How Yogi Adityanath is charting own course on Hindutva heritage
One of the strongest voices in the large Hindutva family is that of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's. What is unmissable is that Adityanath, a monk-politician from outside the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) fold, is charting a distinct path on the issue of Hindutva heritage. This could have far-reaching implications.
The mandir-masjid issue has seen two streams within the larger Hindutva Parivar, which includes the RSS and the BJP. Adityanath, a BJP leader who is also the head priest of the influential Gorakhnath Math in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, has had a different take on the issue of disputed religious sites.
Yogi Adityanath reiterated his stand on January 10, saying that "reclaiming heritage is not a bad thing" and "disputed structures shouldn't be called mosques". The remarks were made in the context of the controversy over the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal town of Uttar Pradesh.
Four people were killed in clashes over a court-ordered survey of the Mughal-era mosque, which is claimed to have been constructed with rubble masonry after demolishing a Kalki (Vishnu) temple that stood at the site.
"Reclaiming heritage is not a bad thing. Sanatan proof is now visible in Sambhal. Disputed structures shouldn't be called mosques. India won't be run on the Muslim League mentality," Adityanath said at Aaj Tak's Dharma Sansad ahead of Maha Kumbh 2025.
The other stream, helmed by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, has been urging people not to go looking for shivlings or evidence of temples under every mosque.
On November 19, Bhagwat reiterated his stand after a string of legal petitions in various parts of the country for surveys to determine if there were temples below mosques and majars.
Bhagwat was critical of those legal cases and said: "After the construction of the Ram Mandir, some people think they can become leaders of Hindus by raking up similar issues in new places. This is not acceptable.”
The remarks were made after petitions in the courts to find out the original nature of the Sambhal mosque and the Ajmer Dargah.
Amid the row, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like in previous years, handed over a chadar to be offered at the Ajmer Dargah during the Urs festival on his behalf.
AYODHYA, MATHURA, KASHI: WHO DECIDES THE LIST?
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a Sangh Parivar constituent, had campaigned vigorously for a temple at Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya. The demolition of the Babri Masjid which stood at the disputed site in 1992 and a subsequent Supreme Court order paved the way for a Ram Mandir there.
Experts believe thousands of temples across India were demolished and mosques erected on those sites after invasions by Islamic marauders, and during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal periods.
Archaeologists performing a court-mandated excavation of the Ramjanmabhoomi land discovered layer after layer of temples, and dated the use of the site to 17th Century BCE.
The Ayodhya case was an exception made in the Places of Worship Act of 1991, which doesn't allow it to change the nature of a religious place from what it was on August 15, 1947. The law itself has been termed "arbitrary", and is facing legal challenges.
Among the primary demands, along with the Ayodhya site, were those for temples in Mathura (Krishna Janmabhoomi) and Kashi (Kashi Vishwanath temple). Those were decided at a Dharm Sansad in 1984.
However, demands for reclamation of the sites of several temples, including the Sambhal Kalki Mandir, which were razed, have been voiced since.
One could well say that the multiple voices on the mandir-masjid issue are also a reflection of the celebration of diversity in Sanatana Dharma, which is in sharp contrast to the monotheistic religions. There is no one equivalent of Pope in Hinduism.
MODERATE BHAGWAT LED CHANGE IN RSS STANCE
After the Supreme Court's decision in 2019 to hand over Ayodhya land for the construction of a temple, Bhagwat said the RSS would not participate in any agitation in the Mathura and Kashi disputes.
This did surprise many in the Hindutva family, because as the Ram Temple movement reached a crescendo, the call demanding agitation for the two sites saw a sharp rise. "Ayodhya to bas jhanki hai, Kashi-Mathura baki hai," was the main slogan.
Experts who have researched extensively on the RSS see Bhagwat, the Sarasanghachalak or RSS chief since 1999, as a moderate.
Bhagwat has cast the Sangh in his own image, highlighting regularly that Hindus and Muslims of India have the same DNA. He has also emphasised that a "Hindu Rashtra (nation) does not mean the exclusion of Muslims".
Political analyst and author of multiple books on the RSS, Walter K Anderson, said in a recent discussion that Bhagwat was seen as a "liberal within the RSS", adding that his remarks on an end to the festering mandir-masjid dispute gave legitimacy to the moderate stand within the Parivar.
Bhagwat's stand, however, found digressers among prominent seers like Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya and Hindutva hardliners.
YOGI ADITYANATH BACKS CALLS FOR RECLAIMING HERITAGE
The Akil Bharatiya Sant Samiti (AKSS) slammed Bhagwat for his November 19 remarks.
AKSS general secretary Swami Jitendranand Saraswati said such issues were for religious gurus, and not organisations like RSS and VHP, to decide.
Yogi Adityanath, himself a priest, recently likened the situation at disputed sites to "wounds" that needed "surgery" to prevent them from becoming "cancerous".
Yogi's image of a tough administrator and hardliner on Hindutva issues has found appeal among RSS members. His stance on Hindus and Hindutva has been unambiguous, and that has added to his popularity beyond Uttar Pradesh. He is a star campaigner for the BJP in elections, and his rallies in several states draw massive crowds.
There must be a realisation in both Yogi and the RSS that they can be mutually beneficial for their respective growth.
In June 2024, Bhagwat and Yogi held closed-door meetings in Gorakhpur. Then in October, Yogi met RSS leaders during the two-day Akhil Bharatiya Karyakari Mandal conclave in Mathura.
According to reports, Yogi sought the help of the RSS to get Lingayats of Karnataka to participate in the Maha Kumbh 2025 in Prayagraj during the October meetings. This is in consonance with Yogi's pan-India appeal.
The RSS also endorsed Yogi's 'Batenge Toh Katenge' slogan, calling for unity in the Hindu community, rising over castes and community lines.
This came at a time when Yogi was under pressure after the BJP's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections in UP. The RSS had taken a hands-off approach in the 2024 general election, which resulted in a lesser number of seats for the BJP in the crucial states of UP and West Bengal.
“Hindu samaj ekta mein nahi rahega toh aaj kal ki bhasha mein ‘batenge toh katenge’ ho sakta hai," RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said after the Mathura conclave.
The UP Chief Minister is among a rare breed of BJP leaders who do not owe their rise to the RSS, an organisation that has eschewed personality-based politics.
Yogi, whose Goraknath Math played a crucial role in the Ram Mandir Movement, aligns with the Hindu Mahasabha, to which his guru Mahant Avaidyanath belonged to. The Hindu Mahasabha has had ideological differences with the RSS.
Though there is a concern about who will put the mandir genie back in the bottle, a section of Hindus feel that there can be no historic justice without talking about the key temples that were destroyed during Islamic rule of India.
It is Yogi, who has built his own brand of Hindutva, that those people are seeing as the leader providing that alternative voice. With his unyielding stance on the disputed religious sites, Yogi is charting his own path on Hindutva heritage. Yogi Adityanath's political trajectory will have a bearing on how these issues are resolved in India.
There are two streams of thought in the larger Hindutva family when it comes to the disputed places of worship. With his stance that "reclaiming heritage is not a bad thing", Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has charted a distinct course, different from RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat's.
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