When the Supreme Court started proceedings in Ayodhya’s Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi title case on Tuesday – and deferred the hearing till February 8 due to lack of documents – the head priest at the city’s controversial temple, Acharya Satyendra Das, kept his fingers crossed.

“I hope the proceedings go smoothly from February onwards and the apex court pronounces the verdict soon and all stakeholders accept it,” he told Newslaundry as he prepared for the evening puja of Ram Lalla, which has to be performed at 7 pm according to the court’s instructions and under heavy police security at the makeshift temple in Ayodhya.

Performing puja twice a day has been Das’ routine since March 1, 1992, when he was appointed as the head priest of the controversial site.

Earlier, he worked as a professor at the nearby Sanskrit Mahavidyalay.

“I had joined as the head priest nearly nine months before that fateful day when the Babri Masjid was demolished. I witnessed the entire incident,” Das, one of the most respected persons in Ayodhya because of his frank views on the issue, says.

The makeshift temple has an idol of Lord Ram as a child along with his three brothers (baal roop). “All are miniature idols, Ram Lalla’s being the biggest one, perhaps five inches high. The others are four and three inches,” he describes.

Das has been entrusted with the responsibility of bathing the idols, clothing them, decorating them with all kinds of flowers, except kaner and ketaki, offering them bhog and performing aarti – all under the strict watch of personnel from the Central Reserved Police Force. He has been performing his duty diligently for the past 25 years, with great dedication and devotion.

Das’ team of five priests is the only one that can enter the controversial premises, and for puja purposes only. They have been issued special passes for that. Devotees and visitors can have darshan from a distance at a designated time. Photography is strictly prohibited, according to the court’s order.

The priest explains: “Bhog is offered four times – the morning bhog is called baal bhog, followed by raj bhog, sandhya bhoj and ratri bhoj (kheer), which is served before Ram Lalla’s shayan (sleep). The bhogs include kachcha (daal, roti, chawal and sabzi) and paka khana (puri sabzi). On purnima (full moon), amavasya (no moon) and ekadashi (11^th day of the moon), we have an elaborate menu for bhog.”

The aarti is performed five times a day, informs the priest. Elaborating the puja process, he says: “The idols are bathed first in the morning, then chandan is applied on them, followed by proper clothing. Then flowers are offered followed by bhog and then aarti. We recite 16 different mantras while performing these rituals.”

The temple is open for public from 7 am to 11 am in the morning and 1 pm to 5 pm in the evening, as stated by the court. All rituals have to be performed before 7 am and after 5 pm.

The court receiver hands over Rs 76,000 a month for puja, bhog, flowers and stipend of five priests and four other workers. “I have got a bank account opened for everyone and the stipend is transferred in each one’s account. My stipend is fixed at Rs 9,000 a month,” says Das.

This is less than the minimum wages fixed by the government. “I get pension from the education department as well. My needs are limited,” smiles the humble priest who lives a simple life in a modest accommodation nearly 4 km away from the temple.

Ask him about the demolition of the Babri Masjid 26 years ago, and he describes the incident as if it happened yesterday.

“That day, I had just closed the temple doors around 11 am when kar sevaks (VHP, RSS and BJP activists) came to me and asked for Gangajal. They wanted to perform a puja at the chabutara. Suddenly, we heard other activists shouting that the structure should be demolished. Within minutes, the entire structure was razed.”

Das pours his heart out without mincing words. “The kar seva leaders had gathered a crowd but they didn’t know how to control it. The demolition incident caused huge damage to the Hindus though it helped the BJP grab power.”

How did it cause damage to the Hindu community?

“There was no mosque in the first place. The structure was constructed after a controversy had broken out long ago but namaz wasn’t offered there. The structure neither had a well, nor had an Imam been appointed there ever. The Babri Masjid was a not a functional masjid, as per the Sharia. The demolition suggested otherwise. The Muslim community of the country and the world believed it was a mosque,” Das points out.

He comes down heavily on the BJP’s approach on the matter. “Had the BJP been serious about the issue (of Ram temple), it would have tabled a Bill in the Lok Sabha where it enjoys majority. They will never do that. The government could have appointed a competent interlocuter for an out-of-court settlement. PM Narendra Modi and even earlier prime ministers didn’t do that. The politicians want to keep the issue alive.”

He underscores the point that keeping the Ayodhya dispute alive is a political compulsion for the BJP. “Hindu and Muslim organisations help the BJP in doing so, as they collect donations in the name of the temple and mosque,” Das adds.

He also downplayed the attempts of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to resolve the issue “out of the court” and the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government’s Diwali celebration in the same breadth.

“Neither of the two help the Ayodhya cause. Had the government been serious about resolving the issue, it would have appointed a powerful mediator long ago,” says Das, who thinks only the court can resolve the matter peacefully and Ram Lalla will finally get his due.