We have no copyright to Ram Bhakti | Says Uma Bharati
“We were proud when Modi ji, as prime minister, finally attended the shilanyas without causing any animosity between Muslims and Hindus. The world’s perception of India was based on conflicts over caste and religion. Ram Janmabhoomi tensions have not yet been created thanks to the sense of national unity.
BJP politician Uma Bharti, a prominent figure in the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign and a former Union Minister, has been absent from the political scene for some time.
Bharti was one of the 32 people charged with carrying out the demolition of the Babri Masjid on December 6, 1992, when she was in Ayodhya. In 2020, a special CBI court found them all not guilty. An appeal against the acquittal was dismissed by the Allahabad High Court last year.
Days before she travels to Ayodhya to witness the consecration of the Ram Lalla idol on January 22, Bharti talks freely about the Ram Temple movement with The Indian Express.
How did the Ram Janmabhoomi movement come to be linked with you?
I traveled to Ayodhya as a 12-year-old to deliver religious sermons. When I was younger, I gave talks about Mahabharat and Ramadan. When I was a child, Mahant Ram Chandra Das took me there for a speech. There was a lock, and I witnessed people praying. I questioned him about the lock’s purpose. The temple was destroyed long ago, he told me. There is a lock now per court instructions, but prayers are still permitted outdoors. I was really uncomfortable. I was able to retain that memory.
There was the start of the 1984 VHP-related movement Zor se bolo, Ram Janmabhoomi ka taala kholo (Speak up, unleash Ram Janmabhoomi). I had entered politics by then. I complied with the request to take part in the agitation.
After the movement gained traction in the late 1980s, what memories do you have of it?
I participated in the September 1989 shilanyas (foundation stone laying) when the locks were opened. Following that, the day of kar seva—volunteer service for the temple—was declared as October 31, 1990, during a meeting in Mathura. As prime minister, VP Singh ji oscillated between siding with us and the Communists, who, like us, were receiving foreign backing for his government.
Says Mulayam Singh Yadav: “Even a bird cannot fly past Ayodhya.” Pardina par bhi nahin maar paayega. I went to the Kar seva with Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, but I was kept at a Banda guest house while she was arrested and taken to Chinar jail. On October 31, there was a kar seva, and Ashok Singhal ji was hurt by police intervention. This news was broadcast on Doordarshan. We went around encouraging people to join the kar seva, and now since they were facing bullets while I was sitting in the guest home like a VIP, I was irritated.
When it was curfew, I tonsured my head, hastily arranged with a few individuals, and headed for Ayodhya. As I arrived in Ayodhya, I was requested to take charge of a group, or jattha, for the November 2 kar seva. A few of our jattha accidentally walked off. Ram Kumar and Sohit Kumar Kothari were two of them that were slain by the cops. During curfew, they had taken a shortcut towards Hanuman Garhi and were fatally shot.
They used tear gas and baton charges on the group I was leading. I was taken away by CRPF ladies in a rough manner and placed in the Faizabad jail. Local ladies swarmed the jail the following day. I was then moved to the Naini jail. The motion persisted. Ashok Singhal insisted on continuing with it. On December 6, 1992, the announcement of Kar Seva was made.
How do you remember December 6th?
On December 5, there was such a large gathering that I confided in a senior colleague that I was concerned that some of these people might not be coworkers. Many are Ram Bhakts; we may not have any influence over them. I should not worry, he said. As the gathering grew, Acharya Dharmendra invited Ritambhara ji and myself to proceed to the podium on the morning of December 6. The location could be seen from a structure approximately 500 meters away from Ram Janmabhoomi.
That building had the podium on top of it. Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, (L K) Advani ji, and (Murli Manohar) Joshi ji were present. One by one, we were instructed to speak. Just as I was finishing my sentence, I noticed kar sevaks ascending the building. I gave up. From where I stood, I could see them. Some were seated and unable to. I informed the others that the structure had been scaled by kar sevaks. Through the microphone, Advani ji pleaded with them to come down. The chants of “Jai Shri Ram” were so loud, though, that nobody paid attention.
Advani ji advised me to take the path that begins behind the building, claiming that people pay attention to what I have to say. He also instructed Pramod Mahajan, his own assistant Deepak Chopra, Anju Gupta, and the other SP stationed there to go with me. The throng around us as we drove there. They yelled at me, asking me to explain my decision to visit Ram Janmabhoomi. I was also confronted by the mother of the Kothari brothers, who had been shot dead by the police two years prior, telling me that this structure had killed her sons and needed to be removed.
I begged for restraint, but she shot back, saying the Babri building had to be destroyed. I was hoisted physically by the kar sevaks and dropped onto the podium. We quickly learned that paramilitary forces had assembled in greater numbers and that the Kalyan Singh government had been overthrown. I remained there. The Babri Mosque had collapsed. I should take Rajmata there, she said me. All that was left were heaps of debris. I observed that CRPF jawans were performing pranam to Ram Lalla while removing their shoes. It astonished me. I placed my head on the floor and Rajmata did the same.
Who, in your opinion, participated in the movement the most?
The kar sevaks who destroyed the building that day deserve the most recognition. For this reason, the location may be excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India. Beneath, they discovered ruins of ancient buildings. The conclusions were reviewed by the Supreme Court. The kar sevaks were the ones who brought down the edifice. However, in 2017, a chargesheet was filed against Advani ji, me, and other people. We became criminals after being listed as suspects. But I was completely unconcerned. If the Kar Sevaks had been fired in order to save them, I would have preferred to die that same day.
When Prime Minister Modi ji finally attended the Shilanyas at Ayodhya, there was no animosity between Muslims and Hindus, and we were able to lift our heads high. The world’s perception of India was shaped by conflicts over caste and religion. We were proud of the manner Prime Minister Modi ji, Home Minister Amit Shah ji, and Chief Minister Yogi (Adityanath) ji behaved. For that, I give them credit. Ram Janmabhoomi has not yet caused any tensions because of this feeling of national oneness.
Kashi and Mathura have also been the subject of demands. What opinions do you have?
My opinion is the same as what I said in Parliament in 1991 during the introduction of the Places of Worship Act, a bill intended to prevent Ayodhya from being included in religious sites whose characteristics should not be altered from their original state of independence. In order to ensure that future generations can live in harmony, I had suggested adding Kashi and Mathura as exceptions.
What are your plans for January 22nd in Ayodhya?
I must arrive in Ayodhya on January 18 instead of waiting until January 22, per the Trust’s directive. In December, they had also given me a call. I got there and completed the tasks they assigned me. Beginning on January 18, I shall be in Ayodhya.
