Tikamgarh to Ayodhya: Uma Bharti recalls her journey from a farmer family to Ram temple struggle

The bhumi pujan (ground breaking) ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, scheduled to be held on Wednesday, is being seen by many as the conclusion of a long journey for veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders like Lal Krishna Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti. While Advani and Joshi led the Ram temple movement, Uma Bharti was one of the few young leaders who fought the ground battle. Recalling her journey from a humble farmer family in Madhya Pradesh’s Tikamgarh to Ayodhya, the 61-year-old leader said she is proud to be associated with the Ram temple movement since the beginning.

In an open letter, a copy of which is available with Opoyi, the former Madhya Pradesh CM said she first visited Ayodhya in 1969 when she was just 8. Uma Bharti recalled that she was taken around the Ram Janmabhoomi by Mahant Ramchandradas Paramhans. The senior BJP leader said she saw Ram Lalla from a distance inside the locked campus which triggered the thought for a movement in support of a temple at the site.

In the letter, Uma Bharti mentioned how she came in contact with Vijaya Raje Scindia, RSS and Jansagh leaders. She then started working for Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and later joined the BJP.

How Uma Bharti sneaked out of Banda jail

Uma Bharti, along with Vijaya Raje Scindia and hundreds of other volunteers, was arrested in Chitrakoot on October 31, 1990 while on their way to Ayodhya. However, on receiving the news of Ashok Singhal and several others being injured in a clash with the police while trying to enter the Ram Janmabhoomi, she decided to reach Ayodhya at any cost.

Uma Bharti said in her letter that she shaved her head to conceal her identity and sneaked out of Banda jail at midnight. “Whatever happened in those eight hours that it took to reach Ayodhya from Banda was breathtaking. Curfew was imposed and the police had put up barricades all along the route, but I somehow managed to reach Ayodhya,” Bharti said.

No regret

Uma Bharti said that she has no regret of participating in the Ram mandir temple movement and added that the Supreme Court’s verdict in the decades-old case has been humbly accepted by leaders of all religions.

Will not attend Ram mandir bhumi pujan

The former Union minister said will go for darshan of Lord Ram in Ayodhya after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others leave the venue of the ground-breaking ceremony in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

“I will leave Bhopal today and on the way I might come in contact with a coronavirus infected person. Taking this into account, I will keep a distance from the place where @narendramodi and hundreds of others will be present,” she had tweeted earlier this week.