 190 years), but this does not justify their rule,” the senior RSS official said.
“This mindset is only reflection of the aggressor who wants to dominate other mindsets. Why, in Delhi, has a statue of Victoria removed to install Mahatma Gandhi’s statue? Why has the name of Aurangzeb Road been changed? This temple is a reflection of identity, of nationalism and civilisation,” Hosabale added.
Vishva Hindu Parishad president Alok Kumar also hit out at political leaders who are attacking PM Modi for agreeing to attend the bhoomi poojan for the Ram Mandir.
“This construction is happening due to the Supreme Court’s decision. Those who are making these attacks are attacking national pride, not an individual,” Kumar said.
“This decision is part of a long struggle, the culmination of a 400-year struggle. This is the journey to achieve national pride,” he added.
Also read: Ram Mandir can’t wait for Covid vaccine. Modi is Hindutva leader first, India’s PM later