IN a world becoming numb to desecrations, the word consecration throws one off. It means pran pratishta in Sanskrit, akin to ‘inauguration’ in English. In the context of the desecrated Babri Masjid, Babur is tiger in Turko-Persian languages. And the consecration of Ram Mandir is scheduled for January 22 at the erstwhile site of the mosque named after the Mughal emperor. One respects the right of any religion’s followers to name their places of worship as they wish. But as the new edifice will be a mandir or temple, the site’s new nomenclature is likely to rattle around in memories for a while. The mosque stood for nearly half a millennium; the temple is said to have been designed to last a thousand years.

The BJP is accused of using religion to play divisive politics and, therefore, the Ram Temple as another feather in its cap before the general elections in less than four months. However, the entire gamut has its pitfalls, and the ruling party is not alone in this quandary. Some 7,000 guests are said to have been invited, and 3,000 among them are VVIPs, including politicians, movie and sports stars. Some of these invitees are still determining whether to feel honoured or ensnared – if they do not attend, their absence will be seen as an affront to one of the most central deities in Hinduism and those who choose to be present risk antagonising a sizeable section of the electorate, mainly the Muslim voters.

Among the opposition, the biggest challenge is faced by the Congress party. While the BJP basks in the glory of taking up the temple project, it is Narasimha Rao of the Congress who allowed the mosque to be razed during his premiership. Neither old hardliners such as L.K. Advani and M.M. Joshi or the Modi-Shah combine could have done it if it was not for Mr Rao, who thought that by ‘letting it happen’ he would take the wind out of BJP’s sails forever.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Sonia Gandhi have been invited to the inauguration. But, so far, the grand old party has not arrived at a decision. Its second-tier leadership did test the waters with statements like “What objection can there be? Sonia ji is very positive about this. Either she will go, or a delegation from the party will attend.” Other than the Commu­nist Party of India (Marxist) which declined citing the constitution’s secular nature, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bane­rjee is the only front-liner to have unequivocally turned down the invite. However, the temple template is certainly gaining political currency as Ms Banerjee has allocated 100 crore rupees for the construction of a replica of Jagannath Puri temple in Odisha, scheduled to be inaugurated in her state within six months.

When power changes hands, many a place acquires new identities.

Prime Minister Modi visited Ayodhya on Dec 30 to inaugurate a new airport and revamped railways. After all, pre-victory rousing of the crowds for power politics is spectator sport of full contact variety. Hence, the atmosphere around the temple consecration is such that Ayodhya’s five-star hotels are reportedly cancelling more reservations than they are making to accommodate the government-sanctioned VVIP brigade.

Moral equivalence is never a good idea. But to underline the nature of political power, let us remember that the one who pays the piper calls the tune. When power changes hands, many a place acquires new identities. Hagia Sophia in Turkey is a recent example. A sixth-century cathedral turned into a mosque in 1453, a museum in 1935, and a mosque again in 2020. There was an outcry against Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to turn the Unesco heritage site into a place of worship for Mus­lims. The Turks remained unmoved, and master architect Mehmet Yilmaz’s decade-long rese­arch has identified more than 300 Ottoman mos­ques, shrines, and seminaries thr­o­u­ghout Eu­­r­o­­pe that have been turned into churches and bell towers. On the other end, the joint administration of Jerusalem constantly remains under discussion as part of the two-state solution to the Palestine issue.

The entire subcontinent is dotted with mausoleums built over samadhis and vice versa. The shrine of Udero Lal, more commonly known as Jhuley Lal in Sindh, is jointly managed by Muslims and Hindus because he has disciples from both faiths. So, as we remind ourselves of the importance of tolerance, coexistence, and respect for religious beliefs, let us also remember the power dynamics. The best laid plans continue to bear unintended consequences. Before we concern ourselves with what the Ram Temple consecration could mean for Muslims in India, we should consider whether this would have come to pass had there been 600 million of us in India. Nothing stops us from building mosques, mandirs, gurdwaras, churches, fire temples, and seats of learning to commemorate the past and herald an inclusive future.

The writer is a poet. His latest publication is a collection of satire essays titled Rindana.

[Shahzadsharjeel1@gmail.com][1]

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2024