A historic Ram Mandir in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region that the Naxalites had shut down for 21 years reopened on Monday, April 8. Kerlapenda hamlet in the Bastar division is around ninety km from Sukma district headquarters. After cleaning the area before worshipping, the people there performed a puja for the idols of Lord Rama, Goddess Sita, and Lakshman ji.
Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently spoke at an election event where he attacked the Congress party and the INDI Alliance over the Ram temple issue. “Five centuries later, the dream came true. Since Chhattisgarh is the home of Lord Ram’s maternal grandparents, it makes sense for the state’s citizens to feel delighted. But the prime minister stated at a rally in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar that the Congress and the INDI coalition are upset about the construction of Ram Mandir.
“The Congress royal family declined the invitation to the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ at Ram Mandir. The Congressmen who criticised this decision as incorrect were expelled from the organisation. It demonstrates that Congress will stop at nothing to satisfy,” he continued.
The villagers and tribal people in Sukma’s Chintalnar region, which has been the target of Naxal attacks, rejoiced when the historic temple in the Bastar region reopened after a 21-year hiatus.
To revitalise the temple, 74 Corps CRPF jawans collaborated with the community. In response, Sukma SP Kiran Chavan stated that the Maoists had threatened the villagers, stating that no one should open the temple or go there for prayer. In 2003, the Naxalites closed the temple. The villagers claimed that during the height of the Naxals’ activity in 2003, they had threatened to close the temple and advised against anyone opening it or coming to pray there. Chavan stated, “The reason was that the area was specifically the Maoist core zone where they would camp, hold meetings, and use it as a corridor for their movement, among other activities.”
Jawans are now allowed to travel to the interior villages after about forty security camps were established throughout the Bastar region. Between Kerlapenda and Lakhapal, a new CRPF camp was set up, and the indigenous tribes, who had never interacted with strangers, got to know the security personnel.
One of the jawans noticed the temple above and asked about it. Then, the locals came up to them and told them that in 2003, Maoists tried to destroy the shrine, forcing it to close.
“The location used to host a religious fair that the locals organised. Times of India cited Himanshu Pandey, CRPF commander of 74 battalions, saying, “We initiated the reopening of the temple and extended our support in cleaning and organising at the request of tribal villagers.”
Remarkably, on Monday, April 8, a medical camp was also set up. Initially, the villagers were afraid to visit the temple. Later on, though, they were spotted dancing to Ram Bhajan music.
Although the precise history of the temple is unknown, the locals assume it was constructed in the 1970s because they believe worshipping Lord Ram is part of folklore. For the forthcoming Ram Navmi, the 800-person community is organising a “Bhandara,” and they hope to celebrate the event in the temple.