Ramarajya: Envisioning the Future and Entrenching the Past 101ber 2,1990, some 26 karsevaks were killed in police firing. They were com-
memorated as martyrs, and the spots where they had been shot dead were
turned into shrines. About a dozen shops in the area sold exclusively pic-
tures of the incidents culled from newspapers and magazines. Advani's
renewed rathyatra on November 19 took four hours to cover the seven-
kilometer distance between Faizabad and Ayodhya, as it had "to wedge
its way through a turbulent sea of humanity."^111
In order not to leave the southern states out of this frenzied drama, on
November 21 Advani started his 41-day all-states Bharat Yatra from Thiru-
vananthapuram, Kerala. The state president of the BJP had organized his
own rathyatra touring 130 of the 140 state assembly constituencies between
October 11 and 26. The Sant Sammelan held in Allahabad from January
15 to 17 decided to carry out an "education campaign" by religious fig-
ures all over the country starting February 1,1991. On April 2-3,1991, the
Dharma Sansad met in Delhi, and on April 4 a huge rally called Vishal
Hindu Sammelan was held at the Boat Club in Delhi. On October 30,1991,
"Martyrs Memorial Day" was observed by the VHP and the sants. The BJP
president, Murli Manohar Joshi, took out the Ekta Yatra on December 11
from the southernmost tip of the country, Kanyakumari. The plan was to
travel through 14 states and hoist the national flag at the yatra's destina-
tion, Srinagar in Kashmir, on January 26, India's Republic Day. He sought
to establish that the BJP was concerned about the unity and integrity of
the country and to precipitate the confrontation with the ruling Congress
with their inability to handle the problem of terrorism and secessionism.
Another important motive of the Ekta Yatra was to broaden the party's
appeal by going beyond Ram to sentimental nationalism. Although the
yatra passed through more than 200 parliamentary constituencies, the
crowds all along were more interested in Ayodhya rather than terrorist
threats in Kashmir and Punjab.
On July 9, 1992, karseva was recommenced with rituals and construc-
tion of the temple. On October 29-30,1992, the fifth Dharma Sansad was
organized at Delhi and announced the resumption of karseva on December
6, 1992. On November 29, 1992, L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi
declared that they would proceed from Varanasi and Mathura, respec-
tively, to Ayodhya to mobilize karsevaks and participate in the karseva. Fol-
lowing the demolition of the mosque, the BJP tried to hold a massive rally
on February 25,1993, in Delhi, which the Indian government banned and
foiled.
The VHP's "mass contact" programs had other ingenious strategies too.
For instance, 11,500 khadaun (wooden sandals) were consecrated in Nandi
Gram in Faizabad on September 27,1992, and were transported to all cor-
ners of the country. The VHP wanted to place at least one pair in a local
temple for every area with a population of 100,000 people. Stickers such
as the one in the RSS headquarters in Nagpur instructed people, "HELLO