The Temple and the kingdom

Mahatma Gandhi is said to have uttered 'Hey Ram' as his dying words.For a man,who spent all his life reading Quran sitting in Temple,his association with Ram can be best defined as an ideal administrator.He believed in the idea that present-day Uttar Pradesh indeed harboured what was once the Ram-Rajya described in Ramayana.As with all the attributes attached to his persona(Maryada Purshottam),the kingdom of Ram,Ayodha too like him was perfect.Invoking this sentiment was quite important in pre-independence India to show the derogatory effect of British Administration in India.Four decades into Independence,and still successive governments were promising Ram-Rajya in every election.The fifth decade proved revolutionary with right-wing politicians promising Ram temple apart from Ram-Rajya.This time the electoral was on fire.Another decade saw BJP clinging to power at the centre.The political outfit remaining mostly as an out-caste became the new band wagon for leaders of all hues who shaded themselves brilliantly under the pretext of supporting Atal Bihari Vajpayee,the most secular voice in a communal party.Economy and governance bore fruit of an stable administration,it was the first stable government after the liberalization of economy under PV Narshima Rao.However,the dream temple was never built.Then Gujarat riots took place and next election proved to be a mandate against the ruling BJP.Opinion polls had suggested otherwise and the shock was written off as anti-incumbency factor.However the opinion of the lost general,Vajpayee was ignored.He believed even after good governance and a secular image,he lost solely due to Gujarat riots.That one state determined the fate of his governance was a far-fetched cry according to many analyst.A man of much less stature,Vinay Katiyar lamented many years after the loss,we lost since we failed to fulfil our original promise.Winding quickly to the present times,exactly a deacde after the loss,the temple genie is again out.That too from the ground of Vinay Katiyar,the revered Uttar Pradesh.Nine months before,when Modi wave was still catching and he was still the grey horse,the belief of another BJP government at the center was a distant dream.His charisma and good works in Gujarat,most importantly,a three-times decisive mandate backing his development claims,ensured that this distant dream becomes the obvious.Still,his right-hand man,Amit Shah,needs to ask votes in the name of religion.Did he miscalculated or will his tactic burst the development plank of his mentor Modi.However good a leader Vajpayee was he failed to read a simple writing on the wall.If people voted for the same government for almost six out of seven decades of independent India,on the same belief of a Ram-Rajya,it was because the people never really expected the government to built an idea kingdom.Just the stories of good all times,each time said in a different clamour,was sufficient to keep people hooked to the massive political rallies.At least in Uttar Pradesh,were successive governments have given people simple choice,either I will waste your hard earned money in making my own idol(read Mayawati) or I will give you a law and order free governance(read Akhilesh Yadav),the talks of development will fall on deaf ears.Few people are interested in Ram-Rajya,the chunks will in the Temple were they can sit and pray for the Ram-Rajya.Last line,Mahatma Gandhi too belonged to Gujarat and Lord Ram from Uttar Pradesh.The roots of this country are too strong to be eroded by any individual.The situation of Uttar Pradesh forces one to cry tears of blood and Gujarat is an state which burnt continuously in the fire of riots after riots.