How a Padma for ‘Sadhvi’ Ritambhara keeps the saffron agenda alive

117856494She calls herself ‘Sadhvi’ but her name is Ritambhara. Dive through the deep recesses of the brain and it will help conjure an image of a saffron-robed rabble-rouser with a shrill voice.The shrill voice pierced through the raucous throng of frenzied kar sevaks who had broken barricades — and the law — to climb atop the domes of the Babri Masjid.The year then was 1992.Ritambhara was seated at the Ram Chabutra facing the mosque. Her companions included senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders such as LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti. Ritambhara’s shrill voice was the loudest. The slogan of “Ek dhakka aur do, Babri Masjid tod do,” could be heard in the din of trishuls, pickaxes and hammers that tore through the mosque and the delicately woven secular fabric that soon led to deadly riots.The year now is 2025.The 75th anniversary of the Indian Republic was heralded with the announcement that Ritambhara was being awarded the prestigious Padma Bhushan for “social work”.Before we talk about the political messaging behind the ‘honour’ bestowed on her, let us revisit the criteria that underlines the basis for which individuals are selected for the Padma awards.The Padma Vibhushan is given for “exceptional and distinguished service”, the Padma Bhushan for “distinguished service of a high order” and the Padma Shri for “distinguished service” in any field of activity. The awards, announced just ahead of Republic Day, are vetted by a committee headed by the prime minister. They are conferred a few months later by the President during a grand ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.So, what is Ritambhara’s ‘distinguished service’, that too ‘of a high order’? medium nocaptionhttps://youtu.be/366pSUnqEjA?si=CxNBuxpy1xCoLh1KThe ‘Sadhvi’, who made it to the list of Padma awardees for her ‘social work’, was arrested three days after Babri Masjid’s demolition for inciting communal tension. She was also charged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the demolition but like her worthy companions, she was among the 32 who were acquitted in September 2020.Eleven years before the acquittal, the Liberhan Commission, appointed by the Centre to investigate the demolition, had named Ritambhara as one of the 68 persons who it said were individually responsible for leading the country “to the brink of communal discord”.Why the outcry, you might ask, for after all, she was acquitted by a court of law. It is important to point out that the acquittal by a special CBI court came about a year after the Supreme Court had delivered its verdict, paving the way for the construction of a Ram temple. Though the apex court granted permission for the temple to be built, it also termed the demolition of the Babri Masjid to be “a criminal act”. Ironically, the CBI court which acquitted Advani, Joshi and Ritambhara said the demolition was a “spontaneous act”.All of that is now history.Let us take a closer look at Ritambhara’s ‘social work’. She is currently the head of the Samvid Gurukulam Girls Sainik School. The Sainik Schools, located across India, are run by organisations linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological fount of the ruling BJP.And what do these schools do? You can cut the clutter and hear it straight from Ritambhara herself. In a video available on the school’s Facebook page, she can be heard talking about girls who are “out of control” (her words, not mine).“What do we find in colleges? Girls smoking cigarettes at midnight. In these hubs of education, women are breaking liquor bottles, and spreading indecency with their boyfriends on motorcycles… We had never thought that the daughters of India would be so out of control. They are doing nude photoshoots. They are showing off their bodies in undergarments. These girls don’t have sanskar (values),” she can be heard saying. medium117856765The Padma committee did not find ‘value’ in Ritambhara alone. It has also announced a Padma Shri for Chandrakant Sompura, who is the chief architect of the Ram temple that was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in January 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha election.That is where the politics comes in.The Padma Bhushan to Ritambhara, a year after the pran pratishtha, or consecration ceremony, in Ayodhya is a clear signal of political intent.The BJP and the RSS are in sync with the political messaging. Let’s not forget what Mohan Bhagwat said just before the first anniversary of the temple inauguration.Speaking at a function in Indore, Bhagwat said, “After India got independence from the British on August 15, 1947, a written Constitution was drafted but the document was not followed according to the spirit of the vision at that time. The true independence of India, which had faced many centuries of persecution, was established on that day… the day of Ram temple’s pran pratishtha.”Modi’s first political message in 2025 also talked about the Ram temple consecration. He linked the ceremony to the re-establishment of the cultural consciousness of India.The Ram temple remains a focal point for both the Modi-led government and the RSS. The Hindutva pitch too stays up front and centre. It is in this context that the Padma Bhushan to Ritambhara must be viewed.It comes back full circle. The Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992 but the consecration in 2024 is a political milestone for the Sangh parivar. The award, in 2025, is a shrill reminder of how the saffron-robed ‘Sadhvi’ helped change the political landscape in 1992. The Padma Bhushan helps keep the political agenda alive.Read more from the author here.