SANDEEP PANDEY, who has been in the news for his pioneering work at Ayodhya in promoting social amity and secularist ethos made a seminal contribution. Representing the National Alliance of People's Movement he made a strong statement to the effect that the people at the grassroots are the greatest bulwarks against the communalization of politics and politicking in religion.

Speaking largely in Hindi, interspersed with English, he believed that India is perhaps the only land where Hinduism has dominated, though essentially India is a diversity of cultures. Indian culture does respect freedom of thought. Hindu religion is known to give "vaicharik Swatantra" or the independence of ideology, ideas and ideas to every follower. India is quite an unique country in the sense that at least three different religions – Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism, apart from Hinduism have taken birth in India. Even atheists and free to express their views. In addition, multiple faiths are practiced in India and even atheists have a place in this Hindu world.

In this backdrop, the continued efforts of the 'parivar organisations' of the BJP are creating a havoc in this country. Therefore, he and his organization, the NAPM decided to protest against the cultural nationalism of these forces. They found that the entire mobilization of these communal forces was introducing aggressiveness in the Hindu religion which is alien to its basic nature and philosophy. He said, this can be seen even visually. The photos or illustrations of ram in the pre 1992 period (before the Babri Masjid imbroglio was enacted by these forces) show a benign version whereas in the post 1992 version an aggressive posturing of the icons can be seen (Ram is accompanied with bows and arrows, sometimes trishul etc.,). In Ramayana, the epic Ram is seen as the archetype benign, tolerant and forgiving soul. Sandeep surmises therefore that the communal overtones of the Parivar have injected a volatile dimension to an essentially peaceful and tolerant religion.

NAPM brought this fact before common people in Ayodhya, the epicenter of all the turmoil and inspired them to protest against it. They received overwhelming support from the common people who felt that violence and jingoist stance was being glorified by the political parties especially the BJP and to project a monolithic culture is very foreign to Indian psyche and spiritual identity, apart from its violation in the political space.

Dwelling on the urgencies as to why and what is leading the parivar organization to don such a stance, Sandeep felt that the Sangh parivar's identity needs an enemy to assert itself. That it is brutally insensitive and annexationist is clear-in order to build a temple at Ayodhya, a temple had to be demolished. The Gujarat mass-scale arson, genocide and vindictiveness posits such an image. This political and religious groups have appropriated Nuclear weapons to build up an exaggerated enemy outside of India's borders.

Common people, on the contrary are weary of all this and believe that their 'astha' or belief would not be lessened if a Ram temple were build anywhere else, rather than at the disputed site at Ayodhya. Ashok Singhal may not agree and harp on his theme of 'Hindu Jagran' or aggressiveness of the Hindus or in other words carry on his diatribe that the whole Babri Masjid episode has inculcated an aggressiveness in religiosity, but it needs to be seen that this is a "kritrim dushmani" or what can be said a constructed enmity in the populace for pejorative ends and for vested interests of the Sangh parivar. Sandeep believes it is a very uphill task to fight it, especially after what one saw in its recrudescence in Gujarat with active State support. What sort of attitude needs to be adopted to tackle the scourge of communalization needs to debated. However, he feels that the response and support of the common people that he received in Ayodhya, however inspires him with the hope that all may not be lost as yet.

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