Skip to main content

Ayodhya mediation? Sri Sri's choice shocking, he has "close connections" with RSS

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar with Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Counterview Desk
Well-known political observer Shamsul Islam, retired faculty, University of Delhi, in an open letter to Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi has argued that the mediation order in the Ayodhya case is bludgeoning of the Indian constitutional polity which the Supreme Court is “duty-bound" to safeguard.
Especially taking strong exception to the choice of spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shakar, Islam recalls a March 2018 interview to a leading Indian periodical, asking Muslims to "give up" their claims on Ayodhya, even as  warning that if it was not done it would lead to "a situation like Syrian civil war".

Text of the letter:

You know more than anyone else in the world that Indian constitutional polity treats all citizens equally irrespective of their race, creed, religion, language, culture and gender. But the observation of the Bench (consisting Justices S.A. Bobde, D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S. Abdul Nazeer) headed by you in the Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title case that the issue is primarily not about the disputed 2.77 acres of Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya, but about “religious sentiments” and the was looking at a “possibility of healing relationships”.
The religions of the parties were not named but it was clear that Supreme Court Bench meant to heal relationship between Hindus and Muslims. Such a stand presents serious dangers to the principles of Rule of Law or Due Process of Law on which Indian Constitution is based.
Mediation recourse on the plea that “religious sentiments” are involved would lead India to a theocracy. Fortunately, in the past Supreme Court never raised this issue while delivering historic judgments in favour of women and punishing perpetrators of carnages in 1984 and 2002. When the victims approach your esteemed highest court of justice in India, they do not approach you as persons of majority or minority but as Indian citizens who have been wronged. Regarding the present case, I would draw your kind attention to the following facts.
(1) Ayodhya dispute is not between Hindus and Muslims: The title dispute has been brought before esteemed Supreme Court as Babri Mosque was demolished on December 6, 1992 by an illegal assembly of Hindutva zealots gathered in Ayodhya by the RSS and its fraternal organizations after a long polarizing bloody campaign of hatred against Muslims. It was not and is not an issue between Hindus and Muslims.
It is between Hindutva organizations and democratic-secular Indian polity. The mosque was demolished despite orders of the Supreme Court, assurances by the RSS/BJP leaders to Indian Parliament and the then PM Narsimha Rao. Rao gave solemn promised both to the Parliament and Indian nation (from the ramparts of Red Fort on August 15, 1993) that wrong would be undone and the demolished Mosque would be built at its original site.
(2) Demolition of Babri mosque by the Hindutva organizations was not endorsed by the Hindus of India: I want to draw your attention to the fact that treating this case as a fight between Hindus and Muslims, the highest court of justice of India is insulting vast majority of Indian Hindus who did not subscribe to the Hindutva brand of politics and did not join the demolition campaign. 
The RSS/BJP after demolition of the mosque at Ayodhya believed that their electoral future was secure. However, the enlightened and secular Hindu voters rebuffed the Hindutva politics of hate by defeating BJP not only in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan even in UP assembly elections but also in 2004 national elections.
(3) Highly retrograde selection of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar as a mediator: Under your headship the Supreme Court (SC) appointed three mediators to arrange a compromise between Hindus and Muslims. 
The penal is headed by Justice (retired) Fakkir Mohammad Ebrahim Kalifulla (one of his landmark judgments related to the ordering of introduction of Vedic astrology as a course of scientific study in Indian universities as a Justice of the Supreme Court) and includes Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (a spiritual guru popular with the Arab rulers), and a legal mediation expert, lawyer Sriram Panchu (president of Indian Association of Mediators and director of International Mediation Institute). 
There has been no explanation from the Supreme Court Bench regarding the criteria relying on which this selection has been made.
It seems that these mediators are not representing religious communities but are neutral persons who are expected to come out with an objective and honest resolution.
Let me draw your kind attention to the highly questionable past and present of this spiritual guru, Sri Sri Ravishankar (not content having one Sri in his name) which makes his selection as mediator in the Babri mosque/Ram temple conflict a shocking choice.
This baba is not a neutral 'mediator'. He is an old pal of RSS which was responsible for demolition of mosque at Ayodhya on December 6, 2017. He has been attending all major programmes of RSS and Vishwa Hindu Parishad. Sri Sri's modus operandi, operations, gimmicks and close connections with RSS have been recorded by a renowned South Asia expert and journalist in his book, "In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India". According to him:
"Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has a reputation for being a mystic and liberal. What is less widely known is the guruji’s close attachment to the RSS. He has shared platforms with VHP leaders at public meetings. I asked him whether the Ram Temple should be built in Ayodhya. 'Suppose,' he said, 'that it was the birthplace of Jesus or Mohammed. What would you have done? Would you have tolerated another structure on that site? Let us build a temple to Ram and let the Muslims make this gesture as an act of goodwill and then the temple will also belong to Allah and to all Muslims.'”
Respected Sir, this guru is RSS frontman as would be clear from an anecdote shared by Edward Luce. According to him when he did a story after visiting this guru’s palatial ashram at Bangalore,
“A few weeks later received a telephone call from Ram Madhav, the national spokesman of the RSS. 'I am calling about Sri Sri Ravi Shankar,' said Madhav. 'I was talking to him the other day and he said he was disappointed with your article in the Financial Times. You only quoted his views on politics and the Shankaracharya. He said he was hoping you would quote his views on tolerance and spiritualism.' It is true my article had lacked space to quote the guruji’s opinions on other matters. But I was surprised the guruji should have chosen the RSS – of all organizations – to convey his complaint.’”
It was 2007 when guru Sri Sri took the above stand in favour of building temple at the place where mosque stood. With the passage of time this stand got more hardened. In March 2018 in an interview to a leading Indian periodical demanded that Muslims should "give up" their claims on Ayodhya and warned that if it was not done it would lead to a situation like Syrian civil war. 
From his blatant threat it was not difficult to understand who would play the role of defender of religion in India which Islamic State plays in Syria. Despite sounding as a believer in the negotiated settlement he did not forget to warn the courts, “Can any government remove Ram Lala from where he is now, even if the SC says so?”
I would beg that please keep away the highest court of justice of the country from mingling with the communal narrative of the Hindutva gang about demolition of a mosque at Ayodhya in 1992. It has nothing to do with religion but a political issue which ruling parties of India have kept lingering on for electoral gains. 
It has come to the courts including the Supreme Court for criminal and civil reliefs. The judiciary should decide the issue guided only by the principles enshrined in the democratic-secular Constitution of India. It should not bother to keep any section in good humour.
I hope despite your enormously busy schedule, my request would be taken note of.

Comments

Niranjan Dave said…
Shri Shri is not eligible to be mediator.He has already formed his opinion by taking up this issue as an independent person.It is recalled that he almost frightened Muslims by saying , as reported : if you do not accept this solution , India would be Syria . Thus at this stage of mediation, he is not unbiased.
Ashoke Chatterjee said…
Perhaps a signature campaign is needed against the appointment of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. What an outrageous decision.

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Invincible, Modi 'taller' than BJP, RSS: An opportunity for Congress beyond 2024?

By NS Venkataraman*  With the announcement of poll schedule for the 2024 parliamentary election, there is palpable excitement and expectation amongst the countrymen  about the shape of things to happen in India after the  results of the election would be announced. There is also speculation abroad about the future course of developments in India.