President of India Ram Nath Kovind has donated INR 501,000 for construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on January 15 soon after various temple-related bodies, including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its subsidiary organisations, launched a nationwide campaign seeking funds for the Temple… In other words, the Constitutional Head of the Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic of India has consciously taken part in the process of constructing a Temple. Most importantly, the Temple will be built on the land where the five-century-old Babri Masjid (built in 1528-29 by General Mir Baqi on the orders of the Mughal Emperor Babur) was being demolished in 1992. Hence, the process of constructing the Temple is considered by many experts as an attack on the Secular character of India!

According to Experts, it is unfortunate that the main Defender of the Secular Constitution has donated money for building a Temple… Ideally, the Constitutional Head of the country should not be Loyal to anything other than the Constitution, should not be biased, and should not have any declared Likes or Dislikes. As soon as one becomes the President, his personal identity disappears. So, there is hardly a way to claim that the decision to donate money for the construction of the Ram Temple was President Kovind’s personal choice, and not the choice of the Constitutional Head of the State…

The founding-fathers of the Indian Constitution were of the opinion that the President should be an Impartial Being. They used to believe that President should be the Leader and Guardian of each and every Indian citizen, who would see the reflection of the State in him. As a result, the President cannot be sympathetic towards any particular group, formed on the basis of Religion, Class, Caste, Language, etc. It is expected in a Democratic country that the Head of the State should be above all groups. Since 1955, there have been no worship services held in the US Senate. The US leaders rightly realised that such a service could isolate a person, who does not believe in Religion or God. This is the Condition of Civilisation. Perhaps, President Kovind has made it clear that the Indian State considers non-Hindus as Second-Class Citizens by donating money for the construction of the Ram Temple. The President must know that it is an insult to the Constitution of India!

In fact, the responsibility falls on the Union Cabinet, precisely on the Prime Minister! In India (which follows the Westminster Model of Democracy), the President is guided by their advice. So, it was the Prime Minister’s duty to dissuade the President from donating money for the construction of a Temple. And, the PM did not perform his duty. One may recall that first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru had repeatedly barred first Indian President Babu Rajendra Prasad from following Hindu rituals at the State level. It is not that Nehru was against any particular religion. He was well aware of the fact that the State has no Religion. India badly needs a person like that of Pundit Nehru, now!

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das