Jodhpur (Rajasthan): On January 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Lord Ram temple in Ayodhya. To see a temple in Ayodhya was the dream of lakhs of 'Kar Sevaks', who went to Ayodhya in of 1990 and 1992. There were many among them who never returned. Among those who sacrificed their lives for the temple was 22-year-old Setharam Parihar of Mathaniya village in Jodhpur, who had gone to Ayodhya but could never return.
Setharam left for Ayodhya in October 1990 without informing his family. When the trains stopped, he boarded a truck and left for Ayodhya with his 21 companions. The family came to know only after two days that despite his father's refusal, Setharam had gone to Ayodhya. On November 4, 1990, he was reported to have been shot. He was shot in the mouth because he was raising slogans.
Kamaldan, his friend, claimed that the Uttar Pradesh targeted those who showed more enthusiasm. His body reached Mathaniyan on 5 November 1990. Now after 33 years, Parihar's dream is going to come true. The Shri Ramjanmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust has also sent an invitation letter inviting the Parihar family for the consecration ceremony.
His family is happy that the Ram temple has been built. His younger brother Virendra Parihar said in 1990, when the Ram Mandir agitation was at its peak, Setharam became a part of it. "For this work he often did not come home. When Kar Seva was announced in October, Setharam's father had told Setharam Ram not to go to Ayodhya, as he was unwell, but still Setharam went to Ayodhya without informing him. His father came to know after three days," added Virendra Parihar.