Opinion On December 6, minister crosses red lines
On Saturday, the minister issued an order to both government and private schools in Rajasthan to celebrate December 6, the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, as “Shaurya Diwas”.
The now rescinded order can be viewed as the act of an individual politician with a history of courting controversy. The Supreme Court’s Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid verdict in 2019 put an end to arguably the most politically fraught title suit in Independent India’s history. In doing so, the Court did not condone the illegal destruction of the mosque nor did it absolve the perpetrators of what it termed a “calculated”, “criminal” act and an “egregious violation of the rule of law”. After the verdict, Prime Minister Narendra Modi counselled sobriety: “This verdict must not be seen as either victory or loss.” He asked “130 crore Indians to give an example of peace and harmony”. Rajasthan Education and Panchayati Raj Minister Madan Dilawar is perhaps unaware of, and he certainly appears insensitive to, the judicious balance struck by the apex court and the political message to sidestep triumphalism while moving forward with equanimity.
On Saturday, the minister issued an order to both government and private schools in Rajasthan to celebrate December 6, the anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, as “Shaurya Diwas”. A series of activities, including events celebrating the Ram Temple at Ayodhya and its history, were meant to promote “patriotism, nationalism, bravery, cultural pride and national unity” among students and staff. The order was withdrawn by the minister on Sunday morning, because “all schools in the state are currently conducting examinations, which will be held from December 5 and 6”.
The now rescinded order can be viewed as the act of an individual politician with a history of courting controversy. Dilawar has called Mughal Emperor Akbar a “rapist”, blamed “love affairs” for student suicides and told women teachers not to “expose their body and wear proper clothes”. But this is a minister, not a social media troll. His office gives him the power to influence the entire edifice of education in Rajasthan. Dilawar’s politics evidently seeks permanent conflict and equates a crime with an act of bravery. It threatens to stoke the embers on an issue that the judiciary has resolved and the BJP leadership claims to have moved on from. The latter has sought to frame the temple as a cultural and “civilisational” achievement, not a zero-sum victory. For that sentiment to ring true, the likes of Minister Dilawar must be given an urgent lesson in political and constitutional propriety.
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