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What LK Advani, who is likely to skip Ayodhya event, has said about Ram Temple: A flashback
The Ram temple trust said LK Advani and MM Joshi, who were at the forefront of agitation, are unlikely to attend next month’s consecration ceremony.
Lal Krishna Advani, at the peak of his career in the 1990s, led the controversial ‘Rath Yatra’ from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. The procession never reached Ayodhya, but LK Advani’s name was inseparably tied to the Ram temple issue.
The Rath Yatra was a political and religious procession held by LK Advani and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to promote the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed land in Ayodhya.
The Rath Yatra began on September 25, 1990. Advani travelled in a modified chariot, or "rath," throughout the journey, addressing massive crowds along the way and advocating for the construction of the Ram temple. It, however, faced obstacles as it progressed. Tensions escalated, leading to communal violence in various parts of the country. The yatra was eventually halted in Bihar by the then chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who arrested Advani to prevent further communal tensions.
On December 6, 1992, by a mob of karsevaks demolished the Babri Masjid. Over the years, Advani's name remains closely associated with the Ram Rath Yatra and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
In a statement in 2004, Advani said, “For the BJP, participation in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement was not prompted by religiosity. We were angered by the duplicity and double-standards of then Congress government and used the occasion to initiate a much-needed debate on secularism in India."
“I believe our relentless assault on what we called pseudo-secularism proved a much-needed corrective. It set the ground rules for an even-handed approach to issues affecting religious communities.”
He said the Ayodhya movement proved a very effective antidote to attempts to fragment Hindu society along antagonistic caste lines.
“I believe the phenomenal growth of the BJP between 1989 and 1996 owed a great deal to our support for the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. For us, Ayodhya will always remain a potent symbol of a national awakening,” the former minister of home affairs said.
“The urge for a Ram Janmabhoomi temple united Hindus. The fruition of that dream will bring all Indians together. The Ram temple in Ayodhya will be a vibrant symbol of a strong, prosperous and harmonious India,” Advani said.
In August 2020, Advani called the foundation-laying ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya a “historic and emotional day” for him, before Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the “bhoomi pujan” or the ground-breaking ceremony.
Advani said that he felt humbled that destiny made him “perform a pivotal duty in the form of the Ram Rath Yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya in 1990”. He added that the movement had helped in rousing the passion among the numerous participants.
He further expressed happiness about the “decisive verdict” of the Supreme Court in November 2019 that paved the way for the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
On Monday, December 18, 2023, the Ram temple trust said BJP veterans Advani, 96, and Murli Manohar Joshi, 89, who was also at the forefront of the agitation for the temple, are unlikely to attend next month’s consecration ceremony due to their health and age.
"Both are elders of the family and considering their age, they were requested not to come, which was accepted by both," Ram Temple Trust general secretary Champat Rai told reporters.
Rai said preparations are in full swing for the consecration ceremony on January 22, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
