AYODHYA: Last week the Dharma Raksha Mandal, organizers of the Chandraswami sponsored Som Yagya called on Muslims to abandon any plans to reconstruct the Babri Masjid and demanded that the center clear the way for a temple at the Ramjanambhoomi site, The Yagya was supported by the Cong. party in its endeavor to elicit Hindu majority support.
Charged with hijacking the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s agenda, Mandal leader Jagadguru Shankaracharya Swami Divyanand admitted, “We have no principal differences with the VHP. But we do not agree with patronizing construction of the temple simply to bring a political party to power,”
Swami Divyananid, who heads the Bhanapura peeth, observed that “Muslims are not emotionally attached to the Ramjanambhoomi site as Hindus are. For them, it is a political, not an emotional issue,” he observed.
Asked to comment on the demolition of the Babri Masjid, he said, “What fell was a Ram mandir, not a masjid. Analyze the Situation: what was destroyed? A structure is known by the deity who inhabits it and in this case, it was Ram Lalla. Whoever described the structure as a mosque lacked clear vision.”
The Swami, who broke away from the VHP in 1991, said the proposed Ram Temple at Ayodhya was a spiritful symbol, not an election issue. People would have to be educated against politicization, of religion; The Dharma Raksha Mandal will bring out a magazine for this purpose.
Chandra swami’s presence had lent the Som Yagya a political color. The god man had thrown his considerable weight behind the Mandal following a meeting at Beltror in Rajasthan on April 21.
Former Minister Subodh Kant Sahay, chief mediator between the sants, Chandraswami and the ruling party, initially claimed the yaga, directed at breaking the hold of the VHP, had been a 100% success, later, he admitted to “political mismanagement” and “organizational failure,” saying that many of those assigned responsibilities had “run away.”
In fact, Chandraswami appeared to be in a great hurry to get away from holy ground. The purna ahuti, which marked the completion of the som yagya, was to be held either on the evening of June 7 or June 8. Instead, the yagya was wound up by the afternoon. The god man looked frequently at his watch, made impatient gestures and maintained complete silence while consigning sacred objects to the flames, refusing the join the Pandits in their chanting of shlokas.
Chandra swami’s aide, Mamaji, surfaced brietly to address an impromptu press conference. Hehad earlier covered himself in disgrace by threatening to “buy all the sants in Ayodhya” and roughly pushing some of them aside at the yagya sthal on Monday.
VHP leader Mahant Ramchandra Paramhans maintained that only the Ramjanmabhoomi Nyas, of which he is president, could construct the Ram Temple. He said the yagya had proved counterproductive as many sants, disgusted by the spectacle, had decided to support the VHP.
Of self-appointed liaison man Dr.Subramaniam Swammy and his 5,000 workers who were to attend the yagya, there was no sign.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 18, 1993
