Sangh repeats old chapter

Now, next month, the mandir committee, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), theBajrang Dal and the Akhil Bharati Sant Sammelan plan to celebrate theanniversary of the April 3 “demolition” as `Vijay Divas’ (Victory Day).

Not content with the mandir, to which the school ultimately conceded aseparate, 20-ft passage, accessed through a new gate, activists of theseorganisations are now threatening to break the newly constructed boundarywall once again. Their aim? To take possession of the acre-plus adjoiningplayground as well, claiming that they require it for organising largereligious functions.

Threatens the 70-year-old general secretary of the VHP’s Patiala unit,Loknath, “Kabhi bhi garbad ho sakti hai (Trouble can erupt anytime). Wewill resort to any measure to break the wall again.” Adds Sohan Lal Gupta,the fiery general secretary of the mandir committee: “We will fight againstinjustice as we did during British rule. If we are not given access to theplayground, we will take control of it ourselves.” Their victorycelebrations include a day-long jagrata to be attended by ShankaracharyaSant Parmanand of Hardwar.

Already, since last July, the Shri Durga 18 Bhuja Shiv Mandir, as the templeis called, has metamorphosed into a hub of religious fervour. Regularmorning and evening prayer sessions held here are transmitted to the town’sresidents through large loudspeakers. The prayer sessions coincide with thestudents’ prep or study periods, disturbing the classes. Complains a groupof Class X students appearing for board examinations this year: “There isso much disturbance, we cannot study in class anymore. We have to go to ourhostels to study. On Shivratri, a whole night bhajan-kirtan was held here.”Interestingly, the students no longer have access to the temple, where thereused to be a collective rush during exams, as a new wall now blocks theirentry from the school playground. Protests Accounts teacher S.Y. Malik:“The temple is part of the school. There should not be any interference ofoutsiders. There are temples outside for them to visit.”

He isn’t off the mark. For the less than one lakh population of Nabha, thereare a staggering 70 temples, many as ancient as the controversial Shivmandir. The VHP itself launched an ambitious membership drive here thisJanuary and has christened Nabha Chhoti Kashi (Little Kashi).

So the fight for the mandir seems inexplicable. It has hardly been a popularvenue ever since its construction by ancestors of Maharaja Hira Singh, rulerof the erstwhile Nabha state, over 100 years ago. In fact, residents relatethat the temple was so deserted in the late ’40s that a sadhu’s body rottedhere for two days before it was discovered.

In 1966, the Punjab government leased the nearby Nabha State Secretariatbuilding and all other surrounding buildings and land to the school for itsuse “as long as the school exists”. The secretariat building is now theschool’s Academic Block. Since then to the mid ’80s, as old teachersrecollect, “only a handful of Nabha residents visited the school temple fora mere 10 days in a month”.

This changed in the mid-’80s when an ambitious pandit first attempted totake over the temple. At midnight one day, he and his associates cut thebarbed wire surrounding the school playground and erected two entrance gatesto the temple. These were removed by the school authorities the next morningand the barbed wire replaced by a proper wall. Some residents went to thecourt in protest, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that devoteescould visit the temple but only through the main gate of the school.

After that all was peaceful till March 1999, when the issue was raked upagain, invoking Hindu religious sentiments to gain public support.According to local residents, the newly awakened interest in the schoolmandir has allegedly more to do with mercenary motives than religious piety.Located in the heart of the city, the playground adjacent to the mandir isnow prime commercial property, estimated to be worth over a crore ofrupees.

And although mandir committee spokesman and part-time physician Sat PalAggarwal claims that they have already chalked out a plan to construct asatsang bhavan (prayer hall) and other religious buildings there, residentsallege otherwise. Remarks an old resident who lives close by: “Theirintention is simply land-grabbing. They plan to sell off plots and make akilling. They are raking up religion for their own selfish ends.”

Due to the surcharged atmosphere, the school authorities in June last yearverbally agreed to build a new wall giving the residents separate passage tothe temple. Says Headmaster M.S. Bedi: “It was an honourable and reasonabledecision. I think they should be happy with that.”

The mandir committee spokesman, however, now claims that they had also beenpromised access to the playground. Bedi denies this. “We cannot hand overland to anyone. It is on lease from the government. If the government asksus to do so, we will honour their order,” he says.

Both the school and the mandir committee have made a representation to thePunjab Governor, who also happens to be the Chairman of the school. Says thePrincipal Secretary to the Governor, S.C. Aggarwal: “We are fullyconcerned, but we feel it is purely a law and order problem to be handled bythe local administration.” As for the contentious playground, he adds: “Ifany give and take is necessary, the Board of Governors will take adecision.”

Till then, a small, peaceful town, long famed for Hindu-Sikh amity, willremain on tenterhooks.