Hindutva leader Ritambhara, key figure of Ram temple movement, among Padma Bhushan awardees

Hindutva leader Ritambhara, who was among the key figures in the movement seeking a Ram temple in Ayodhya, was among the Padma Bhushan awardees announced on Saturday.

Two other individuals associated with the inauguration of the Ram temple – architect Chandrakant Sompura and Vedic scholar Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid – were among the Padma Shri awardees.

The Padma awards are announced ahead of Republic Day every year. They are conferred by the president at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in March or April.

Ritambhara, the founder of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s women’s wing Durga Vahini, was among the Padma Bhushan awardees in the “social work” category.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Ritambhara gave speeches across the country during the campaign to build a Ram temple at the site in Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid stood.

The Babri Masjid was demolished by Hindutva extremists on December 6, 1992, because they believed that it stood on the spot where the Hindu deity Ram was born. The incident had triggered communal riots across the country.

On the day when the Babri Masjid was demolished, Ritambhara was among the Hindutva leaders present at the site. Three days later, she was arrested for inciting sectarian tensions.

Ritambhara was among 32 persons charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation for demolishing the Babri…

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