'Diwali in dargahs': BJP-RSS mobilise Muslims for Ayodhya Ram temple consecration celebrations

"Diwali in dargahs" by Bharatiya Janata Party’s minority morcha and a march to Ayodhya by members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s Muslim Manch — there is a concerted effort by the BJP-RSS combine to mobilise Muslims for the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The BJP’s minority wing will run a campaign where lamps will be lit in the dargahs and masjids of Delhi, including the historic Jama Masjid and the Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah. Morcha chief Jamal Siddiqui said that the wing had selected 36 such sacred places.

“To celebrate the syncretic nature of this country, we planned to hold Diwali celebrations across 36 dargahs and famous mosques across Delhi including Jama Masjid, Nizamuddin Dargah, Qutub Minar area. The campaign will run from January 12 to 22, and while I’m going to the famous mosques in the NCR, the lamp lighting program will unfold across the country,” Siddiqui said.

On the other hand, the RSS is also mobilising the cadre of its Muslim Manch to travel to the temple after its consecration. Most of those travelling to the temple, a functionary said, will travel on foot. Some will travel in cycles and bikes, too. The functionary said that they will aim to reach after the consecration.

“Members of the Muslim Manch from over 50 states are coming to see the Ram Temple. Most of those coming will be from heartland states, while we have people joining in from Jammu and Kashmir too,” the functionary said. Members from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi etc will also take part in the padyatra.

Muslims in India publicly supporting the Ayodhya Ram temple is the perception that the BJP and RSS want to project.

On Sunday, the RSS through its Akshat programme — through which it is reaching out to lakhs of people with sacred rice from Ayodhya and a photo of Ram — reached out to Mohammad Hamid in Lucknow publicly, a Muslim kar sevak who was present in Ayodhya when the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992. In response, Hamid said that he was waiting for the “historic” date for more than 30 years.