Just as Madhya Pradesh gets ready for another election, the Hindu Jagran Manch is again stoking the Bhojshala/Kamal Maula Masjid issue. But with a BJP government in power now, its protests are aimed at external injustice, the supposed presence of an idol in London, which the HJM claims is that of Saraswati and had been removed from the disputed site.Its agitation is carefully crafted to ensure that it in no way takes on the state or Central governments but rather uses the London idol for arousing tribal sentiments in Dhar. Last year, the gates of the monument had been thrown open to Hindus for a day on Basant Panchami, February 6. VHP’s Pravin Togadia had addressed a jagran here and the agitation had culminated in the ASI granting some concessions to the Hindus. The protests were then against the ‘‘injustice meted out to Hindus under Digvijay Singh’’.This year, Basant Panchami falls on January 26. And the build-up to a 10-day programme from January 20 has already begun with bhoomipoojan of a temporary structure that will house the flame from the Devi temple in Maihar till the idol from London arrives. The platform for housing the flame has already come up near the disputed site. HJM workers will soon leave for Maihar, located near Satna, and travel back on foot to Dhar with the flame. Their padayatra will cover nearly the entire length of the state — as Dhar is located in the south-west and Maihar in the north-east corner — and spread awareness on the issue.Moreover, by bringing the flame from the Devi temple at Maihar, the HJM is trying to connect the Saraswati idol with the cult of the Devi. In fact, a year ago, Uma Bharti had kicked off her poll campaign from the same temple.Once the flame is brought to Dhar, it will be housed near the disputed monument. And with little or no chance of the idol returning from London — experts dispute every claim of the HJM and the British government says it does not have any such idol — the flame will serve as a permanent symbol for mobilisation.According to HJM spokesperson Ashish Goel, the 10-day function will be supervised by the Kashi Shankaracharya, and will see tribals from the adjoining areas take part in the jagrata (night-long devotional song sessions). On Basant Panchami, a puja will be conducted at the structure and the flame will serve as a constant reminder of the need to bring back the idol, he adds.Remarkably, the HJM demands last year had included right to worship at Bhojshala, which finds no mention this time. The 1997 restrictions, again on the eve of an election, had come into force due to a Bajrang Dal-led agitation. Matters were quiet till last year when the issue was used against the Digvijay government. Now with the Lok Sabha polls near, Bhojshala is again in news, only the agitation is no longer anti-government.
