Sustained Disinformation Campaign Against Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Over Dalit And Tribal Entry Under Police Scrutiny

Ever since the inauguration of the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya on 22 January, the religious site has been the target of a sustained disinformation campaign aimed at undermining its significance for Hindus from marginalised and backward communities. 

False claims asserting that Dalits are barred from entering the temple have been widely circulated on social media, a narrative further amplified by the key opposition party, the Indian National Congress.

The temple is built on a site venerated for centuries as the birthplace of Lord Ram.

In the sixteenth century, Mughal ruler Babur's army forcibly erected a mosque on this spot. In 1992, a large group of Hindus demolished the mosque while the ownership of the site was still under litigation in the Allahabad High Court.

The case later reached the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in favour of the Hindu claim, acknowledging that a temple existed there before the mosque was built.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has championed the temple's construction since the 1980s.

At the inauguration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who as a BJP worker in the 1980s played a role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, led the rituals for the ‘pran prathishtha’ ceremony on 22 January. After the ceremony, the temple was opened to devotees.

Shortly after the temple's inauguration, a social media post claiming that Dalits and tribal communities were not allowed to wear footwear within a 14-kilometre radius of the temple went viral. 

The post featured Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, falsely suggesting he had issued such an order. Ayodhya’s Inspector General intervened, confirming that the claim was baseless.

Despite this clarification, similar misleading posts have continued to circulate.

Arrest Of Shaan-e-Alam

In a recent incident, a man was arrested for circulating a video alleging that members of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were denied entry into the temple.

The matter came to light when Karan Shilpkar, an Ayodhya resident and assistant to a prominent local priest, encountered a Facebook post from an account named Shaan-e-Alam. 

Shilpkar filed a complaint at the Ramjanmabhoomi Police Station, leading to Alam’s arrest under sections 505 and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code (FIR number 96/2024). 

After his release on bail, Alam allegedly threatened Shilpkar last week. Shilpkar again approached the police, complaining that Alam told him to withdraw the case or face murder.

The Ramjanmabhoomi police again booked Alam, this time under sections 352 and 351 of the newly enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (FIR number 117/2024, filed on 30 July).

He was arrested the next day. Ayodhya Senior Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar Nayyar told the media that Alam's posts were misleading, harmful and capable of inciting social discord and thus, an in-depth investigation was ongoing.

False Narrative Amplified By Political Leaders

Notably, the false narrative about non-entry of Dalits and tribals have been pushed the most by political leaders.

In April, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of not inviting President Droupadi Murmu to the temple’s inauguration due to her tribal identity.

Addressing a public meeting in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, Gandhi said, “During the inauguration of Ram Mandir, the President of India, who is an Adivasi, was told that she could not come to the programme.”

He added, “This is the message that PM Modi gave to the country that we will not let an Adivasi visit Ram Mandir on the occasion of its inauguration. This is their mindset.”

His claim was reiterated by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge a few days later.

Speaking at a public meeting in Chhanapatna area of Bengaluru Rural, Kharge said the BJP did not invite President Murmu and former president Ram Nath Kovind for the ceremony because of their caste. 

The claim was repeated by Gandhi at a rally in Gujarat’s Patan the following week. 

He said, “Our President is an adivasi. She is the head of state and the highest in protocol. But when Parliament inauguration happened and when Ram Temple inauguration took place, she was not allowed to attend. It is a matter of shame. She was not allowed to enter either Ram Temple or Parliament. Why? Because she is an adivasi.” 

These assertions were swiftly debunked by senior leaders from the BJP, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who provided evidence of an invitation extended to President Murmu well before the pran prathishtha ceremony on 22 January.

Champat Rai, general secretary of Shri Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust — a trust set up by the government of India in February 2020 for the construction and management of Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya — then released a statement that Rahul Gandhi’s remarks were “absolutely false, baseless and misleading” and could create divisions in the society.

However, no member of the Congress Party retracted their statements.

In the first week of May, President Murmu, the head of state, visited the Ram Janmabhoomi temple. She offered prayers and performed aarti before Ram Lalla’s murti amid Vedic chants. She also posted about the visit on her X account. 

This was Murmu’s first visit to the temple as she had missed the inauguration ceremony.

The trust also issued a statement regarding the visit. It said, “Under a special arrangement, Prez got the opportunity to be next to the idol inside the sanctum sanctorum, a place reserved only for the priests and where the prime minister was present during the consecration ceremony.”

Notably, Prime Minister Modi also belongs to an OBC caste. In 1989, when shilanyas (foundation stone laying ceremony) for a proposed Ram temple was carried out at the disputed site by the Hindu side, it was a Dalit man who was made to lay the first brick. 

Kameshwar Choupal was a Viswa Hindu Parishad leader who later contested on a BJP ticket and continues to be a member of the party.