Temple will be built : Sankaracharya
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 7, 1997

Sankaracharya Jayendra Saraswati of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham on Sunday said a grand temple devoted to Lord Ram will be constructed at the controversial Ram Janambhoomi site in Ayodhya by Hindu devotees in the near future,


With the demolition of the disputed structure there, "it is no more a Babri masjid, but the birthplace of Lord Ram", the Sankaracharya told reporters here.


Replying to a question, he said "it is already a Ram temple as Lord Rama is sitting over there and a grand temple will be constructed."


He refused to comment on the Kashi and Mathura shrine controversies.


Referring to militancy in Kashmir, the Sankaracharya demanded that army and security forces deployed in Kashmir should be given "a free hand" to combat militancy.


He said this step was one of the three measures lie had in mind for
resolving the Kashmir problem.


The second point is that all Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir should forget the "language controversy of Dogri versus Kashmiri" for ten to 15 years and unite themselves to evolve a reckoning force.


The third point is that the state government .is well as the Central
government should give "equal treatment" to the people, be they Hindus or Muslims, "There is an impression that the state government is not impartial", he said.


Going into the genesis of the Kashmir problem, the Sankaracharya said it was over 100 year old when the then rulers turned a blind eye to check the mass conversion of people to Islam under threat and inducement.


"Alienation of people from the rulers further worsened with the successive state governments in the post-independence era", the 69-year old Sankaracharya, who returned here from Srinagar on Saturday, said.


The Sankaracharya, who visited the camps of Kashmiri migrants in Jammu, described the Kashmir problem as a national problem and said it was pregnant with widespread ramifications.


He squarely blamed politicians for the "present day ills" of the country and said instead of uniting the people, they kept the people divided in the name of region, caste, colour, creed and language.


Describing all politicians, including BJP leaders as "adharmis", he said they have nothing to do with religion. "To protect Hindus is the
responsibility of dharmacharyas and not of BJP," he said.

He said the Congress had to pay the price for its "appeasement policy" of minorities, particularly the .Muslims, who in turn got alienated from it.


The BJP, which once eschewed the Hindu cause, has also started appeasing Muslims", he said.


The Sankaracharya regretted that the politicians were still harping on
reservation as a divisionary tactics even after 50 years of Independence and advocated equality for all in all matters irrespective of caste, colour and creed.


He said the "colonial legacy", being followed in India, was responsible for the country's problems like degradation of moral values, corruption, communalism and casteism.


"Even now we observe weekly holiday on Sunday", the Sankaracharya said.


"Even after 50 years of Independence, we are still backward", he said,
adding the "foundation of our system" was so weak that it could not be
expected to perform better.

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