The Sri Ram Temple in Ayodhya has far reaching implications of which we are not yet aware. Though it may not seem evident now, reinstating our temples and the spontaneous, organic, and emotional response for homecoming of Prabhu Sri Ram is connected with addressing violence against women in Bharat. According to Dr. Tulika Saxena, here is why:
The nationwide enthusiasm around the Prana Pratishtha event on 22nd January in Ayodhya is unprecedented. The way people have come together from all parts of Bharat for this event is serving as a strong rebuttal to those who were sceptical and prioritized hospitals or universities over temples. The rapid progress and development in Ayodhya city highlight the transformative impact of the Sri Ram Lalla Temple. This cultural revival extends beyond Ayodhya, contributing to a resurgence of Sanatan Dharma across Bharat. The impact is already noticeable, signalling a larger movement that continues to gain momentum with the opening of the Sri Ram Temple.
It is yet very early to analyse and speculate on the various fruits this renaissance will yield. However, estimates are being made that this will result in the economic and cultural revival of Sanatan civilisation. But hardly anyone is discussing what it could mean for violence against women in Bharat. An issue for which Bharat has earned quite a bad reputation in past.
Even feminists, leftist groups and self-proclaimed liberals, are not connecting this to women. They are analysing this development with evident anxiety, frustration, anger, and a sense of hopelessness. They perceive it as a rise of majoritarianism, the resurgence of a fascist state, a decline in democracy, loss of secularism, worsening of women’s status and the suppression of minority rights. They will hardly relate the temple in Ayodhya as a potential solution to issues such as violence against women.
But as someone who has worked in the area of violence against women for the last 20 years, I can see the potential of this event in Bharat and it will pave the way to find solutions to tackle violence against women.
Feminists globally are grappling with the search for a solution to combat violence against women, which consists of domestic violence and sexual violence. Unfortunately, with each passing year, the menacing spectre of violence against women persists, as the figures either remain stagnant or increase.
Colonisation, temples, and women
To understand how the Ayodhya temple can help address violence against women, we must explore how colonisation, temples and women are connected.
For most part of the world, colonisation or invasion had a pattern. Wherever it happened, it destroyed the indigenous population’s connection to their own culture and religious practises. This was replaced with the coloniser’s values, beliefs, and religion. For example, in Iran where Zoroastrianism, and in Afghanistan where Buddhism and Hinduism, were wiped out.
However, Bharat is an exception as even more than a thousand years of colonisation did not result in the dismantling of Sanatan culture. Invasions and the colonisation happened in Bharat in multiple phases—Turkish, Mongol, Persian, British, Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, French—over a prolonged period of more than thousand years and was met with strong resistance. Though Sanatan Dharma survived, it was left significantly weak and its societal fabric severely damaged.
Rampant desecration, destruction, and plunder of temples in Northern India was aimed at shaking the very core of the civilisational heritage of Bharat. It is a well known fact that for about eight hundred years, during Islamic and Mughal rule in Delhi, there was no temple left standing and no attempts to restore or build new temples was possible till 1939 when Birla’s Laxminarayan Temple was constructed.
The other impact was on the status of women and their experience of violence. To give this statement a context, American historian Will Durant has described Islamic conquest of India as one of the bloodiest stories of human history. It is evident that during those times violence against women in Bharat was at a scale unimaginable. Rape, abductions, sex slavery, forced conversions were rampant. It is said that lakhs of women were abducted and sold in markets the world over.
Colonisation has a two-pronged impact, direct and indirect. Not only it directly exerts violence against indigenous communities including severe violence against women, but it also breaks the protective factors that exist in the indigenous cultural practises that protects and supports freedom of women. Traumatised, perplexed and helpless victim indigenous communities often respond to make their women safe by curbing liberties that women otherwise had. And limiting freedom and liberties of women then itself becomes violence, a violence that is not committed by invaders or colonisers, but by their own indigenous community.
With the passage of time, it seeps into society in such a way that the underlying causes of violence are forgotten. It seems that the indigenous culture itself sanctions violence. The examples of these in Bharat are son preference—celebrating birth of a son more than a daughter—female infanticide which with the advent of technology evolved into female foeticide, child marriages, veiling of women, restrictions on mobility and education of women and girls, etc.
So here is how temples and women are connected. Both temples and women remained unsafe in public, vulnerable to loot, plunder, and rape. To save Sanatan practises and Dharma, during very violent phases of invasion, coercion, and destruction, to keep our connection with our Gods safe, our temples were brought inside the home and so were the women.
Resurgence of Sanatan Dharma and restoring status of women
Colonisation is not meant to protect indigenous culture, indigenous women, and indigenous wisdom. It happened elsewhere also in Africa, America, Canada, and Australia. The coloniser state does not act as a protector, so the systems and structures of the colonisers are not aligned for the protection and well-being of the colonised population.
Take the example of Australia, within two hundred years of colonisation, the Aboriginal Australians were uprooted completely from their culture of thousands of years. Currently Aboriginal women experience more violence than the non-indigenous population of Australia. In the process of reconciliation and healing, Australia accepts that violence against women that exists within Aboriginal communities is the result of colonisation and the broken connection to their culture. Violence was not part of the culture prior to colonisation. One important way to address this violence is that Aboriginal communities build their broken connection to their culture back.
As part of finding solutions for violence against women, connecting to the culture of ancestors and highlighting that it was not sanctioned by culture is extremely critical.
And connecting back with the civilisational culture is happening currently in Bharat, a process of decolonisation resulting in resurgence of Sanatan Dharma. Prime Minister Modi made five resolutions for twenty-five years leading up to one hundred years of independence.
The second resolution is to remove any trace of colonial mindset and, third, is to resolve to take pride in our roots. This way, for the very first time, a blueprint towards a decolonisation process was proposed by the government in Bharat. And having our temples back is a very key step in the decolonisation process. And with decolonisation will come solutions that only Bharat can provide to the entire world along with violence against women.
Significance of Sri Ram and the Ayodhya temple
To prevent violence against women, there is a need to reach masses and engage with them. This engagement needs to be strong enough, needs to appeal and make people reflect on their values especially in relation to women. This is where the whole world is struggling, and prevention programs are not yet yielding results. These programs are focussed on creating a culture of respect for women. However value systems that are deeply embedded in culture cannot be rebuilt in a few years. Especially sanctions around these value systems that are deeper than just asking to respect women.
And here is why Sri Ram and the Sri Ram Lalla Temple has a huge significance. Sri Ram and Ram Rajya highlights that violence was never part of Sanatan culture, though in the past there has been attempts to tarnish what Sri Ram and the Ramayana signifies. Leftist historians, feminists and certain political groups did not leave any stone unturned to establish Sri Ram as misogynist and chants of Jai Sri Ram as a manifestation of aggression and violence.
However, the spontaneous and organic response to the Pran Pratishtha event shows that those groups failed. The deep emotional connection that Sanatanis are showing all over Bharat and around the world is astonishing and unexpected. This shows that there will be much greater implications of this event than what we can imagine. When more and more people will connect with Sri Ram, who is not just Sri Ram but Maryada Purushottam Sri Ram, a God who is the embodiment of pure character, discipline, fairness and justice, there is bound to be positive changes. Sri Ram stood for dignity of women and moved mountains and crossed seas to avenge the disrespect towards his wife Sita. If men in Bharat take inspiration from Sri Ram, with the passage of time it will directly result in reduction of violence against women. Further, Ram Rajya symbolises a perfect governance where there is rule of law. When law and order thrive, women’s safety increases.
Though worldwide Bharat is looked down on as a country leading in violence against women, there is a past record of successfully addressing various malpractices. For example child marriage, dowry, female infanticide and foeticide. Bharat has stringent laws for rape and provides women protection towards domestic violence. Through affirmative action it is being ensured that women participate in public and political life meaningfully in local governance and in parliament. The latest women’s reservation in parliament, Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, will put women’s leadership at the forefront. All the attempts that are being done in Bharat are not ornamental but have thousands of years of civilisational backing, where feminine divinity always was revered and respected as Prakriti, Shakti, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Durga, Kali and Devi.
To sum up, when a beautiful painting due to years of mistreatment and negligence gathers thick layers of dust, it looks ugly. This is what invasion and colonisation did to beautiful Sanatan civilisation. But if the dust is wiped off, and marks are repaired through the process of decolonisation, then the same beautiful painting will again emerge. A painting in which women are respected and are free of violence.
– Dr. Tulika Saxena
Dr. Tulika Saxena is based in Canberra and has worked for women issues, especially violence against women for more than 20 years in India and Australia. She has PhD from Australian National University, Canberra on impact assessment of Indian Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.
(The article was published on Voiceofindia.me on January 25, 2024 and has been reproduced here)
