With the Kashi Vishwanath Temple-Gyanvapi Masjid and the Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah Masjid controversy again in the limelight, the Palampur proposal of the BJP has also returned to the political discourse. The BJP seems to have moved away from its stand on the temple-mosque dispute, which it adopted in its national executive meeting held on June 9-11, 1989 in Himachal Pradesh.
In the Palampur resolution, the BJP decided to participate in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, which was then led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The Palampur Declaration is considered the most vigorous form of religiosity in the BJP’s political documents, and with it Hindutva was officially added to the party’s doctrine. The party had also rejected court orders that did not support its claims on the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site. The party was of the view that the nature of the dispute is such that it cannot be settled by a court.
The BJP national executive attacked the Congress party in particular and other political parties in general, accusing it of hurting the sentiments of Hindus. The party said, “The court can settle the issues of trespass, possession etc. But it cannot be decided whether Babur actually invaded Ayodhya, destroyed a temple, and built a mosque in its place. Even wherever a court decides on such facts, it cannot suggest measures to put an end to the barbarism of history.”
The Palampur resolution helped the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to take forward its Ram Mandir movement and the movement that gained momentum with the support of the BJP forced the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to allow the foundation stone laying ceremony on November 9, 1989. . The BJP also launched a massive campaign for the construction of the Ram temple which was completed with the commencement of work on 9 November 2019 following a favorable judgment of the Supreme Court.
The Palampur proposal was an important milestone for the current BJP leaders as well. In his book (The Rise of the BJP: The Making of the World’s Largest Political Party) co-authored by Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav with economist Ila Patnaik, he wrote, “The 1989 Palampur session was a meeting of the BJP’s demand for a Ram temple. was the turning point. This laid the foundation for an agitational program to take the message of the BJP from the cities to the remotest villages of India.
As a BJP leader put it, “The new BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not want to enter yet another temple movement. But it is only up to the judiciary to correct the ‘historical errors’ and restore the Hindus to their holy place of worship.”
After the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, the party reduced its staunch Hindutva stance. The BJP, under the leadership of LK Advani, tried to re-adopt radical Hindutva after the BJP-led NDA lost power at the Center in 2004. At the party convention in Ranchi in November, Advani unsuccessfully attempted to take the party back on the line of Hindutva, but by then the mood of the country had changed. It was successful in making the Congress-led UPA an even stronger comeback in 2009.