‘Indian History Cannot Be Imagined Without Lord Ram’

In his first public statement on the opening of the grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said January 22 of this year will go down in history as the harbinger of a “great India”, adding that those who imagine the country without Lord Ram are blind to their roots and traditions and are still trapped in the days of colonialism.

“January 22 marked the beginning of a great India…Those who imagine our country without lord Ram are neither aware of their roots or history and they are yet to shed their colonial mindset,” the Union Minister said in the Lok Sabha on the concluding day of the Budget Session.

“This date, January 22, paved the way for India to take its rightful place as the Vishvaguru (world leader). We cannot think about this country without Ram and Ramcharitmanas, and those who want to know about this country cannot do so without them,” he added.

Expanding on his argument, Amit Shah said the Indian history cannot be seen or interpreted in isolation to the Ram Temple movement.

“No one can interpret our country’s history by ignoring the Ram Temple movement. In fact this movement dates back centuries and every generation since 1528 has seen and experienced it in some form or the other,” Shah said.

Taking a swipe at previous regimes at the Centre over the delay in bringing closure to the movement, the Union Home Minister added, “The matter remained in limbo for decades and it wasn’t until the Modi government that this long-held dream was fulfilled.”

Further on the naming of the Ayodhya airport after Rishi Valmiki, Amit Shah said PM Modi decided to name it as such as the seer personified all sections of the society.

Railing against the Opposition over its charge that the BJP’s promise of raising the Ram Temple was merely a poll gimmick, he added, “When we included the Ram Temple promise in our manifesto, the Opposition said it was just a ploy to influence voters. However, they said the BJP keeps making promises such as withdrawal of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, Ram Janmabhoomi, UCC or Triple Talaq to win elections. But these landmark decisions only underline our commitment to fulfil the salient promises that we made to the people.”