There is one man in the present world who has understood history in its correct sense. He is much better than the best historians of the world. In fact, he has taken the juice out of history and drank it. He knows exactly how to make himself a part of the future history.
For the past 6 months or so, the greatest euphoria is building up in this country and has culminated on 22nd Jan, 2024 – i.e., the Ram Temple’s inauguration. A 600-year-old mosque is moved from that place and a Hindu temple is built. The chief reason is that there used to be a temple there 6 centuries ago. Babri Masjid was built in 1528 and used by the Muslim population for prayers. In 1949 the hardline Hindu nationalists laid claim to the mosque’s grounds, claiming it was built on the site of a previous Ram temple and the birthplace of the god.
Does it mean that the kings of those days simply demolished earlier religious structures to build a structure which belonged to their religion? If this were so then we too have, in the 21st century, done the same but with the help of a court. It is irrelevant here whether it is justiciable or not, when might is right. Dig any part of the land in our country – an old relic of yesteryears will surely surface. But it should not change the present. Without supporting any religion or group of people, I must say 600 years is a very long time to erase it.
Lord Rama’s temple is built – with billions of dollars – and the Prime Minister of India has inaugurated it. People forgot unemployment, poverty, hunger, illiteracy and ill-health. They all chant the name ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The music maestro Late Shri. Laxmikanth of Laxmikanth Pyarelal fame one told me ‘People are ready to become fools, and are waiting for the man to make them’. Jai Shri Ram.
Leaving all this aside, in the 21st century or for that matter even in the 20th century no government has built a religious monument at this scale. Exceptions can be given to few Muslim countries in the Middle East, where good mosques were built. Where such massive structures were built and its builders wrote their names in the history.
Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple was built by Pandyan Emperor Sadayavarman Kulasekaran I (1190 CE–1205 CE). The temple of Lord Venkateswara was built by King Thondaiman.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is one of the famous medieval churches in Europe, dedicated to Virgin Mary. Its construction started in the 12th century and lasted for more than two hundred years. The cathedral was initiated by Maurice de Sully, bishop of Paris.
Milan Cathedral is one of the most fascinating buildings in Europe and the largest church in Italy. Its construction started in 1386 by Archbishop Antonio da Saluzzo and it was only finished in 1965.
These people wrote their way to history. We go to Vatican and Europe to admire them. To build these they took centuries and spent good public money of those times. They are admired and remembered even today. Often, we say to ourselves “It was possible in those days”!
It is for the first time, after the advent of ‘welfare state’ ‘Ram Mandir’ at Ayodhya is built. I am sure the kings & queens of yester years faced every possible criticism & praise as we are doing today. We read in the history books about the kings who built a temple/mosque.
Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar. It was the capital of the Mughal Empire for only 10 years. Emperor Shah Jahan is remembered for commissioning the construction of the Red Fort in 1638, when he decided to shift his capital from Agra to Delhi. These constructions made them eternal.
Following this logic PM Modi built a new parliament. He has also built a Ram Temple at Ayodhya with people’s money and has ensured a paragraph for self in future history. If there is someone who has understood history, I must say it is PM Modi. Don’t you agree?
About the Author
Dr. K. Raja Gopal Reddy is a seasoned internationally qualified Insurance professional.
What you are reading here, may not answer all the questions we have, but has the absolute power of asking unsettling questions which increase the interest in the strange world, and show the contradictory wonders lying just below the surface of the commonest things of life. Look at this disturbing but beautiful thought of Friedrich Nietzsche “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him”.
Dr. Reddy can be reached at: raja66gopal@gmail.com
