Baba Lal Das

Baba Lal Das was first ever Mahant (Chief Hindu Priest) of the idols of the deity Rama placed within the Babri Masjid complex in Ayodhya.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} He was appointed to his position by the Lucknow High Court in 1981.^[3][7][8][9] Lal Das was a fierce critic of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal,^{[1][7][8][10][11][12]} and he criticized these groups in the 1992 documentary Ram ke Naam.^{[3][13][5][6]}

Lal Das was also a fervent adversary of the L. K. Advani-led Rath Yatra; this was published as 'Priest asks Advani to halt yatra’ in Times of India in October 30, 1990.^{[14][9][13][15][5]} He branded the entire Ram Mandir movement as a gimmick to gain Hindu votes in Indian elections.^{[16][13][17][18][9][11][6]} Instead, he spoke about the number of Hindu temples were funded and built in Ayodhya by the Muslim rulers of Awadh.^[17][13][4]

In an interview with human rights lawyer Flavia Agnes, he moreover accused that huge sums of money collected in the name of Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, were later embezzled by various political leaders of upper caste origins, for their personal gain.^{[13][7][9][4]} This allegation was later corroborated by the likes of Jnandas, Hanuman Garhiya Mahant and Vishwanath Prasad Acharya.^[4]

Lal Das was illegally removed from his position by the Uttar Pradesh government led by Kalyan Singh of Bharatiya Janata Party in 1st March 1992, because he was extremely critical of the entire Ram Mandir Movement^[19] and was ultimately replaced by the priest of their own choosing like Satyendra Das, who was more acquiescent to BJP party leaders directives.^{[2][8][19][4][5]} He later challenged this non licet decision of his removal by the BJP government, in Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court.^[20][9]

Shortly afterwards his removal, in December 1992, the Babri Masjid was demolished.^[2][8][19] He also became a key witness in the suit brought against leaders of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the BJP by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).^[3][9][13]

After receiving multiple death threats, Lal Das sought police protection from the Kalyan Singh government, but his appeal was denied.^{[14][20][9][4]} In an interview with reporter Madhu Kishwar, he stated that over fifty priests had been assassinated throughout Ayodhya. He said, "I wonder how a person like me is still alive" during the conversation.^[8][14]

On 16 November 1993, Lal Das was shot dead in the middle of the night in Ranipur Chattar village, 20 km from Ayodhya while he was performing ablution, under sceptical circumstances.^{[21][19][22][13][9][4]} The CBI took over the investigation of the case in 1994 and charged two people for murder over a land dispute.^[2] At the time of his death, a case he had brought to the High Court challenging his dismissal had yet to be resolved.^[3] Lal Das was seen as a promoter of religious harmony between Hindus and Muslims in the region.^{[1][9][13][4][15][5]}

References

1. "26 years ago, former Ram Lalla priest was shot dead". Times of India. 16 November 2019.
2. "Ayodhya's Forgotten Mahant and His Message of Peace". The Wire. 13 November 2019.
3. Agnes, Flavia (5 February 1994). "Murder of Former Temple Priest at Ayodhya: Report of Fact-Finding Team". Economic & Political Weekly. 29 (6): 285–287. JSTOR 4400751.
4. ಬೆಳಗೋಡ್, ಪ್ರಮೋದ್ (28 January 2024). "ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಅರ್ಚಕ ಮಹಂತ್ ಲಾಲ್ ದಾಸ್: ಕೊಂದರು, ಮೆರೆದರು ಮತ್ತು ಮರೆಸಿದರು". Retrieved 25 February 2024.
5. Banerjee, Shubojit. "খুন হয়েছিলেন রামমন্দিরের পুরোহিত বাবা লাল দাস-ও; বাবরি ধ্বংসের বিরোধিতাই 'অপরাধ'? - Prohor". খুন হয়েছিলেন রামমন্দিরের পুরোহিত বাবা লাল দাস-ও; বাবরি ধ্বংসের বিরোধিতাই ‘অপরাধ’? - Prohor. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
6. অনীক, শাহতাব সিদ্দীক (5 August 2020). "ভুলে যাওয়া অযোধ্যার পুরোহিত, হারিয়ে ফেলা পথ". The Daily Star Bangla. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
7. "Remembering Baba Lal Das: A Hindu Priest Who Opposed Demolition Of Babri Masjid". Outlook India. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
8. Staff, Maktoob (6 December 2018). "BJP does not believe in Ram, believes only in hatred: Ramajanmabhoomi priest who spoke out against Ram temple politics". Maktoob media. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
9. Aivarnad, Charan (24 January 2024). "ಅಯೋಧ್ಯೆಯ ಸೌಹಾರ್ದತೆ ಉಳಿಸಲು ಗುಂಡಿಗೆ ಎದೆಕೊಟ್ಟ ಬಾಬಾ ಲಾಲ್ ದಾಸ್". Peepal Media. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
10. Ali, Faisal Muhammad. "விரைவில் வெளியாகவுள்ள தீர்ப்பு: அயோத்தி மக்களின் மனநிலை என்ன?". BBC News தமிழ் (in Tamil). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
11. Raman, Soumya (10 November 2019). "அயோத்தி அரசியல் : யார் இந்த லால் தாஸ்? - அயோத்தி கலவரம் உருவானது எப்படி ?". Kalaignar Seithigal. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
12. Media, T21 (22 January 2024). "രാമ ക്ഷേത്രം ഉയരുമ്പോൾ കൊല്ലപ്പെട്ട പൂജാരി ബാബാ ലാൽ ദാസിനെ വീണ്ടും ഓർക്കാം". T21 Media. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
13. ವಾರ್ತಾಭಾರತಿ (22 January 2024). "ಬಾಬರಿ ಮಸೀದಿ ಧ್ವಂಸ ವಿರೋಧಿಸಿದ್ದ ಅರ್ಚಕ ಬಾಬಾ ಲಾಲ್ ದಾಸ್". www.varthabharati.in (in Kannada). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
14. SABRANGINDIA-STAFF (6 December 2016). "The Two Real Sadhus of Ayodhya: Lal Das and Gyan Das". SabrangIndia. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
15. babu.ramachandran. "അജ്ഞാതരുടെ വെടിയേറ്റുമരിച്ച, മഹന്ത് ലാൽ ദാസ് എന്ന അയോധ്യയിലെ ഇടത് മതേതരപൂജാരി". Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd (in Malayalam). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
16. Nourin, Ayisha (31 January 2024). "Watching 'Ram Ke Nam' at the time of Ram Mandir". The Companion. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
17. Naqvi, Jawed (9 January 2024). "Desperate need for divine help?". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
18. K, Dhushanthini (22 January 2024). "யார் இந்த லால் தாஸ்?". Lanka4 (in Tamil). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
19. Jaffrelot, Christophe (1999). The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics: 1925 to the 1990s : Strategies of Identity-building, Implantation and Mobilisation (with Special Reference to Central India). Penguin Books India. p. 452. ISBN 978-0-14-024602-5.
20. गुप्ता, अमन (21 January 2024). "अयोध्या के युद्ध में: साधु और शैतान के बीच फंसा भगवान". Follow-up Stories (in Hindi). Retrieved 25 February 2024.
21. Chhabra, Sagari (8 February 2019). "In My Own Voice: Brouhaha Over Ram Mandir". NewsClick. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
22. Engineer, Irfan (30 January 2019). "Rewarding Those Who Demolished the Babri Masjid: A History of the Ayodhya Dispute". SabrangIndia. Retrieved 25 February 2024.