Insta
Somnath Temple Restoration: ‘It Is An Act Of Restoring Glory Of Bharat’, Says RSS leader
Indian Hindu priests perform religious rituals at the Somnath temple (Representative image)
The restoration of Somnath Temple, which was plundered by invaders in the medieval ear, was an “act of restoring the glory of Bharat”, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) joint General Secretary Manmohan Vaidya was quoted as saying by The Week.
While speaking at a seminar titled 'Idea of Bharat' organised at Nagpur, he also said that the nation was witnessing an ideological struggle between the view of “Bharat” which stood for its ancient history and culture, and the western view.
The RSS leader cited that the restoration of the temple in Gujarat and said that even Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and KM Munshi saw this as an act of restoring the nation's pride.
“In 1948, Sardar Patel saw Somnath Temple in ruins and wanted to rebuild it grandly. This was not a communal act nor was it against anybody. It was to restore the pride of Bharat,” he reportedly said.
“Similarly, KM Munshi, who was also a cabinet minister in Jawaharlal Nehru's government, took the lead in the issue. However, Nehru was opposed to this idea,” Vaidya said.
“KM Munshi had invited Pandit Nehru for the prana pratishta (idol consecration) of Somnath Temple. The next PM attended the function stating that he would have done so even if the invite was for a masjid or church,” Vaidya said.
After Independence, unfortunately, there is a fashion to refuse to acknowledge who we are, he said. “We started calling ourselves progressive, liberal and intellectual”, Vaidya said.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
