The entire issue of Organiser this week is devoted to different aspects of the Ram Sethu controversy. M.D. Nalapat recalls Ram Rajya: “In the Knowledge Era, it is not geographical space that counts any more, but Thought Space. The nation whose people make the most significant contributions to Thought will emerge the greatest contributor to the future of humanity. It was not accidental that the British Empire was preceded by waves of invention and innovation in that small but lion-hearted country... It is in the context of mind space rather than geographic space that Lord Ram becomes important, for he ruled not through fear but through a mixture of love and respect.” In the kingdom of Ram, writes Nalapat, those who were given the rights of citizens were the beneficiaries of a system of governance that relied on the cooperation and consent of the governed. And that the preferred modes of societal behaviour were not enforced by armed gangs, but by a willing compliance coming from the heart “the only subservience that is real, and which in its purest form is meant only towards the Divine, whatever be the name given. Some may call the Supreme Being God, others Allah, others may worship sans a name to focus towards, yet all are as one, all are linked in a familyhood of faith and belief.”

Such a conspiracy

Gautam Sen rails against the political class. He writes: “The collective behaviour of India’s political class, including those who opportunistically jumped on the Ram Sethu bandwagon in its defence and India’s overbearing, self-styled Anglicised elites, graphically illustrates cynical contempt for Hindus ... It is a diabolical intrigue that threatens to subjugate Hindus politically as the prelude to a final solution that will impale them on the beliefs of their imperialist conquerors.”

Constitutional truth

BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad makes a distinction between western and Indian approaches to history. “In the western view the study of history has to be based upon the dry evidence of bricks and mortars whereas in our civilisational tradition our icons transcend these boundaries of historicity. Viewed in this context Prabhu Ram becomes a living embodiment whose existence is felt by an ordinary human being if his ‘bhakti’ is sincere and profound. This living entity not only becomes an inspiration or a guide but also an anchor laying down the ‘maryada’ of righteous conduct which ought not to be transgressed.”

Prasad accuses the Communists of not understanding this “living reality of Lord Ram”. Nor did their so-called intellectual fellow travellers. It is for this reason, he says, that the Leftists have been pushed to the “margins” of Indian politics. “However, what is truly shocking is the understanding of the present day Congress.” Prasad points out that when the Constitution came into effect on January 26 1950, in the original hand-written copy were illustrations by eminent painters. “A victorious Lord Ram returning to Ayodhya, along with Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman after defeating Ravan forms an important illustration in the original copy of our constitution. This copy was published again in 1999 on the completion of 50 years of our Constitution making by the Lok Sabha Secretariat and this also contains the said portrait of Lord Ram forming part of our Constitution. The important point to note is that the historical, civilisational, cultural and spiritual iconic godly status of Lord Ram was given a constitutional sanctity by our founding fathers.”