Ayodhya

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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->VHP restarts campaign for Ram Mandir
Pioneer News Service / Lucknow
March 17, 2005

After a lull of over year and a half, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has decided to
re-start its campaign for construction of Ram Mandir, and the campaign will
start from April 9 - the Ram Navami day.

Under this campaign idols of Lord Ram will be worshipped in villages. The
function will continue for nine days and on 10th day, the idol will be placed
in local temple so that it could be worshipped by the villagers.

"Through this campaign the VHP wants to create a situation akin to 1992 when
Hindus were united in their approach to construct Ram temple at Ayodhya," the
VHP spokesman Sharad Sharam told The Pioneer on Wednesday.

The puja of Ram idol will not be just "another" puja. The Ram idols will be
identical in shape, size and weight. It will be 2.5 feet tall and will measure
about 10 kg. Cement cast have been build to construct such `identical' Ram
idols. Besides, over 100 artisans have been trained in Karsewakuram in Ayodhya
who will go to different parts of the country to construct identical Ram idol.

"This puja will be a community participation. People of all caste and creed are
excpected to take part in this campaign," the VHP spokesman said. Puja will be
held in six lakh villages.

There was a lull for over a year and a half in VHP's campaign to construct Ram
Temple at Ayodhya. Even senior VHP functionaries believed that the campaign was
fast losing steam following "Hindus losing interest" in construction of Ram
temple.

Moreover, the caste-based politics has divided Hindus among dalits, kurmis,
Yadavs, brahmins and Thakurs. This has also affected VHP's pro-Ram Mandir
campaign.

"The community `Ram pujan' is also aimed at obliterating the thin caste lines,"
said the VHP spokesman and added: "Only religion can act as a binding force to
unit the Hindus.

Meanwhile, the BJP has also decided to throw its weight behind the VHP's
campaign. "We are in favour of construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya. And Ram
Temple is still in our (BJP's) agenda," senior national vice-president of the
party Kalyan Singh said.

Singh was Chief Minister when disputed structure at Ayodhya was demolished in
1992.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->