Sandesh Prabhudesai
11 October 2000
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad is now planning to prepare a concrete proposal for the construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya, including the day the construction would begin.
It is the main issue on the agenda of the 'kendriya margadrashak mandal' (central advisory board), which is meeting in Goa on 18 and 19 October, in view of the Dharm Sansad scheduled to be held at Prayag in January next year.
"The final decision would be taken at the Dharm Sansad, based on a concrete proposal which would be discussed at the Goa meeting", informed Ashok Chowgule, the VHP president for Goa and Maharashtra, who is also a leading mine owner here.
In fact Goa's all the three leading industrial houses have come together to organise the meeting at Ramnathi temple with Shivanand Salgaoncar heading the reception committee while Shrinivas Dempo heading the organising committee.
As half of the ongoing work of carving of pillars for the Ram temple at Ayodhya and Rajasthan would be completed by next year, Chowgule says the process to decide about the construction date should also begin.
"It cannot be at any other place than where the Babri masjid was situated", he asserts, adding that seeking permission of the central government to begin the construction work would also be one of the main issues to be discussed at the Ramnathi meeting.
Stating that the VHP has its own agenda than the Bharatiya Janata Party, Chowgule also informed that the Bajrang Dal and Durga Vahini would not be involved in the meeting officially but only its activists. Around 200 sant, mahant, acharya and sanyasis are expected to attend the meeting.
Equally topping the agenda of the meeting is the issue of religious conversions allegedly carried out by the Roman Catholic Church and alleged terrorist activities at the behest of the Baptist churches in the North Eastern region, informs Chowgule.
The meeting, he said, would also discuss the threat caused to Haridwar and Ganga due to the Tehri dam and a grand ceremony to be organised next year on the occasion of completion of 50 years of the Somnath temple.
Objecting strongly to the statement made by Pope John Paul II that mankind can get salvation only through Jesus Christ, Chowgule also demanded a reaction from the Indian church whether they have a different viewpoint on it.
Justifying the demand made by the RSS for a swadeshi church, he also reiterated the VHP stand that Hinduism is the real nationalism in India and those who believe in Hindu civilisation can only be called the nationalists. "I am not saying that Indian Christians are anti-nationals", he added.
Expressing fear over Pope's call to dedicate the new millennium to convert whole Asia into Christianity, he said the margadarshak mandal would deliberate upon how to counter the threat of religious conversions and save Hinduism in the Asian region.
The local organisers have also announced Dharmsabha - a public rally - on 18 October at Farmagudi in Ponda on the occasion, which is likely to be addressed by VHP president Vishnu Hari Dalmia, working president Ashok Singhal, Acharya Dharmendra and Sadhvi Rithambara.
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