Koubru & Ram Temple

Free Thinker *

People believe that Lord Ram was born and brought up in Ayodhya and later he became the king of Ayodhya. And he was also an incarnation of Lord Vishnu – the one of the Trinity – Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar (Shiv). You can’t question the belief and faith of the people. Even the Highest Court of the land had to endorse the age-old belief and faith of the people.

The result of such an endorsement is obviously before us - now the Ram Temple is under construction. Unfortunately, many cheques contributed in the name of the construction bounced. Those cheaters may die of the new Airborne Covid – because Hanuman ji , the immortal son of Vayu (Wind God ) is still in the Service of Sri Ram.

Coming to Lord Koubru, the king of Gods (similar to Indra or Zeus), resided in and around the disputed Koubru hills (the name itself was derived from him). Lord Koubru was believed to be the protector of the northern world. He rode a white Elephant (like Indra the Aryan god king). Goddess Kounu was the consort of Lord Koubru.

I have forgotten the name of their son, some Loya; but he was also a revered god. This is the belief and faith of the Meiteis and some other old ethnic groups of the land. Lord Koubru was/is worshipped or invoked in many rituals and ceremonies of our rulers, chieftains and commoners. This is a practice still following since time immemorial.

Lord Ram took more nearly 75 years to get land rights and construction permission. So what is the hurry for Lord Koubru? We may request our Lord to remain calm. The process may take some time, maybe months or years. The most viable route is the friendly non-violent way. Lord Koubru may be informed accordingly and He will understand the intricacies of modern politics.

I know we all were warriors and we kept fighting against one another, killing one another. Ultimately we did realize that we ourselves were the losers. Today again we may destroy one another. That is a futile conclusion. Then who will take care of ‘Koubru’. We need to stay alive to protect and preserve Koubru and its adjoining areas.

Sometimes I feel we need to learn from others. There is nothing wrong with emulating good things from others. You know Vaishno Devi temple is located at Katra in Jammu and Kashmir. Throughout the year the temple is open to devotees and pilgrims. Hundreds of thousands come for Darshan.

The most unique feature is that the devotees are served and entertained en route by many Muslims, Sikhs and even Buddhists. The facilitators are surprisingly non-Hindus. What an arrangement or understanding. We need to learn from such symbiotic relations. If need be - we may also see what is there in “Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Act”?

My simple and innocuous point is – if the Meities, other ethnic groups including the Gorkhas want to protect and preserve “Koubru” and adjoining areas, there should not be any problem.

All the organizations, associations, groups affiliated to the ethnic communities desirous of safeguarding the landed properties of Lord Koubru must come forward. Show of strength will not serve the purpose. The pertinent issue is how to go about it – do we need to go the Ram temple way or the Vaisho Devi style – everyone must be on board. And violence is no option.

The day a huge meeting was held with the so-called stakeholders, I had a talk with an important participant; he narrated about the outcome of the gruelling meeting. He said, for the time being, it has subsided.

Then I told him, can’t we subside it another 100 years or so? He smiled and said, my senior counterpart spoke to the Chiefs and leaders in their language - they might have been convinced about the gravity of the situation.

For tranquillity I have a simple long term solution i.e., file a petition in the Munsif court(lowest court) with the subject matter today itself and procure a stay for maintaining status quo; I can assure you that my grandchildren will be fighting the same case in the Supreme Court even after 150 years of Independence.

Perhaps the Government of India is looking for a strategic hill site suitable for a huge deployment either in Manipur or Nagaland. Koubru hills should not be exposed unnecessarily. Defense strategists should not come to know about Lord Koubru who resided here to defend the entire northern hemisphere.

When Kangla was under the complete protection of Assam Rifles, rituals and ceremonies were allowed inside. But that was claustrophobic. Do we need similar protection for Koubru?

Legal solutions or legislative way-out or GoI intervention etc. will never make us happy and comfortable. So, our ultimate choice should be – amicable settlement over the table or under the table – it is the best panacea. Maharaj, please calm down your people & CM sab please act fast, Koubru lovers are many.