Page 55 - SocialHarmony

The Clarion Call of Revolution 59

country feels the strong spiritual mood of the Kumbhmela
whenever it is in progress. The Kumbhmela in the seventies was
made all the more significant as a groundbreaking
announcement was made by Sri Shankaracharya and the August
gathering of Hindu leaders on the platform provided by the

Vishwa Hindu Parishad – ‘Na Hind£ Patit∞ BhavÆt!’ (The hindu

should not be deviated). On the banks of the holy Ganges, a
historic decision was taken to wash out the sins of thousands of
years. The sages declared that caste discrimination and
untouchability has no religious base. This announcement made
with the inspiration of the respected RSS Guru Shri Golvalkarji
was a massive achievement in itself.

The second event took place on 9th November 1989 at
Ayodhya on the banks of the river Saryu, at the very place where
Lord Rama was born. None of us can ignore the massive
contribution of Mahatma Gandhi in removing the evil of
untouchability socially, but even he faced several obstacles in
eradicating untouchability culturally. Vishwa Hindu Parishad
(VHP) took a revolutionary step in this direction.

The entire nation raised a united voice to start a movement
for building a temple on the birthplace of Lord Ram, led by
renowned saints and monks. When the ceremony for laying
the foundation stone of this temple (shilanyas) was held on
November 9, 1989, instead of the head of any monastery, teacher,
saint or monk, it was laid at the hands of a poor Dalit devotee of
Lord Rama from Bihar. This event has a huge significance in
the history of India’s cultural life. The laying of the shilanyas
(foundation stone) did not lay the foundation of a temple alone
– it laid the foundation for social harmony in India. Inevitably,
the future will show the true worth of this event.

The very fact that the foundation stone for the Ram Temple,
which is an establishment of the faith of crores of Indians, was
laid by a Dalit, signals the new Cultural Revolution. This was a
public acknowledgement of the support of religious leaders to
the campaign for eradicating untouchability and promoting
social harmony; it was the clarion call for the new revolution.