Lord Rama- The Epitome of Character, Chivalry & Virtues
Lord Rama is a very common name in the Indian household. Many children’s names will be either prefixed or suffixed by the words Rama or Ram. In books also, examples will be given with the name Ram like ” Ram is going to home, etc.. etc.. Ram is such a common name in India, that it is impossible to have a day without this name. Who is the great lord Rama? The word Rama in Sanskrit means “Pleasing to the mind, Lovely”. This name is spread and present in each corner of India with different forms and names.
Festivals like Ramanavami and Dussehra are dedicated to Lord Shri Rama. All these festivals depict the journey of King Rama to Lord Rama, the warrior who wins over the Mighty Ravana. Lord Rama is the Seventh Avatar of Lord Vishnu, one of the Tridevs. He was born in Ayodhya Nagri to King Dasharatha and Queen Kaushalya in the pious month of Paush Shukla Dwadashi tithi according to the Hindu calendar.
Why Lord Rama is so special… and what we can learn….
Lord Rama is the epitome of Character as described in Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, which is the famous Hindi book that describes the life and acts of Rama. It shows the importance of the character, a person should have and what he can achieve by having it. All of us will know or heard about the Rama-Ravana war. If we compare them, then Ravana is a great Brahmin, who was the son of the great Sage Vishrava. He was very intelligent, a great astrologer, who knew the future also and was able to control it. He was wealthy and strong. Even gods fear him. He had a faithful brother, Kumbhakarna, an obedient and strong son Meghanada, and a great wife Mandodari (a Sati). Ravana was the greatest worshipper of Maha Mrityunjaya, Lord Shiva. Having all these, he cannot be defeated or killed. However, Lord Rama in exile does not have wealth or a strong army like Ravana. Neither he was an astrologer, who could predict or control the future. If we compare, then Ravana is superior to Rama, however, he loses the battle. Why? this happened. The only power that Rama was having the power of the strong character and the wrong deed of the Ravana. The story of Ramayana depicts the win of the good over the evil.
The Story after the Rama- Ravana battle
After the Rama-Ravana battle was over. What happened after that? The last chapter of Ramayana, it has been described nicely. The sons of Lord Rama-Sita, Luv, and Kush ruled over the kingdom on the path and acts of Lord Rama. Lord Rama did the Jal-Samadhi to leave his human body to go to Vaikuntha ( the abode of Lord Vishnu) on his Vahana Garuda.
But after this, what happened to Ayodhya and the people of Ayodhya? However, now the Lord Shri Ram Temple is ready and our Shri Ram (Ramlalla) is going to instill on January 22, 2024, in his home. The peculiar date is also the birth date of lord Shri Ram according to Vikram Samvat. Whether you know the story and struggle of Ayodhya. If not, then you must know the story of this temple, from the time when Lord Rama went to Vaikuntha to the present day.
The Story and Struggle of the Ayodhya Temple
The Ayodhya temple story and struggle are described in two fragments. One is before and the other is after the arrival of the Mughals in India. The Mughals and other invaders including the British have greatly changed and affected the landscape and culture of India. The Ayodhya was also not left untouched by it.
After Shri Ram went to Vaikuntha, his 44 generations ruled Ayodhya with dharma according to Lord Rama’s principles. Lord Rama’s son Kusha, the king of Ayodhya built a Janmabhoomi temple along with many small temples around it at the birthplace of Rama. Many years passed by, and the time also showed their effect on the temples. The temples slowly lost their strength and gradually deteriorated. Around 57 A.D., the king of Ujjain, Vikramaditya renovated the temple.
The start of the controversy in Ayodhya
However, the Northern part of India near the Himalayas and Sindhu were the first shields of India to get the grudge of invaders and attackers. Babur came to India in the year 1526 CE and installed the Mughal Empire. When Babur reached Ayodhya (1528-1529), his commander Mir Baki was stationed there. Mir Baki ordered the demolition of the temples and built the Mosque in that place. Also, Hindus were not allowed to enter into that premises. After many years, Raja Jaisingh of Amer built a platform outside the Mosque and installed the idol of Shri Rama.
The Ruins of the Ram Temples and other temples
After that the Muslims offer the namaz inside the mosque and Hindus worship Lord Rama outside. Just like that, many years passed, and then in the year 1853, Nirmohi Akhara, one of the 14 communal Akharas in India, claimed that there was a Ram temple at the place of the Mosque. Which was demolished during the Babur period and a mosque was built. They demanded to reinstall the temple where the mosque was located. This was the initiation of the controversy of the Ayodhya.
The Struggle for Ayodhya Ram Temple started
The protest is made by Hindu groups and then onwards the fight starts between Hindu and Muslim groups for the place of worship. The fight between the Hindus and Muslims started spreading from Ayodhya to many places in India. To control the situation and to stop the riots, in 1859 CE, the British government did the fencing between the platform and the mosque. Later on, Raghuveer Das from Nishwari Akhara appealed in the Faizabad court to provide the ceiling on the Ram Chabutra, however, the plea was rejected. The rejection creates a wave of discomfort in the Hindu community and subsequently takes the form of violence across the country. Due to this violence, the wall of the mosque was broken along with the fencing built between the mosque and Ram Chabutra.
British government’s role in the Ayodhya Controversy
The wall was again rebuilt by the British Government. A rule has been formulated, that the mosque will be opened only on Fridays for prayers by Muslims. This system continued until the Independence i.e. till 1947 CE.
Situation of Ayodhya in the Post-Independent India
Then, one day on the morning of 23rd December 1949, the sound of bells, and conch was heard from the Mosque. Gradually, people gathered there and found that Hindus were performing puja inside the Mosque of Ramlalla. This gathered a large crowd near the premises. This crowd was of Hindus who wanted to perform puja and Muslims who were opposing it. This situation slowly became violent and the situation has become like a hot coal. Even the police were unable to control the situation. District Magistrate after knowing about the situation, immediately calls the PMO office. At that time, the then-prime minister Mr Jawaharlal Nehru passed an order from the PMO office to Faridabad District Magistrate Mr K.K. Nair that whatever happening in Ayodhya is wrong. It is wrong to grab anything by force and order that the idol should be immediately taken out of the mosque. In response to this, Mr Nair wrote a letter to the PMO office that considering the situation, the idol cannot be taken out under any circumstances. Since, the priest informed that without performing the puja, the idol cannot be taken out, it will be a great sin. This exchange of letters between the PMO office and Mr Nair continued several times. PMO ordered Mr Nair to follow the orders.
In response to this, Mr Nair suggested two options to PM. Firstly, the current situation is out of control. Considering the security of the Mosque and the big crowd, a netted gate should be installed outside the mosque, which will provide security to the mosque and people will also be able to do the darshan of the Ramlalla. Secondly, the matter should be handed over to the court, so that everyone will be calm till the court order comes. Immediately, Mr Nair resigned, however, his resignation was not accepted. But PMO liked the suggestion of Mr Nair and transferred the matter to the court.
The Court proceedings on the Ayodhya controversy
Nirmohi Akhara from Hindus and Sunni Waqf board from Muslims filed the case for the possession of the controversial land. Nirmohi Akhara told the court that from a very early time, there was a temple on the controversial land, and now the Ramlalla is also present on the land. The rights of the land should be provided to the Hindus to make the temple. On the Muslim side, it was argued that the Mosque was there for a long time from the time of the Mughals, hence the rights are to be provided to the Muslims. This case was like that going for more than 20-25 years. In 1980 Congress party was in power and the BJP was also formed. After the formation of the BJP, other Hindutva organizations like Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shiv Sena, Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayam Seva Sangh became active. In 1984, a Dharma Sansad was called and big leaders of the BJP, Lal Krishna Advani, and Murali Manohar Joshi, In this others participated.
The congregation of the Hindus Organisations
In the Parliament of Religions, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, President Ashok Singhal announces that the Ram Temple will be built. He appealed to every Hindu to provide the brick for the construction of the temple. This message has a great impact on every Hindu throughout the country. In 1984, when Ms Indira Gandhi, the then-prime minister of India died, the command of the Congress moved to Mr Rajiv Gandhi. During that time, due to the activities happening in the Ayodhya, the support of Hindus moves towards the BJP. Since the BJP was openly advocating and supporting the interest of Hindus for the formation of the temple.
The political aspect of the temple and the rise of the BJP
Meanwhile in 1986, when the case of the opening of the gates of the premises came to the court. Mr Rajiv Gandhi tried to get the support of the Hindus, for which he ordered to open the gate for 1 hour for Hindus, and the same has been broadcast across India through the Doordarshan channel(a government-owned channel).
Due to this, the Muslim community gets upset and angry with Congress. All Muslim leaders together form the Babri Masjid Action Committee to oppose the Congress’s decision. As a result of all this, Congress lost the election in 1989. And BJP got the advantage in the election. Where in 1984, the BJP was holding only 2 seats in the parliament. In the 1989 election, it got 85 seats. And that time, with the support of BJP, Mr V.P.Singh became the prime minister. After the formation of the National Front Government, BJP leader Mr L.K. Advani announces the Rath Yatra from Somnath in Gujrat to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh for almost 10,000 km in support of Ram Temple. The Rath Yatra is planned to reach Ayodhya on 30th October.
The Rath Yatra
During this time, when Gujrat’s top leaders and BJP leaders were involved. At that time Mr Narendra Modi, as an active member was instrumental in the management of the Rath Yatra. At that time, he was 40 years old. On September 25, 1990, the Yatra started from Somnath. This Yatra was not so smooth, it got a lot of protests across India. When it reached Samastipur in Bihar, the then CM, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav ordered the DIG, Samastipur to stop the yatra and order him to arrest L.K. Advani. With Advani, other leaders also got arrested and were kept in the post office of the Irrigation department for 12 days.
The result of this Rath Yatra was that as soon as this news reached Delhi. The BJP withdrew its support and the VP Singh government fell. Along with this, due to an increase in tensions in the Hindus. On October 30, 1990, a large number of Kar Sevaks reached Ayodhya and some of them climbed onto the Mosque top and put the saffron flag. This initiates a new chapter.
The killing of Kar Sevaks and the eruption of Violence
The then CM of Uttar Pradesh Mr Mulayam Singh ordered open firing on the Kar Sevaks, which resulted in the death of many of them. And it made the situation still volatile and worse. Throughout the country, an atmosphere of agitation and violence was created. Uma Bharati, Ashok Singh, and many other leaders were very angry with this. When 5000 kar Sevaks reached Hanuman Gadi, the police fired and many people got killed. Against the protest the same, the dead bodies of the Kar Sevaks were kept and Mulayam Singh was criticized for his anti-Hindu and pro-Muslim stand. As a result of all this in the 1991 elections, Mulayam Singh lost the elections and BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh. The death of Rajiv Gandhi created sympathy for Congress and at the center, congress formed the government with Mr. P.V . Narasimha Rao as the PM.
After the formation of the government of the BJP in UP, On January 10, 1991, 2.77 acres of land was given to the trust with the consent of the priests of Ayodhya. This trust job was to deal with the space for the temple. However, since the case was already going on in the court, construction was banned. Despite the ban, the construction was again started in 1992 to build the temple. During this time, the state BJP government and the central Congress government were there. The central and state governments were worried that the situation, should not become like on October 30. At that time, PM Narasimha Rao called the Hindu parishad and Shia-Sunni board to Delhi for talks. However, the meeting does not meet any conclusion. During that time, the Hindu parishad privately called for the meeting among themselves and again called the Kar Sevaks on 6th December.
The after effect
Since the situation of the Ayodhya was worsening day by day. The PM called the UP CM Mr Kalyan Singh to implement the Presidential rule. But Kalyan Singh ruled out this request and reassured after giving an affidavit in the court that no violence would take place and took full responsibility. It also reassures that no bullet firing will be done. In December 1992, more than 2 lakh Kar Sevaks reached Ayodhya. At this time, many BJP leaders were banned from reaching Ayodhya. To reach Ayodhya, Uma Bharati tonsured and disguised herself and reached Ayodhya. By evening 5:00 pm, all three domes of the mosque were broken by Kar Sevaks. And the idol of Lord Rama was installed in the mosque. Due to this, huge riots broke out across the country and thousands of people died.
The central government imposes presidential rule in UP, after which Kalyan Singh has to resign from the post of CM. The riots were not only limited to India but spread to neighboring countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, where many temples were broken and Hindus were killed.
The Godhra Riot
In 1992, Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government formed at the center in 2001. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad informed the central government that if they are not able to make the temple, then VHP will be made by themselves. To start the construction of the temple on October 15, 2002, VHP called hundreds of workers and started the construction of the temple. When these workers were returning from Ayodhya by train. When they reached Godhra, the train was set on fire by the angry mob in which 58 people died. This led to another sequence of events and violence in India.
The ASI Report and Court Verdict
Due to all these repeated riots, now the court wants to settle the issue of the temple as soon as possible. They quickly ordered the Archaeological Survey of India to find the real truth of the mosque and temple. The Archaeology department dug the ground around this temple and got a lot of shreds of evidence. After about 6 months of excavation, an ASI report was submitted in which it is mentioned that there were remains of the 10th and 12th-century temples. Based on this, the court’s decision came in September 2010, in which the court accepted for the first time that there was Ram Janmabhoomi here. The temple area was divided into three parts. Sita Rasoi and Chabutra given to Nirmohi Akhara. The main center part of the land was Ram Bhoomi given to the trust and the remaining area was given to the Board during the hearing but no party agreed on this. The other remaining area was given to the Sunni Waqf board, however no party agreed to that.
In the year 2011, the matter went to the Supreme Court, and it remained pending for 6 years. In the year 2017, again the hearing restarted. After about 2 years, on 9th November 2019 based on ASI’s report, about 2.77 acres of land was given to Ram Janmabhoomi Trust by a panel of five judges, but its ownership is provided to the central government. Uttar Pradesh government is asked to give 5 acres of land to the Muslim party at another place away from the temple to the Sunni Waqf Board. In this way, one of the longest-running cases was concluded.
This decision was acceptable to both parties involved, and no violence erupted out of it. Then on the destination day of 05th August 2020, Prime Minister Mr Narendra Modi laid the foundation of the temple. Then construction of the grand Ram temple started and today it is inaugurated with the installation of Ramlalla in the temple on 22nd Jan 2024. Many people and dignitaries from various areas have been invited to the Ram temple consecration.
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