The Pran Pratishtha in Ayodhya
By Justice Markandey Katju
Nine Chief Ministers and some political parties ( e.g. the Congress, the TMC, the JDU etc ) and prominent politicians have announced that they will not attend the 'pran pratishtha' ( instiling life into an idol ) ceremony in the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya on 22nd February. They have said that the ceremony is for political reasons to get benefit in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, which are only a few months away.
These announcements were obviously made with an eye on the large Muslim vote banks in their states. These so called 'secular' parties only seek power and pelf, and are least interested in the welfare of the people, and of Muslims in particular, for whom they did nothing ( as the Justice Sachar Committee Report discloses ).
Two Shankaracharyas have also opposed the ceremony because according to them it is against the shaastras ( Hindu religious texts ), e.g. that a temple which is incomplete cannot have pran pratishtha.
On the other hand the central government and several state governments have declared 22nd January as a public holiday, on which day all government offices, educational institutions, etc will remain closed.
My own opposition to it has nothing to do with Muslim votes, as I am not in politics and will never contest any election, nor does it have anything to do with the shaastras.
It is for these reasons :
1. I am an atheist and so do not believe in God, and regard all religions as superstitions.So how can I attend a pran pratishtha ?
2. In the original Ramayan by Valmiki which is in Sanskrit and written about 2500 years ago, Ram is not a god but a human being. He was a prince, and later a king, who did great deeds. It was only 2000 years later in Tulsidas' Ramcharitmanas that he was transformed into a god..
Temples are built for gods and goddesses, not for humans.
3. The demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 was illegal, and the greatest tragedy for India since Partition.
The Supreme Court verdict in this connection giving the site of the Babri Masjid to some Hindu organisations was flawed
.4. This event will further whip up communal passions, when there has already been a great deal of religious polarisation in our country. It is looking backward, while our national interest requires looking forward.
(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)
