The Earth has lost its way but always finds its way back: Murli Manohar Joshi

The Ram Temple in Ayodhya holds enormous religious and emotional significance for Hindus in India, but recent controversy over allegations of embezzlement has raised concerns about accountability. What is your opinion?

I will not talk about any individual or a single case. Corruption has taken root in society so deeply that it has reached the core.

But it is a known fact that the BJP supported the Ram temple movement. We believed that the Ram temple should be built not by litigation but by consensus. However, the matter went all the way to the Supreme Court and after years of hearings, the apex court ruled that a Ram temple should be built in Ayodhya and Muslims should be allotted a piece of land. The SC also ruled that the temple will be built by the trust. Who creates a trust? government. So whatever happens in the trust is the responsibility of the government.

You recently raised concerns about a music concert near the Badrinath shrine in Uttarakhand. Where should the line be drawn between promoting tourism and culture and protecting the sanctity and traditional character of a pilgrimage center?

Badrinath is no ordinary place. Adi Shankaracharya chose her with great care and set her customs to connect north and south. Even today, the Rawal of this temple is from Kerala.

Our ancestors knew that the Himalayas were fragile. Sound harms the ecology of this place; therefore, even blowing the conch shell is forbidden at this place and large gatherings have been prevented.

Kalidasa called the Himalayas devatatma (divine soul). What did you do with his divine soul? Have you built a multi-level parking lot? Do you organize music concerts in DJ style?

We agree that tourism makes money but India has never sold mother nature.

For decades, you have talked about the ecological and civilizational importance of the Himalayas. Is the current push for roads, tourism, pilgrimage infrastructure and connectivity pushing development beyond what the Himalayas can safely sustain?

Yes. The Himalayas are the most fragile mountain in the world; it’s like a child. You cannot load a child’s school bag beyond the limit it can handle.

Look at the cracked houses in Joshimath. You want Joshimath to become Switzerland without considering the fact that Switzerland does not have fragile Himalayas.

During the British period, a dam was proposed to be built in Haridwar. Madan Mohan Malaviya asked how the water from the Ganga would reach Varanasi where the last rites were performed, and an agreement was made with the British government to ensure that the water reached Varanasi and was kept clean. Such was our will to save our rivers and mountains.

It was us who opposed the construction of Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand. But it was built, and look at the water now; it is extremely impure.

The all-weather road was partly a military requirement, but when I asked at the highest level if such wide roads were necessary. The answer was negative.

I’m not saying there shouldn’t be any development; I say it should be sustainable and the environment should be considered.

Look at Shiva. His bull, his wife, Durga the lion, the snake around his neck, the mouse and the peacock live together. The Himalayas, the home of Shiva, also teach coexistence. If the Himalayas are the father, Bharat is the mother. You cannot save the mother at the expense of the father.

You were part of the BJP when it was a much smaller organization, along with leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani. What has changed most fundamentally in the BJP since those days?

Policies and work change over time. But if the changes are more than required or the fundamentals start to weaken, then it is not acceptable.

Speaking of myself, I have not deviated from the principles I held then.

In the current situation, I think the country has lost its way. But if we look at history, whenever our country has gone off course, it has also managed to regroup. We make mistakes and have always learned, which is reflected in our growth.

What is your opinion on SIR?

It is a harsh truth that every government wants to stay in power.

The constitution provided for a census and delimitation every ten years, but during Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s time and again during Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s time, it was postponed because we also wanted to stay in power.

One must understand that democracy is best provided elections are fair, government is accountable and bureaucracy remains transparent.

For a good democracy, the opposition must be receptive and ready with an alternative plan to take the nation forward to its desired goals.

The Republic works on trust. People believed Lal Bahadur Shastri when he asked them to give up food. People believed Subhasi Bose when he said give me blood and I will give you freedom.

Where trust is lacking, people will not accept even good things. If voices are raised, address them; standing there with a stick won’t work.

What is your take on the government’s handling of the Jantar Mantar protest?

Years ago I wrote an article about Ashtavakra. A sage was teaching his disciples when the unborn child in his wife’s womb told him that he was wrong in his teaching. He angrily scolded the child to be crooked in eight places. Nevertheless, the boy became a scholar, won a debate at the court of King Janaka, and won back his father.

I have also talked about this in the past. Why is Gen Z angry? Because of the false aspirations we have created. You promised a job. Where are the jobs?

So if you failed to deliver then accept it. Tell the youth that “Son, we couldn’t do what we promised. But we will work on it.” They are our children.

Established authority has always crushed new voices, sometimes in good faith, sometimes in bad faith. But the Indian way is that the young challenge without taking revenge, and the elders advise, set right and right.

Amid the recent controversies surrounding the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Gen Z protests and the alleged theft of donations made to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Bharatiya Janata Party veteran Murli Manohar Joshi has expressed concerns about accountability and weakening public trust in the country.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Joshi argued that development and democratic governance must remain rooted in accountability.

When asked about the allegations of theft of donations from the Ram donation, he said that corruption has become deep-rooted in the society, but refused to discuss any specific case. He noted that the BJP supported the temple movement and hoped for a consensual solution rather than litigation. Since the Supreme Court had ordered the temple to be built by a trust and the government created the trust, “whatever happens in the trust is the government’s responsibility,” he said.

Regarding the controversy surrounding the music concert that was organized near the Badrinath shrine in Uttarakhand, Adi Shankaracharya said that he had chosen the venue carefully and established customs linking north and south, pointing to the tradition that the temple’s Rawal (head priest) is from Kerala. Even the blowing of conch shells was forbidden there, as the sound harms the fragile ecology. He recalled Kalidasa’s description of the Himalayas as a “devatatma” and asked what was done with his divine soul, citing multi-level parking and DJ-style concerts. “Tourism brings in money but India has never sold mother nature,” he said.

When asked if roads and pilgrimage infrastructure were beyond what the mountains could bear, he compared the Himalayas to a child who cannot carry a school bag beyond the limit. Citing the cracked houses of Joshimath, he said the Swiss model could not be applied to such a fragile mountain range. He recalled that his party had opposed the Tehri Dam, which was built anyway, and said that the water was now extremely impure. On the all-weather road, he said he asked at the highest level if that width was needed and was told it wasn’t. He emphasized that he is not against development but bats for sustainable development.

Reflecting on the transformation of the BJP since he was alongside Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani, Mr Joshi said change was inevitable, but weakening the core principles was unacceptable. He felt that the country had “lost its way”, although history has shown that India has always corrected its course sooner or later.

Asked about SIR, he said every government wants to stay in power, noting that the census and delimitation exercise were postponed under Indira Gandhi and again under Vajpayee. Democracy only works, he said, if elections are fair, governments are accountable and bureaucracies are transparent, and the opposition must offer a credible alternative.

“A republic works on trust,” he said, referring to Lal Bahadur Shastri and Subhas Bose, adding that raised voices should be addressed rather than met with sticks.

At youth protests, Mr. Joshi invoked Ashtavakra to argue that established authority should not suppress new voices. Anger gen. Z, he said, stems in part from the aspirations created by the companies and the unfulfilled promises about jobs. “You promised a job. Where are the jobs?” he asked. If the promises were not fulfilled, the government should acknowledge it and tell the youth, “Son, we couldn’t do what we promised. But we will work on it.”

“They are our children,” he said.