People's movement will ensure that Ram Temple is built: Ratan Sharda

MANGALURU: There is no doubt that the

Ram Temple

will be built at Ayodhya. People will build the temple. It is a matter of time and not when. If the apex court is not able to take a call on the issue and wants elected representatives to settle it on their own, the process may take slightly longer, averred author Ratan Sharda, RSS media panellist and author of book RSS 360 Degree – Facts Vs Fiction at Mangaluru Lit Fest said here on Saturday.


In a conversation with Raghotham Sundararajan as part of the maiden Lit Fest in this coastal town, Ratan said Ram Temple is not an RSS movement. However, it is true that the RSS did lend its ‘muscle’ to the movement, he said. “The sense of impatience on the (Ram) Temple issue is not good for the Hindu society,” he said adding that fails to escape one’s attention is the fact that Indian judiciary has made a laughing stock of itself (on this issue).

On repeated demands for proscribing RSS and ban that then government headed by Nehru imposed and subsequently lifted, Ratan said it was constant fear of competition from popular organisation possibly turning political even before Indian independence that guided Congress action. The assassination of Mahatma Gandhi was just the excuse that Congress wanted to vilify the RSS despite the fact that then CID absolved it of any role in the same, he said.

To a question on absence of RSS in academic and intellectual space of India compared to the Left that has dominated it, Ratan said the organisation was always into person building. Noting that RSS is now visible in most social media platforms barring Twitter, he said RSS is now pro-active in reacting to emerging social issues. But given the size of the organisation, RSS does take it time to postulate its reply on issues such as Sabarimala, he noted.



Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.