The Rediff Interview/O Rajgopal

'After the country became free, the patriots felt these symbols of humiliation are removed'

I was in Trivandrum after last year's general election and a maid servant told us then that she was scared because the BJP was coming to power at the Centre. She also explained the reason for her fear: Some sadhus went around terrifying residents with spears in the area.

(Surprised) in Kerala?

Yes, in Kerala, At least that was what she told us.

She must have been fed Communist propaganda. You don't see people going around with spears and things like that in Kerala! (Laughs). That must have been a cartoon published in Desabhimani (The Communist Party of India-Marxist daily newspaper) or some other Communist journals. In Ayodhya also, many kinds of people joined hands, including sadhus who normally have spear in their hands. But you don't see people going around with spears here! It must be her imagination. It only shows how deep the Communist propaganda has gone.

You mentioned Ayodhya. Do you regret what has happened at Ayodhya on the 6^th of December? Is it not true it gave the BJP a very negative image, a black spot so to speak?

I will not describe it as a black spot. All I can say is that it was unexpected. As far as the BJP or RSS or the VHP which organised the programme is concerned, we had not bargained for it. We had not anticipated that kind of development. It took place. And according to the government, there were some other forces which worked to create chaos for their own political gain. Some anti-national elements had their gains too. They worked upon the sentiments of the people.

But the fact remains that that building had to go one day or the other. What we wanted was, removing or relocating the building, honourably and in a legal manner. If the Muslim brethren felt it was a mosque which was sacred to them, we wouldn't have thought about that. We don't want to hurt their feelings. But the majority accepts the place is very sacred to Hindus.

Will not our Christian friends feel very proud of the place where Jesus Christ was born? Will not our Muslim brethren feel proud about the place where Prophet Mohammed was born? Is it not scared for them? Similarly, as far as the Hindus are concerned, they feel proud of the birthplace of Lord Rama. There was a special consideration for the place.

As far as the Muslim brethren were concerned, they don't have a kind of attachment to the place. They had attachment to the building only because it was a mosque. But it was not a functioning mosque for more than 54 years. Not a single Muslim had gone there to offer namaz in the disputed building. It is a fact.

Of course, our opponents had been shouting the mosque has been demolished! That was not because they had any love for the mosque, that was only because of their love for Muslims votes.

Do you regret what happened?

I don't regret it.

For what had happened on that day?

Why should anybody regret that? After all, a national humiliation had gone. If you look at the history of the building, how it came to be, you will know that it was not built for the purpose of conducting worship. It was built for the sole purpose of humiliating the Hindus. It has been recorded. It is proved by historical evidence.

But many human lives were lost while you corrected a wrong.

It was not because of that. Subsequently, they let loose violence all over the country. I can tell you about Kerala. In the places where the Muslims are strong, where they have a majority, they destroyed many temples. In Malappuram district, some six or seven temples were destroyed, especially those belonging to the harijans. Seventeen temples were destroyed in Kerala alone. It must be a few hundreds in India.

I will not blame the Muslims. I will blame only the political parties. They told the Muslims, your mosque has been demolished. Naturally, religious minded Muslims will feel offended. I don't blame them at all. Petty politicians with a view to corner Muslim votes exploited their sentiments.

A Muslim friend of mine from Tamil Nadu who had vociferously supported the BJP as far as the Ram Janambhoomi was concerned told me he felt very isolated and terrified after the Babri Masjid demolition. Many people asked him to go back to his country, that is Pakistan to them. They were talking to a person who is as Indian as any of us. What do you say about this?

Because of the continued propaganda, many people were misled. But it was a historical event that took place. Yes, it should not have taken place that way. We had pleaded that the building should be relocated like it is done in many countries. Technology is available for that. If the Muslims feel so concerned about the building, there are ways by which it can be relocated. But because of the mob psychology or mob fury, it happened. It just happened.

Do you have plans to follow up the Kashi and Mathura temples?

It is not on our agenda now.

To most Indians, especially those who live in south or north-eastern India, it does not really matter whether a temple is built at Ayodhya or Mathura. They have so many other concerns and worries.

You are quite right. After all, a temple here or a temple there or a mosque here is not such a serious consideration for many. But you see, they are all symbolic. If you look back, you see a nation that was enslaved for about a thousand years and the people had undergone great humiliation because their scared places of worship were demolished and destroyed by foreign enemies.

After the country became free, it is but natural that the patriots felt that these symbols of humiliation are removed. It is also a fact that there are more than 3,000 temples which were demolished by the opponent forces. Now it is difficult to see that all those things are rectified. It is not possible.

But the VHP and some great sanyasins have identified these three places which are of great concern as far as Hindus are concerned, like the place where Lord Rama was born, the place where Lord Krishna was born, and Varanasi, the most sacred place of Lord Siva. These three places should be returned to the Hindus. We are prepared to forget the rest. I think it is in the interest of the Muslims themselves also.

If they hand back these three places to the Hindus, they can earn the love and respect and regard of the whole community. It will be a symbol of friendship between the two communities. Unfortunately, they are misled by petty politicians who are only concerned about votes.

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