The auspicious time for Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha is less than a fortnight away. Countless people struggled to see that Ram Lalla rightfully returned to his birthplace. 96-year-old Kar Sevak Shalini Ramakrishna Dabir is one among them. She has received Akshat Nimantran for the consecration of Ram Lalla from Ayodhya.
To make sure that Ram Lalla could reside in Ayodhya and a Bhavya Ram Mandir was built at Shri Ram’s Janmabhoomi site, the saints and sages took many difficult resolutions. On their part, the common people also left no stone unturned and undertook karsewa.
In the year 1990, under the leadership of Lal Krishna Advani, the Ramrath Yatra started from Somnath in Gujarat and reached Ayodhya via Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.
The process of Yatra and Kar Seva continued till the demolition of the disputed Babri structure on 6th December 1992 – deconstruction of the illegally built Babri structure on the usurped Ram Janmabhoomi site. The nonagenarian Kar Sevak, Shalini Dabir who was part of Karseva during that period pointed out that when she left Mumbai for Ayodhya in 1990, people everywhere treated her very well, but she faced a lot of harassment from the government and the police.
Sharing her Karsewa experience, she says, “They beat us a lot, did everything. But we were not afraid at all, we said that we would go to Ayodhya no matter what you do. They kept us in Allahabad jail, but we jumped over the wall and came out. The Police couldn’t catch us as we were on the wall.”
Even at this age, she gets filled with enthusiasm remembering that incident and says, “At that time, I was accompanied by a friend Shalin who is no longer alive. After escaping from the jail, we walked on foot and reached Ayodhya. During this journey, the police harassed us relentlessly, not allowing us to proceed along the road.”
She says, “We went through fields and meandered through various paths, but we did reach Ayodhya.”
It is important to note that Shalini Dabir had reached Ayodhya on 30th October 1990 and witnessed the moment when the saffron flag was hoisted on the disputed Babri structure.
The Uttar Pradesh Police had then arrested a group of women Karsewaks from Dadar and detained them in a school. Some of them escaped from there with the help of local people and, after traversing over 50 kilometers on foot, participated in Karsewa on 31st October 1990.
At that time, Karsewak Shalini Dabir also faced a lathi charge, tear gas, and bullets, but her courage did not break. She adds that a bullet had passed close to her, grazing her, but Hanuman ji saved her.
According to Shalini, she was 63 years old at that time and she could not tolerate the fact that Ram Lalla’s birthplace had been snatched and that is why she also left for Ayodhya. She says that during her Karsewa, bullets were fired, and devotees were lathi-charged yet the Karsewaks kept singing bhajans together.
According to her, the second time when she went for Karsewa in 1992, she fared very well and did not face any problems. She also recalled the moment when the wall of the disputed structure was not crumbling. She said, “I remember that moment when that wall was not breaking. We recited Maruti Stotra since morning, but nothing was happening.”
Shalini narrates further, “We were in a perplexing situation, wondering what to do because if the sun had set at 5 o’clock then we would not have been able to do anything. Suddenly, a monkey came from a nearby tree and sat on the wall. We all started observing curiously. The monkey looked around, turned its head, and then left. Suddenly, the wall collapsed with a loud noise.”
She continues, “After that, for a long time, we couldn’t see anything due to the dust and debris. The local people there had told us that there was no need for us to do anything. They would provide us with food. That night, at 10 o’clock, we performed the worship and aarti of Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Sita, and Maruti.”
She added that diyas were lit all over Ayodhya that night. She recollects, “When the Babri structure collapsed, an angry person from another religion fed me sweets and said, now you have got what was yours. Now I would like to feed them laddus that we not only got it, my God has also returned.”
She says, “Even before going to Ayodhya, we had made up our mind that whatever happens, we will reach there. I had left my entire family behind. Even then, we did not feel any fear in that environment.”
Expressing happiness, Shalini adds, “Ram temple is being built in Ayodhya, I am so happy that words cannot describe it. We are happy that things got better under Modi’s rule. It’s wonderful that Lord Rama’s glory has been established. We are very pleased.
I will go to the temple but not on foot, now I have difficulty walking, but I will definitely go later. (Pointing towards her son Vikas) He will take me.”
Remembering the events of that time, her son Vikas says, “Even then, there was no atmosphere of fear in our home. There was just a little concern about what might happen. We used to wait for mother. We used to think, ‘we would understand only when she came back. If she doesn’t come, then what will we do? It’s bound to happen one day’.”
Dilip Godambe also participated in the Karsewa with Shalini Dabir. He says that those who talk about building a hospital there do not know the value of that soil. They are unaware of the greatness of Sanatana Dharma.
