Biswajit Majumder, a terracotta artist, works on murals to decorate the entrance of the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Ayodhya has finally received the honour it deserved and should have been given immediately after independence, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Saturday.
Speaking at the release of BJP leader Balbir Punj's book 'Tryst with Ayodhya', Singh said Ayodhya is for Hindus what Mecca is for Muslims and Jerusalem for Christians.
He said some people who used to question the existence of Lord Ram have been marginalised.
"There were people in this country who used to question the existence of (Lord) Ram. They called him a fictional character. Such people have been pushed to the margin," Singh said.
He said that because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, even those who used to question Lord Ram "are now singing 'Ramdhun' (paeans to Lord Ram)."
"One cannot imagine India without Ram," he said.
"Today Ayodhya has got its place that should have been given immediately after independence," he said, adding that the book explores why it did not happen at that time.
"This is a symbol of decolonisation and a renaissance," the senior BJP leader said.
He also said the Ram Mandir issue was never an issue of clash between Hindus and Muslims, but was made into one for vote-bank politics.
Author Balbir Punj claimed the Ram temple issue was not a matter of debate between Hindus and Muslims of the area.
He said India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was the one who did not want a temple to be constructed at the site.
"Nehru's hatred was not limited to Somnath or Ayodhya, he hated temples," Punj alleged.
VHP working president Alok Kumar and Delhi University Vice Chancellor Yogesh Singh were present at the event.