In the event with just about 35 invitees in view of Covid-19, senior members of the RSS, including joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale and VHP working president Alok Kumar are expected to speak on the topic.
Over 300 copies of this book are being published to be sent to Ayodhya and also to influential people across the country, ET has learnt.
A senior member of the RSS said this is the first of its kind book representing the “complete story right from the birth of Lord Rama to setting up of the trust for the reconstruction of the Ram Temple.”
According to senior leaders of the Sangh parivar, the book deals with the historicity of Rama, and put forward explanations “through scientific calendars the exact date, time and place of Lord Rama’s birth.”
A member said the book also “has copies of land records and accounts of several foreign travellers since 1528 that talk about the Ram temple being a site of worship for Hindus for many years, chronicling the legal dispute which dates back to the 19th century.”
“The book has for the first time published some of the rare archival material in its annexures including gazettes of the old British era that talked about the status of the temple at Ram Janmabhoomi,” another member said.
One of the authors of the book, Arun Anand who has written two books on the RSS in the past, told ET, “That one argument that we often hear is why shouldn’t we build a school or hospital instead of a temple at the birthplace of Lord Rama. The reason why they say this is because they have only read or watched passionate arguments from the supporters and opponents of the Ram Temple. There was hardly anyone who could dispassionately put forward the facts and let the readers form an objective opinion. This book has been written precisely to fill up this gap.”
According to publicly available information, starting from the 1850s there have been several conflicts and court disputes between Hindus and Muslims over the Babri mosque that is believed to have been built in 1528. Court cases were filed by both Hindus and Muslims asking for access.
Supreme Court Advocate MR Shamshad, commenting on this, told ET that history and truth will find its way to reach people even if its told selectively.
“History is a reflection of the sovereign powers of that time and today’s powers cannot unturn the pages of the past that have already been recorded in multiple ways. It is important to remember that,” he said.