Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The spirit of Hinduism had remained traumatised ever since the Ram Lalla temple at Ayodhya constructed by King Vikramaditya of Ujjain was demolished by Mughal invader Babar’s commander Mir Baqi in 1528. The Sun that rose on November 9, 2019, brought with it happy tidings.

Supreme Court’s verdict in favour of Ram Lalla Virajman soothed the trauma that had gripped the hearts of Hindus for centuries. It also paved the way for construction of Ram Lalla temple at his birth place in Ayodhya. Post verdict, the Hindus faced a new challenge – constructing an unparalleled, magnificient temple of Lord Ram Lalla.

Such a temple required a huge amount of money.  Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust decided to raise the fund from devotees by launching a special campaign ‘Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan’ in 2021.  

FP Photo

A special fund-raising campaign was undertaken across the country from January 14 to January 23, 2021. The volunteers of RSS and VHP were deployed. It was a well-organised and well-planned drive. Before rolling out the campaign, special training was imparted to province heads of the campaign in New Delhi.  To maintain complete transparency in the accounts, the entries were made on Google Sheets. A special app was developed. It was decided that only clean money would be accepted as donation. 

Coupons of Rs 10,000 and Rs 500 were issued for those keen to donate in cash. Amount more than Rs 500 and less than Rs 10,000 was taken through cheques only and a receipt was provided to donors for the same. Photocopy of Aadhar Card and PAN cards were taken from the donors who made donation of more than Rs 20,000 and once again receipts were provided.

For the fund deposit campaign, 1,962 volunteers were appointed in 16 districts of Indore and Ujjain Division of Malwa region. These volunteers reached out to 12,500 villages and contacted 30 lakh families. The donation taken in cash was deposited next day in the three designated banks. A CA was appointed on every 28 volunteers, who made the entry of the amount received through the coupon in the App.

Every group of 28 CAs was led by a senior CA, who was tasked with conducting top level audit. From Indore, industrialist Vinod Agrawal of Agrawal Group and the owner of Moira TMT Steel Bar donated Rs 1 crore each. In Ujjain and Ratlam one person each donated the same amount.

Even those sleeping on pavements donated their miniscule earning

Lakhs of Hindu families in villages, towns and cities connected with the campaign due to their devotion to Lord Ram. In the course of the drive, volunteers had rendezvous with many emotional moments and situations. They also witnessed many contributing beyond their ability. Those sleeping on the pavements contributed from their income and connected with Bhagwan Shri Ram. During the 45-day drive, Rs 111.71 crore were collected in Malwa Region.  This number excludes those who directly donated into the bank accounts of Shri Ram Theerth Kshetra Trust. There are no accounts of this amount.  -Purushottam Gupta, Malwa Region In-Charge of Ram Mandir Nidhi Samarpan Abhiyan.