On 22nd January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and more than 6,000 attendees are anticipated for the ‘Pran Pratistha’ (consecration ceremony) which will commemorate the official inauguration of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. Interestingly, several slogans were used during the Ram Janmbhoomi liberation movement to lift the spirits of the Ram Bhakts, however, the most significant of them was “Ram Lalla hum aayenge, Mandir wahin banaenge” (Lord Ram we will come and build your temple there). It came to symbolise the rightful struggle of the Hindus and became the hallmark of the movement as everyone from a little child to the elderly chanted the slogan.
Devotees and karsevaks in particular sacrificed immensely including their lives in the long-running effort to construct the temple which is finally coming to fruition. Baba Satyanarayan Mourya also known as Ghumakkad Baba from Madhya Pradesh who coined the aforementioned popular phrase is one of them. An invitation to be a part of the historical inauguration ceremony has been extended to him and he has stated he would undoubtedly attend the event. He lives in Indore, Ujjain and Mumbai.
Baba Satyanarayan Mourya joined the Ram Janmbhoomi movement soon after completing his studies. He was fond of painting and started writing slogans on the walls of streets and neighbourhoods with others. One of these slogans was “Ram Lalla hum aayenge Mandir wahin banaenge” which infused a new energy in every Ram devotee. He came up with it when he was only 22 years old.
He is an international artist. He revealed that he began carving slogans on the walls while he was a student in Ujjain as a result of joining the temple movement. He afterwards moved to Ayodhya in 1990 with friends and here, too, started scrawling slogans on the walls. The then-chief of Vishva Hindu Parishad late Ashok Singhal encouraged him to continue the work after reading them. The former sent him to Delhi and recorded a cassette featuring his poems and songs upon learning about them. These slogans later echoed on the stage during the Ram Mandir protest.
Baba Satyanarayan Mourya was later announced as stagehead and gave the slogan “Ram Lalla hum aayenge Mandir wahin banaenge” in a program held in Ujjain. These lines were part of a song called “Saugandh Ram ki khate hain, hum Mandir wahin banaenge” (we swear on you Lord Ram, we will construct your temple there). He formed other slogans like “Rakt denge praan denge Mandir ka nirmaan karenge” (we will give our blood, our lives and build the temple).
He mentioned that he had been there for painting before the disputed structure was demolished in 1992. He had hung a lot of banners around Ayodhya. He left Ujjain with three or four pieces of cloth because 4 feet-wide cloth was quite uncommon at the time and created the banner out of yellow fabric. He disclosed that they were unaware that the structure would be destroyed on 6th December. The karsevaks questioned what to do after it collapsed and the authorities forbade any further construction. They then placed the deity on an altar they had set up in the same rubble. Subsequently, timber was buried, stones were smoothed and a temporary temple consisting of pink fabric and flags was erected. Afterwards, they had the opportunity to construct a wall and began manually putting bricks. The Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) showed up on the 8th of December and all major leaders of the movement escaped.
He unveiled that he had created a whole historical exposition of Ram Janmbhoomi. It lists every person who served for the cause. There were reportedly 4.5 lakh casualties and 76 battles during the period. Numerous individuals committed their entire lives to the Ram Mandir.
Baba Satyanarayan Mourya is a native of Rajgarh. He received a gold medal in his MA (Master of Arts) and completed an MCom (Master of Commerce). His father was a teacher and his brother and both sisters also joined the same profession. He also wanted to continue the family tradition but conveyed that Lord Ram sent him to Ayodhya as a karsevak. He divulged that people laughed when they learned he was a gold medalist as he walked around in half-pants. The fact that the makeshift temple we constructed back then still stands makes him very proud. He shaved his beard after the structure was demolished.
He claimed that throughout his time in Ayodhya, he frequently painted slogans, images and tableaus on the walls. It was necessary to ensure at that moment that the police would not arrive and hence he used to do it quickly. There were a lot of prominent people with him on the podium on 6th December including Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani and Murali Manohar Joshi. Nobody knew that he was there among them which helped him in fleeing. He was the stage in charge that day and had painted all over in Ayodhya. He was the provincial campaigner of the temple movement. Several cassettes of Ramcharan Paduka were made for the movement. All the 40 people who were caught at that time became leaders but he was the only anonymous one.
Baba Satyanarayan Mourya held 57 exhibitions of Lord Ram in the United States. He also did the same in the West Indies. He worked with Ashok Singhal for 7 years as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He used to come from Mumbai to join the election campaign in his home state. He also worked in the television industry for 5 years and has little time at his disposal as he travels around the world.
He noted that he was not born to become popular but to do God’s work. His greatest reward is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows him by his name. Chief ministers of multiple states have honoured him and even foreign presidents held meetings with him.
