The Election Mood In Ayodhya And Gorakhpur

In Ayodhya, even as the construction of the Ram Mandir picks pace, there is a touch of resentment against the BJP

- Rahul Devulapalli

Hazari Das Baba’s right eye will hold your gaze. It resembles a cloudy sky; shades lighter than his left, which is as dark as the night sky. “I think the colour of the right eye is changing because of bleeding,” says Das, 70. “I can see properly only through one eye now.” His left shoulder is damaged, too, he reveals. And, it has little to do with age.

Das lives in the regional office of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Karsevakpuram in Ayodhya, and has witnessed the changing contours of the Ram Mandir issue over the decades. He is the caretaker of the hall in the spacious office that houses the miniature model of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. But Das was no mere spectator—he was one of the many kar sevaks who tried to reach the Babri Masjid in 1990.

A native of Shahjahanpur district, he claims to have escaped the police firing that killed several people. But he ran out of luck in 1992, when the mosque was demolished. “I fell from the mosque structure and the debris landed on me,” he recalls. That fall damaged his eye and shoulder and landed him in hospital and eventually behind bars.

It did not damage his reputation though—over the years, devotees flocking the Ram Janmabhoomi site started calling him ‘baba’. The Ram Mandir issue has been central to Ayodhya and its residents for decades, and in an election year it is no different. But will it bring in votes?