Article Title: MK Gandhi’s vision of Ram Rajya

Article Summary

In this article, the author speaks about Gandhiji’s dream of Ram Rajya. Since Independence, establishing Ram Rajya has been the ultimate ideal of genuine political leaders. Gandhiji once said that by Ram Rajya, he doesn’t mean Hindu Rajya, but a place of true democracy in which the meanest citizen could be sure of swift justice without an elaborate and costly procedure. However, shortly before Independence, he lamented that Ram Rajya would not be possible in India, given the then state of affairs whereas the focus of political leaders gradually began shifting towards building India into a secular and socialistic society. Over, the following decades, overzealous secular politicians tried to reduce Ram Rajya to a metaphor; while its spiritual and religious connotation was overlooked. In the present scenario, the political atmosphere is again reverberating with demands for construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, converting it into a big political and legal issue. While the author recognizes it to be a legitimate aspiration, he doubts whether mere construction of a temple or a murti of Rama will establish Ram Rajya as dreamt of by Gandhiji.