The subtle line separating the religion and the State has been breached. By performing the bhoomi pujan of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set the clock back. His act has taken the secular country to a path not envisaged in the Constitution of India.
It is in line with the ideology of the party in power from whose vocabulary ‘secularism’ seems to have been removed. It is important to look at the issue from what the Supreme Court of India said in its verdict allowing construction of the temple at the site where Babri Masjid stood for over four centuries. The apex court had termed the masjid demolition a criminal act. Though construction of Ram temple is the logical result of the Supreme Court judgment, one cannot ignore the traumatic memories of millions of people caused by that outrageous act.
The Modi government may not have the strength to alter the Constitution. But it seems to do it indirectly under various guises. It is doing it through symbolic acts and rhetoric. The Prime Minister’s comparison of Ayodhya movement with freedom movement is a clear indication of what is in store for the country. While struggle for freedom from the yoke of colonialism was an inclusive movement, no one can put the agitation for construction of Ram temple on the same pedestal.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Aditya-nath’s assertion that he would not participate in the inauguration of the mosque being constructed in Ayodhya is a clear sign of where the country is headed to.

Fr Suresh Mathew