‘Ram Kishan Yadav’ alias ‘Baba’ Ramdev, who dragged the UPA Government in trouble earlier this month, seems to have dragged himself too in trouble by announcing his plans of raising his own ‘Sena’ (militia) of 1,1000 armed volunteers . Though Anna Hazare was on fast in his support yet he distanced himself from the Baba for his army plans and announced he will not meet him in near future.
Ramdev’s sponsors in Sangh Parivar are also bewildered on his announcement which he made after meeting with Sushma Swaraj, who refused to comment on Swami’s Sena. Mrs. Swaraj had rushed to Hardwar purportedly to enquire about his health but with the hidden agenda to reclaim BJP’s lost ground as Main Opposition party of the country, by expressing loud sympathies with Ramdev and his malicious movement. In the course of her stay at his sprawling Patanjali Yog Peeth Aashram, she had long closed door deliberations with him, ostensibly to chalk out future strategy. However she parried the question and expressed her ignorance of Baba’s Sena plan in a press conference organised after the meeting to praise Baba and curse U.P.A. The Government has also warned Ramdev against his ill intentioned manoeuvres.
Fifty-six-year old ‘Baba’ was born in a modest farmer family of village Ali Syed Pur of District Mahindra Garh in Haryana. This region of erstwhile Punjab has strong population of ardent followers and admirers of Mahashy Munshi Ram, popularly known as ‘Swami’ Shardhanand. A key ideologue of Hindu Maha Sabha and a crusader of Hindutva in early 20th century, the ‘Swami’ is better known for his “Shuddhi Movement” aimed to re-convert native Muslims, especially gullible Maklana Rajputs and Mews into the Hindu fold. Though he was given rare honour to address a huge congregation from the Minarets of Shah Jahani Jama Masjid Delhi, for National Solidarity, he never yielded to the sophisticated demands of communal harmony. A zealous associate of his anti-Islam crusade penned a highly derogatory and blasphemous book, Rangila Rasul, which trigged a series of murders and enmity among two communities. Ramdev is a product of the same ‘fanatic Hindu’ mindset, trained in a Gurukul, which follows a typical Vedic Education System of Arya Samaj. He left secular education after his class eighth and joined Arsh Gurukul in Khanpur; where he excelled in Sanskrit and Yoga, a Vedic art of health and disease cure.
After his education, he chose to adorn Saffron robe to exploit religious sentiments of Hindus masses. It may be pointed out that the Hindu masses are religious and believe in superstitions too, but are not fanatic or communal. It is easy to exploit their sentiments even by one’s appearance. Ramdev in Saffron robe appeared first in 2003 on Sanskar TV as an instructor of Yoga and soon became a TV Icon. Actually he has not only excelled in Yoga Art but also in amazing articulation skills of amassing huge fortunes. It is evident from his huge fortunes he had earned within a decade.
On Thursday morning in a press conference in his Patanjali Yog Peeth Ramdev himself revealed his assets of Rs. 11000 crore. It is genuinely doubted that he has undervalued his properties. India Today reported: The Himachal government had given 96 bighas of prime land near Solan in Himachal Pradesh to Ramdev’s Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust at a throwaway price. The land is alleged to have been allotted to Patanjali Yogpeeth for a mere Rs 18,000 per bigha while the market rate is Rs 40,000 per bigha.” Ramdev’s calculations are based on subsidised old rate. Current market rates are genuinely estimated more than 50 times higher. Ramdev also owns a tiny Iceland in Scotland where a “Heath Tourist Centre” is upcoming. He has his personal Helicopter and mostly travels in private charted planes. Sale of his ayurvedic medicines is worth Rs 300 crore a year alone; sale of books and CDs fetch another Rs 25 to 30 crore.
After raising his own huge empire, now he has set his eyes on political arena. In India to build up a political storm one requires only money and manpower. Ideology may be compromised if opportunity demands. Ramdev satisfactorily fulfils all the parameters. He has enough money and some following in the public. During last Parliamentary elections he donated Rs. 10 Lac for BJP election funds and also kept U.P.A. in good humour.
It is now an open fact that RSS and BJP planned and backed Anna Hazare’s movement. From the hour one, he received unprecedented coverage on saffron tainted electronic media that helped a huge build-up all over the country. Sangh activists were instrumental in organising protests in India and abroad. The Government was found napping on the onset of the movement but awake early and step in quickly to quell the storm. The unprincipled compromise reached with Anna Hazare for drafting Lokpal (Ombudsman) bill certainly left his backers (Sangh) high and dry.
RSS was puzzled as movement, when it was still gaining momentum, stopped abruptly, without creating chaos and distortion of law and order, the ultimate aim to throw away the elected Government. BJP was also shocked to learn that in melee episode the party lost its own ground of main opposition and the ‘Civil Society’, comprising biters of Saffronites like Swami Agnivesh, has occupied the space.
At the same time unexpected popularity of Hazare for his 90 hrs fast starting from 5th April, 2011, gave Ramdev feeling of being sidelined and over-shadowed. Overzealous Ramdev contemplated his own ‘drama’ of ‘Satyagraha’. Sangh Parivar readily agreed as the Parivar found a ray of hope in him to re-steam the passion of corruption-bitten people. This time the Sangh decided to control the movement openly. However strategists of UPA again upset their planning by midnight police action.
Ramdev suits more than Hazare to RSS designs. Hazare has his own think-tank and Ramdev has none except his lust for money and greed for political space. He was planning to raise his own political party but did not go further on the advice of the Sangh. In a meeting of Sangh policymakers, the issue was examined in depth. A new political party of the same Saffron ideology was considered harmful to the electoral prospects of BJP.
However it was considered good if Ramdev leads a movement and BJP reaps the harvest. Both share the same Hindutva ideology. Both are for Power and Money. Shastra Puja and Laxmi Puja are two main rituals of both. Therefore the Parivar chose to stand with Ramdev and Ramdev greeted the opportunity by inviting Sadhvi Ritambhara to share the stage and inaugurate his ‘Fast’.
There was another game-plan set by U.P.A. managers. First, they tried to persuade Ramdev to abandon his ‘Styagraha’. However it was decided to let Ramdev go ahead to earn his desired popularity. He pleaded to symbolic ‘Satyagraha’ for face saving. However he agreed to convert his “Styagraha” into a “Tapa” and confine to Yoga instructions. Ramlila Ground was allotted to him for only Yoga Camp and not for political agenda.
He indicated that the Government has agreed to his 98% demands and so his victory. Ramdev had also assured the UPA interlocutors to announce in public of his agreement with the Government. But he backtracked and did not heed to Government advice.
By allowing Ramdev to go ahead first and then by using force to evict his men from the Ground is not inter-contradictory. The whole episode was designed to engineer a split in the so-called civil society and to expose Ramdev and his political ambitions. It has been done. However the Government may have waited for one or two days more but the situation suddenly become explosive with the appearance of Ritambhara. She is known for her venomous speeches and participation in Babri Masjid demolition.
Sadhvi’s presence on the stage and her speech created commotions in neighbouring lanes of Old Delhi. Proximity of camp from huge minority-concentration population alarmed the authorities. A low intensity blast near High Court (25th May) and explosive like objects recovered near Gargi College (31st May) were also alarming. In the meanwhile, a report of conspiracy to engineer Sabarmati Train-like incident in Baba’s high-tech huge camp and by that to trigger another Gujarat-like carnage in the whole country created more concerns. In such situations the administration was not ready to take risk and wait for another one or two days for Ramdev to announce end of his game. An un-warranted incident of fire broke or a cracker-like blast was enough to cause devastation beyond control. The Government was not ready take risk and let them re-enact a Gujarat.
For the whole day, the Government tried to persuade Ramdev to adhere his written promise. He did not yield. Instead he called his admirers to reach Delhi for a greater build-up. The breaking point came in the evening when Kapil Sibal made public the document written in the presence of Ramdev and signed by his secretary. The Government further communicated to him, on his demand, in writing to work speedily on his demands. But he chose to ignore. When Police officers reached him after midnight, he failed to graciously surrender as a reputed “Stayagrahi” and jumped from 10 ft high podium to disappear in public. For the next two hours and a half the police was in great tension. He tried to slip out in female dress, leaving his followers behind heedless. Ultimately he was caught by some alert policeman on his way to Railway Station on the ground of suspicion. This shows weakness of Baba’s moral strength.
After Ramdev and his aides disappeared, the Police used force as usual to get the Pandal vacated and to quell stone-pelters. Excessive use of force may have triggered stampede. Evacuation of the huge camp was free from major incidents. Unconcerned of the uneasiness created by the presence of Ritambhara and her inaugural speech, some religio-political Muslims lashed out the action as human rights violation. Breaking a conspiracy to spread communal frenzy and creating conditions suitable to communal forces should be considered the earnest duty of the Government and not a sin.