Religion should not be brought into politics.

The Ram Janambhoomi (Babari Masjid) issue, in my opinion, is altogether different. It's not a religious issue. Babar was not a religious man. He was an invader. So, the Babari Masjid is nothing but the symbol of an aggressor's victory and the humiliation of national forces.... The Babari Masjid has nothing to do with religion... since long namaz has not been offered there.

...Moreover, Ram was never a religious person. He was not a rishi or a guru. He was practically a hero of the nation; he stood for the unity of the nation... Ram was a unifying force. Not only that. He had an ideal. And what ideal was it? He preferred to go to the jungles for 14 years instead of getting enthroned as the king... In fighting all the rakshasas Ram never requested Bharat to send the army. He mobilised people to fight them out.

When he defeated Bali, he did not acquire the kingdom for himself. He gave it to Sugriv. Similarly, upon conquering Ravana's rich kingdom, he handed it over to Vibhishan... This political approach (epitomised by Ram) is not relevant to the present day world.

...His temple cannot be called a religious temple because his whole life was that of a hero, a politician.

...Ram was not only a Hindu... Hinduism is a cultural and a geographical phenomenon... Its not a way of worship...

...Only Hinduism is secular... The whole problem is that the Muslims are not ready to tolerate any other religion. That's the creed of the Muslims: We shall have to change. It cannot be done by politicians having secular ideas which led to the division of India on the basis of religion...

In Kashmir, 62 temples have been damaged in the last five years without a voice being raised against it by any secularist. But all of them are quite agitated over the Babari Masjid. Similarly, the names of more than 1000 places (in Kashmir) have been changed into Muslim names and that has been gazetted by these people. (Still) they say that they are secularists. In my opinion, they are not at all secular...

(Source: The Hindustan Times, New Delhi, 10 March, 1991)