Gyanvapi Masjid is the new Babri Masjid for BJP. opinion

The demand to repeal the Places of Worship Act is rising as a spontaneous reaction, which stems from “people’s sentiments”.

People are being implicated in this propaganda run by the haters as no one is asking the government about high inflation and unemployment.

recent controversy Gyanvapi Mosque The Babri Masjid is the lowest point in history since its demolition.

Evolution and history are not static processes. Places, events and sites keep on evolving. Therefore, today no one can claim to be the original heir or custodian of a site or heritage.

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India currently leads the world in terms of deaths due to pollution. However, in 2022, we are debating whether Aurangzeb, who died 315 years ago, retained the Shiva Linga in the Gyanvapi Mosque.

Fascists using Ayodhya

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the Ayodhya verdict has opened doors for the fascists, who have been further encouraged to conduct the Ayodhya experiment on a pan-India basis.

Even if we consider the Mughals as foreigners, which the right-wing is trying to describe, there would be fewer natives of India, from the Aryans to the Dravidians.

We also need to keep in mind that a large number of Hindus converted to Islam because they found themselves in the lowest strata of the rigid caste system and voluntarily left the temples that had been converted into mosques – which does not mean that Gyanvapi Masjid was a temple last.

We also have to take into account the promptness with which the courts have proceeded in favor of majoritarian sentiments.

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In the past too, concerted efforts have been made to make the Gyanvapi Masjid a disputed site despite the Places of Worship Act. This Act prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as in existence on the 15th August, 1947, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, in which No change shall be made in any religious place on August 15, 1947, or earlier.

role of lower court

The role of the trial court in escalating the temple-mosque issue at this point cannot be ignored.

When the matter was sub judice before the court Allahabad High CourtThe second petition was filed in a civil court in Varanasi. It sought the right to perform rituals in the Gyanvapi complex.

On April 8, 2022, a civil judge appointed Ajay Kumar as an Advocate Commissioner, to conduct a videographic survey of the mosque, completely contradicting the Places of Worship Act.

in between Gyanvapi Mosque RowBSP chief Mayawati said religious places here are being targeted by BJP and its allies to divert attention from unemployment and skyrocketing inflation and termed it as a conspiracy to incite religious sentiments of the people.

That Gyanvapi Masjid issue That could escalate tensions between the two communities and open up Pandora’s box to other places of worship, a frightening prospect.

in Murakka Benares, pages 286 to 319 compiled by Maulana Nabi Ahmed Sandelvi discusses in detail that the ancient Vishwanath temple site was elsewhere and the Gyanvapi issue is a later invention as there are strong sources that claim that the monument was built at that time. was done during The Jaunpur Sultanate, before the Mughals, went through more extensive reconstruction/renovation and was not built on a temple, but on a pond filled by Buddhist rulers.

historical facts

A simple carbon dating would be enough to debunk a lot of the narrative. It is a historical fact that hundreds of Buddhist and Jain temples and monasteries were destroyed by Hindus during the revival of Hinduism in the Gupta era. No one is questioning this.

Samajwadi Party leader Rubina Khanum has recently given a statement on Gyanvapi Mosque in Varanasi. He said that if the Gyanvapi Masjid was built by demolishing the temple then the Muslim brothers should hand over that land to the Hindu brothers – so much so for the so-called secular parties in Uttar Pradesh on divisive issues.

It is ironic that in the quest for peace when they demanded Muslims to surrender the Babri Masjid and many Muslims rallied around the groups to voluntarily leave the Babri Masjid, they did not fathom the peace they were seeking. were looking for, would eventually become a landmine. For future explosions.

The shock of the Babri Masjid verdict

The trauma of the Babri Masjid verdict – when a grave mistake was whitewashed by the courts in exchange for majority appeasement – remains a dark chapter in our lives.

I still remember that I was in Bangalore to attend an event and was spending the night with my best friend who was a Hindu. When the TV channels made headlines, the restlessness was palpable as we tried to ignore it and started discussing something else.

His decency not to discuss it at that time will remain in my mind for times to come.

disturb social harmony

It is also quite shocking how Muslims could have hidden a Shivling inside the Gyanvapi Mosque for centuries and how people could not see through the nefarious designs of the fascists – all these episodes are sure to engulf the country in built-up Hindu-Muslim tensions. will take us to the east. -Stone Age, and more such things are being employed purely as a diversion strategy. And if we are going back centuries and doing great damage to the social harmony of the country by desecrating and destroying the present, then we need to travel all the way and come to this issue – what was before the temple? Whose land was it? Was the land forcibly taken away from the local people, etc. etc.

It’s shocking how naive people can be these days. Any story can be fabricated to fool the public with the help of government aided media.

Isn’t it time we question the government on the economy, inflation, unemployment, devaluation of rupee, spurt in fuel prices, health and education?

It is also surprising how a cylindrical piece of stone can turn into a Shivling. It could also have been a water sprinkling of a stone, what is even more surprising is that the images from the site went viral even before the survey report and proper decision were taken.

Now that the Ram Janmabhoomi issue has turned to dust, the BJP is raising new embers to kindle the fire of communalism.

It is time for the judiciary to stand up to protect the rule of law in the country and ensure that democracy does not give way to religious fascism in this time of crisis.

(This article is written by Saira Shah Haleem, a gender and rights activist, a teacher and a politician. All views are personal.)