Karsevak Puram, once a dense grove of guavas and a safe haven for ‘Ram devotees’ and ‘karsevaks’ during the Ram Mandir movement, is all set to celebrate the homecoming of Lord Ram on Monday.

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News18 spoke to old-timers on the transformation of the area from guava orchards to Karsevak Puram.

rich past

“Karsevak Puram may not be very old, but it has a rich past associated with the Ram Mandir movement. Karsevak Puram holds a special place in my heart. This is as important as the temple movement. This is the place that gave rise to the movement and kept it going despite all odds,” said Rampal Prajapati, a native of Gayatri Nagar in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, who came to Ayodhya in 1984 and spent his entire life in the service of Lord Ram. Had decided to dedicate.

Prajapati, who was a state government employee, came to the area with 60 other Ram devotees. “This was the first time I visited Ayodhya. Seeing Bhagwan locked in the middle of the dispute, I started crying bitterly. We resolved to free him and rebuild the temple. At that time, I was a state government employee in a degree college. All my colleagues left, but I decided to stay there until the temple was built. It’s been 34 years now,” Prajapati recalled.

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1990 Ayodhya firing incident and Guava Orchard

Till the 1980s, he said, rallies, kar sevak meetings and resolution meetings were held either on the banks of river Saryu or in isolated areas. “Till then there was no dedicated space for kar sevaks to gather,” he said.

However, the 1990 firing incident proved to be a turning point, resulting in the construction of Karsevak Puram. “In the late 1990s, the temple movement was at its peak. I was also a part of it. Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Shiv Sena and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) started camping at the Ram Janmabhoomi site, demanding reconstruction of the temple. At the same time, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani launched the ‘Rath Yatra’ and other right-wing organizations called for reaching Ayodhya,” he said.

However, in retaliation, the then Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Mulayam Singh Yadav issued strict instructions stating that “no bird will be able to fly over Ayodhya”. “The CM’s statement impressed all of us and kar sevaks from across the country decided to head towards Ayodhya,” he said.

On October 30, 1990, a large number of Kar Sevaks reached Ayodhya on the call of VHP, RSS and Shiv Sena. “During the confrontation, UP Police opened fire, resulting in the death of the kar sevaks. Within 72 hours, on November 2, the UP Police opened fire again, following which Karsevak Puram, which by then was a guava orchard and low-lying area on the banks of the Saryu, served as a hiding place. I remember how hundreds of kar sevaks ran into the garden to escape police atrocities,” he said.

It was named Karsevak Puram in 1993.

“In 1993, the VHP-backed Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, an independent trust, acquired about 45 acres of land in Ayodhya, including guava orchards. It was later named Karsevak Puram to honor the kar sevaks who made selfless contributions to the Ram temple movement,” Harinath Choubey, a local, told News18.

Karsevak Puram is a well-established area today. In a gated complex, the photograph of Ashok Singhal, former VHP president and an important figure in the temple movement, is prominently displayed. It also houses the VHP headquarters, offices, guesthouse, a school, a cow shed, a grand community dining hall called Sita Rasoi.

battlefield

Residents of Karsevak Puram said: “This is the place from where the Ram Mandir movement was fought. This is a sacred place and we are lucky to live here. We will celebrate Lord Ram’s homecoming in a big way,” said Hrishikesh Shukla, a local resident of Karsevak Puram.

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tribute to kar sevaks

Another local said that Karsevak Puram holds a separate place in Ayodhya. Vinod Kumar Pandey, another local resident of Karsevak Puram, said, “When Ram ji is coming home and the temple is about to be inaugurated, it is time for us to celebrate and pay tribute to the thousands of karsevaks who have contributed to the Ram temple ” Have decorated your house before consecration.