People's Democracy

AT any other time the shocking incident in Agra, where members of the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha went rampaging in the Taj Mahal premises, misbehaving with tourists, violating the rules, defying Taj officials and defacing the monument with their signatures, would have caused a worldwide furore, and strictures from world archaeological and heritage- conservation bodies and the UNESCO. As it happens, in the midst of the preoccupation with the American war against Afghanistan, the lumpen attack on one of the Seven Wonders of the World has gone almost unnoticed.

The Sangh Parivar chose to kick off its UP election campaign with an attack on the most well-known architectural treasure of India and the world. Blind to its historical significance and architectural beauty, the Parivar sees it only as the symbol of ‘Muslim tyranny’ over Hindu India. It was an unforgivable act of pure vandalism, but in keeping with the kind of ‘training" that youth organisations of political parties like the BJP, receive from their respective parties. As some people have pointed out, this is not the first time that youth rallies and mass meetings have culminated in rampaging and lumpen acts on the part of such collectivities. But in this particular matter there is an important distinction that needs to be recognised, which comes through in the general tenor of the slogans, the site chosen for these actions, and the accompanying images of anti-Muslim sentiments expressed.

While their Congress was still in progress, other members of the BJYM, the BJP’s youth wing, descended on the Taj Mahal yelling slogans like "Jai Shri Ram", "Ek Ek Baccha Ram Ka, Janam Bhoomi Ke Kaam Ka" "Mangal Bhavan Amangal Hari, Atal Behari, Atal Behari" , and staking claims by marking their names and symbols on the marble of the mausoleum. They smashed flowerpots, despoiled the water, and indulged in a free for all. When all efforts to restrain them failed, the police finally resorted to a lathi charge to disperse them.

The immediate inspiration for these actions, clear from the speeches at the mass meeting, came from well-known RSS leaders Uma Bharti, Pramod Mahajan, Sushma Swaraj, Venkat Naidu and home minister Advani himself, who have now forced the administration to give false statements. Advani first set the ball rolling by identifying Pakistan as the main enemy in fighting terrorism. "It is state-sponsored terrorism, so the Pakistani state must pay for it". He directly linked the September 11 events to Muslims and Muslim organisations in India, justifying the ban on SIMI and arrests of its members, while praising Hindu organisations. "We are not concerned if anyone supports us or not" he stated. An idea of the direction he considers the Yuva Morcha should take was clarified by him in the statement: "Three months ago I came to Agra for the Indo-Pak summit and I returned today once again for a different occasion. The difference and the achievement of the government within a span of three months is before you".

What the government has been doing these three months, and what Advani means by good governance and nationalist actions of the BJP government is known to all. Doubtless the cadres knew it too, and proceeded to the Taj even before the "Mahaadhiveshan" was over.

"The demolition of the Babri structure was a comparatively minor job. A more important job is the construction of the temple at the site", thundered Pramod Mahajan. He reminded the audience that as early as 1988, at Agra itself, he had given the call for the temple. Uma Bharti, not to be outdone, displayed her entire repertoire of histrionics and rhetoric to "inspire" the 62, 000 brave youths, collected at Agra to chalk out their programes. Her entire speech was objectionable, to the tolerent spirit of India, culminating in the ‘prophecy’ that her Parivar is committed to realising: "The US has announced that it would take on all those who harbour terrorism. I say that the religion that promotes terrorism will be destroyed".

Thundering applause greeted these rabble-rousing speeches. Both the ‘education’ and ‘entertainment’ were carefully chosen for the occasion. A BJYM member from Maharashtra, dressed as Hanuman pranced about shouting "Jai Shri Ram" accompanied by chants of "Mandir Yaheen Banaenge" (we will build the temple here come what may).

The raid on the Taj took place immediately afterwards amidst cries of "Vande Mataram" and other such slogans.

While the RSS-linked historians and archaeologists, beginning with Sitaram Goel and PN Oak, claimed every medieval monument to be the site of a former temple, the destruction of the Babri Masjid began the trend of sanctioning such vandalism. The raids on the Budangiri Dargah in Karnataka, on common places of worship in Jammu and destruction of a mosque and two mazaars in Rajasthan a few months ago, are the direct result of the indirect sanction that such acts receive from the BJP government, and from the actions of the RSS leaders guilty of the Babri demolition, and now ministers in the government.

This outrage on the Taj Mahal is an indication of what to expect in coming months, and, more specifically, of what the election campaign in UP is likely to entail. It is no coincidence that the meeting, of which the assault on the Taj was an integral part, marked the beginning of the BJP’s election campaign in Uttar Pradesh. In a way the election campaign was flagged off with the assault on the great monument. The cadres were neither controlled nor censured by the ministers present, nor even by Prime Minister Vajpayee, who came to address the concluding session of the BYJM programme.

To the contrary, and to their shame incredible statements defying the visible evidence in the form of the damage done and the behaviour which scores of people saw with their own eyes, an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) official, NC Sharma, stated that " he was present at the Taj till 2030 hours and did not witness any such untoward incident there." Similarly the Agra district magistrate, Kumar Kamlesh, denied that the BJP youth activists had resorted to any hooliganism in the complex. Senior SP Pramod Tewari, echoed the same comment. (Indian Express, October 15,).

Nor must we forget that our PM, Vajpayee, has recently declared that he was going to "solve" the Ram mandir "issue" by March 2001, the deadline set by the RSS and the VHP, and that he has also ‘reopened’ and reactivated the Ayodhya cell of the government, despite the fact that the matter is pending in the court. In other words, the ministers directly involved in the demolition of the Masjid - Advani, Uma Bharti, Murli Manohar Joshi - are to be given back a forum where they can upstage the Liberham Commission and also influence the NDA partners’ response, and in this way ensure that the building of Ram mandir becomes an election issue.

Through this assault on the Taj Mahal, a symbol of the composite cultural heritage, our pluralistic traditions, as much as a symbol of love - the "grand youth show" has, on behalf of the Sangh Parivar, announced its war on the nation’s sensibilities. This is how this outrageous action should be understood, and not reduced to an act of simple vandalism by unruly boys and their unruly ways.