The Ram Mandir movement was an awareness campaign not only for a temple but to ensure “justice with all and appeasement for none”, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Sunday (January 14), and noted that the history of Hindutva is the history of this country. Gadkari recalled the ‘Rath Yatra’ by BJP’s veteran LK Advani in the 90s and said that it brought the Ayodhya Ram Mandir cause to the forefront of the country. The Minister’s remarks came while addressing a gathering at a book launch in Nagpur.
Gadkari remembers those who struggled for temple
The Union minister said Ashok Singhal of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), senior BJP leader Uma Bharti, Sadhvi Ritambhara, several sadhus and Shankaracharyas struggled for it.
“The Ram Janmabhoomi movement was not just about a temple. These efforts were to give back pride and respect to India’s history, culture and heritage,” Gadkari said.
The Minister described the presence of Ram Mandir where Lord Ram was born a “symbol of pride and self-respect for all those living in the country”. “Hence, this issue was not communal or caste-related. It was ‘rashtriya’ (national),” he said.
Gadkari said that people are happy that a grand temple is being constructed at the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya and that they will get an opportunity to take ‘darshan’ on January 22.
In the past, the Union minister said, the word “secular” was wrongly interpreted for political gains. “...but our society is genetically ‘dharm nirpeksh’ (secular). The meaning of dharm nirpekshta is ‘sarv dharm satbhav’ (equal respect for all religions),” he said.
Gadkari said the Ayodhya Ram temple movement was a public awareness campaign to ensure “justice with all and appeasement of none” and was against a “new appeasement policy” that had been brought out by putting aside “our country's pride, culture and history”.
Gadkari on Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict
The Minister also remembered the Supreme Court’s verdict in 2019 regarding the Ram Janmabhoomi and said that the country was expecting that the justice should be given based on history, truth and evidence and the top court delivered that justice to the followers of Prabhu Ram Chandra.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) founder Dr Keshav Baliram Hedgewar used to say that despite all rulers in India being Hindus in the past, some foreigners ruled “us because of lack of unity among us”, Gadkari said.
The Union Minister called upon the citizens to rise above caste and dedicate themselves to Hindu culture, Hindu history and Hindu way of life.
"Hindu is Indian culture, and Indian culture is synonymous with Hindutva. Hindutva is not narrow, not sectarian, and not casteist. Hindu is inclusive of all, pride of the nation and the history of Hindutva is the history of the nation,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)
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