17 September 2009
VHP plans a rath yatra in garb of Rama’s wedding procession | ||
By Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow | ||
IT SEEMS the Vishwa Hindu Parishad ( VHP) does not believe in practicing what it preaches. Barely a week after its leader Ashok Singhal said L. K. Advani took out a rath yatra in 1990 to use the Ayodhya Ram temple issue for his personal political end, the VHP has planned a rath yatra in the guise of the baraat ( marriage procession) of Lord Rama in November. Clearly frustrated over the failure of the Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) in meeting the aspirations of its supporters, the VHP will travel along with the rath of Lord Rama from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh to Janakpur in Nepal. Sharad Sharma, spokesperson of the VHP, said over 250 saints will participate in the marriage party. “ Our leader Ashok Singhal will also participate in the rath yatra . Those who are old and have difficulty in walking will follow the yatra in cars. Our purpose is to communicate with people,” Sharma said. The saints in Ayodhya used to take Rama’s baraat from Ayodhya to Doodhmati village in Janakpur district of Nepal on foot every year in November. There they participated in the marriage ceremony of Rama and Sita. This tradition was discontinued after 1992, when the Babri Masjid was demolished by Hindutva zealots and communal violence broke out across the country. The saints had tried to restart it in 2004, but it turned out to be a low- key affair. The saints also travelled on cars, unlike earlier when they took out the procession on foot. But facing the fear of extinction in Uttar Pradesh after people rejected Right- wing organisations, the VHP resolved to restart the tradition and travel on foot to bring back supporters. VHP leaders and supporters will accompany a rath carrying the idols of Lord Rama and his brothers Bharat and Laxman. The procession will start on November 14 and reach Doodhmati village on November 21. It is believed that the marriage party of Lord Rama had gone from Ayodhya to Doodhmati in Nepal’s Janakpur in the mythical Satyug era. The rath will pass through Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh and Buxar in Bihar and enter Nepal via Raxaul, Sharma said. |
