Former Union Minister Salman Khurshid has contested with his new book ‘Sunrise Over Ayodhya’, in which he “compared the Hindutva movement with terrorist groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram”.
New excerpts show that the congressional leader commented on the Hindutva issue from a variety of angles – from the changing ideology of his own party to the BJP’s agenda and how Ram Temple’s demand changed the country’s socio-political landscape.
Khurshid has questioned the pro-Hindutva stance of some congressional leaders and warned secular parties not to jump on the Hindutva bandwagon in line with the BJP.
In the chapter entitled “Saffron Sky” he writes:
In my own party, Congress, the discussion often revolves around this issue. There is a section that, with growing confidence, regrets the fact that our image is that of a pro-minority party and advocates the Geneu Dhari credentials of our leadership; This section responded to Ayodhya’s judgment by stating that a Bhavya (large) temple should be built on the site, circumventing any further policy on the matter. This position overlooked or evaded, of course, the part of the Supreme Court order which ordered that land should also be made available for a mosque.
The BJP needs to know what it intends, but its top politicians bypass the issue in their ambition to gain global recognition, while secular parties remain caught in a vortex of uncertainty and unreliable ideological anchors. One remembers “the king is dead; long live the king ”and“ if you cannot defeat them, join them ”.
That cannot and must not be our strategic position.
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Here are a few other excerpts:
ABOUT ANTI-CAA PROTESTS
Even if celebrated advocates of liberal secularism, such as Jyotiraditya Scindia, take their “mood of the people” and intellectuals like Prof. Faizan Mustafa rationalize the election in our time, the 100-day sit-in strikes by women of different ages, eighty-year-olds too few children in Shaheen Bagh in South Delhi, to the loud applause of lovers of democracy worldwide, sent a message that the Indian Constitution and its preamble for justice, freedom, equality and fraternity are not negotiable at any price.
ABOUT THE FORMER CION OF RANJAN GOGOI
Salman Khurshid also mentions why he distanced himself from former Indian Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who headed the five-member constitutional bench of the Supreme Court that pronounced the verdict in the dispute between Ram Janmabhoomi and Babri Masjid.
Salman Khurshid writes:
Questions have been raised on various issues recently, but we need to be clear and honest with ourselves about how much can be addressed without harming the system and what problems are so damaging to our institutions that they call for public redress. With this in mind, I have chosen to distance myself from the steps that some colleagues advocated for the impeachment of the incumbent Chief Justice after the press conference of four high-ranking judges in which Judge Gogoi (as he was then) was involved. As dismayed as we may be by recent developments, it is difficult to say with confidence that the critical turning point has come or whether public debate will be enough to resolve our problems.
DRAWING IN PARALLEL
Khurshid compares the Bhoomi Poojan of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya with the inauguration ceremony of the Somnath Temple in 1951:
Justice history was made. Now it is being set in stone by the great temple, the design of which seems to be growing day by day. In August 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, attended the Bhoomi Poojan together with some selected guests. People remembered how Jawaharlal Nehru deviated from the dedication ceremony of the renovated Somnath Temple in 1951.
But those were times when India sought to move from a traditional society to a modern society, inspired and guided by the Constitution.
Contemporary aspirations, blessed by official government policy, seek a return to tradition as part of the restoration of faith in society.
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“What about the mosque”?
In the jubilation over the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Khurshid wondered why the mosque, which is also to be built elsewhere in the city, was not given the same importance.
No doubt the Prime Minister will be expecting a grand opening of a completed Ram Mandir. As politicians from across the political spectrum seek to capitalize on prevailing public opinion, real or suspected, it is forgotten that the Supreme Court ordered that land be made available for a mosque as well.
The temple is open to everyone, but so far the mosque seems to be owned solely by the UP Sunni Waqf Board. Are we dealing with a government that not only wants to separate Hindus from other communities, but also some Muslims from other Muslims?
If the Prime Minister had only expressed the wish that a mosque be built and invited to its inauguration, we might have felt reassured that we live in a modern, secular, constitutional India, free from injustices, past and present.
Khurshid sums up his 364-page book by saying, “Lord Ram will have his temple, but will Vishnu, the Preserver, heal the scars that span the landscape? When the noise of the temple bells and sacred chants ceases, India will speak with a voice that combines deference to what is filthy and commitment to the Constitution. “
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