Fuelled By Faith

The sant community has taken the lead in putting pressure on the Central and state governments to start building the Ram temple.

- Ajay Uprety/Ayodhya

KARSEVAKPURAM, where stones are being chiselled for the Ram temple, appears unusually quiet. Yet, an undercurrent of discontent is palpable across Ayodhya. Groups of pilgrims can be seen discussing how long they have to wait to see the temple being built in the holy city. Sadhus, sants and all those who are even remotely associated with the temple movement have started demanding a specific date for starting the temple construction. The prevailing mood in Ayodhya is, abhi nahi toh kabhi nahi (if not now, then never).

The sant community has taken the lead in putting pressure on the Central and state governments to start building the temple. “With [Narendra] Modi at the Centre and Yogi [Adityanath] in Uttar Pradesh, if the temple does not come up now, when will it be built? They should respect the feelings of the dharmacharyas and build the temple,” said Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, head of the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas.

Referring to the ongoing litigation on Ayodhya, Nritya Gopal Das said the issue was a religious one and above the Supreme Court. “We hope the court will rule in favour of building the temple,” he said. The Vishva Hindu Parishad has coined a slogan, aadhyadesh laao, mandir banao (bring the ordinance, build the temple). It organised a meeting of the working committee of the seers on November 25. Another meeting will be held on December 9 in Delhi.