Milind G
A joke doing rounds these days – When a seer dreams of gold, the government machinery (ASI) is after the gold. And when Baba Ramdev dreams about black money, the government is after the baba!
Hunt for buried treasure at the temple entered the third day on Sunday, 20 Oct at the Raja Rao Ram Bux Singh temple to find hidden treasure of 1000 tonnes of gold. The team dug 70 cm on Saturday, 19 Oct, according to members of Archaeological Survey of India team.
The seer’s dream about 1000 tonnes of gold beneath, at the dilapidated fort in UP’s Unnao district prompted government to begin excavation. A 12-member team comprising archaeologists, geologists and workers are carrying out the excavation work in Duandia Kheda village, 100 km from Lucknow. Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh, who was martyred during 1857 fight with British, appeared in the dream of the seer and asked him to take care of the treasure buried under a temple on the fort premises, said Swami Omji, a follower of Sarkar.
The seer now has a second dream of 2500 tonnes gold hidden in the ruins of Adampur village. The ASI has so far managed to recover pottery, tiles and bangles that date back to 1857. The officials say the work will take at least a month before they chance upon the treasure, if any. Even before the gold is found, one of the king’s descendants, Navchandi Veer Pratap Singh said, ‘If gold is really found there, we should get our share.’
What does this gold mean to the country? 1000 tonnes of gold means Rs 3 lakh crore. It is equal to loss of revenue in Coalgate and 2G scam put together. It is enough to replace all of India’s imports for a year. It is nearly 1.5 times the tax collected by the government in a year. It can fund food security bill for 2 years. It is about 15 times the gold mortgaged by India during the crisis of 1990.
With so much at stake, politicians can’t be far. Union Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch says that every artifact the ASI recovers from the temple and fort in Daudia Kheda village is as good as gold. The ever-ready N Modi first said, ‘The whole world is laughing at us over this bizarre exercise. Somebody dreamt and the government has launched an excavation.’ And as politicians do, N Modi made a quick turn-around – ‘Lakhs of people have reposed faith in seer Shabhan Sarkar over last many years. I salute his austerity and renunciation.’
Let us hope for some tangible results and find some hidden treasure, or else the whole exercise will be a big tamasha!
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