Friends in India and abroad wished to have a compilation of documentary evidence of how both the Indian State and Supreme Court succumbed to a majoritarian project of obliterating a historic mosque at Ayodhya on December 6, 1992. The following description and timeline examines the Hindutva propaganda falsehood with irrefutable facts which were conspicuously overlooked by the most crucial institutions of the Indian state.

Falsehood 1: Babri mosque built after destroying Ram birthplace temple

The supremacist Hindutva lot claimed that the new Ram temple was built on an ancient site of Hindu worship; the Ram birthplace temple which was destroyed in the early 16th century (1528-29) during the reign of the first Mughal emperor, Babar by one of his commanders, Mir Baqi. Archaeological evidence proves the mosque had no foundations of its own and was built upon a Hindu temple. They even identified the exact place of birth of Ram; under the central dome (approximately measuring 150 cm x 150 cm) of the Babri Mosque.

This falsehood has been repeated by none less than Narendra Modi several times since 2014 when he took over as Prime Minister of India, the latest pccasion being at Ayodhya on November 25, 2025, when he stated: “The wounds of centuries are healing, the pain of centuries is finding an end today, the resolution of centuries is achieving success today. Today marks the final offering of a yajna whose fire burned for 500 years.”[1]

Truth 1: This is a brazen falsehood propagated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) with no historical or legal proof, nor any corroboration even in the ‘Hindu’ narratives of history. There is no mention of the destruction of Ram Temple even in the writings of the most prominent Ram worshiper to date, Goswami Tulsidas (1511-1623), who penned the Epic Ramcharitmanas (Lake of the Deeds of Ram) in the Avadhi language in 1575-76. It was this work which made Ram the most popular God in Northern India. According to the Hindutva version, Ram’s birthplace temple was destroyed in the period 1528-1529. It would be surprising indeed if the Ramcharitmanas, written almost 48 years after the so-called destruction of Ram’s birthplace temple, did not mention such a momentous event. Does the Hindutva lot mean to argue that the revered Saint, Goswami Tulsidas was a coward?!

For the RSS, Aurobindo Ghosh, Swami Vivekananda, and Swami Dayanand Saraswati were the saints who contributed immensely to the cause of Vedic religion and the growth of the Hindu nation. None of these Vedic saints ever referred to this destruction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya by Mughal King Babar or his agents in any of their writings.

Today, Ayodhya is referred to as one of the oldest and holiest places for Hindus. It is interesting to note that Adi Shankaracharya (788-820), who toured India preaching Vedas and refuting Buddhism and Jainism for more than a decade, who established 5 Peetams [main centres of Sanatan Hinduism] at Badrinath in the North, Puri in the East, Dwarka in the West and Sringeri and Kanchi in the South for the revival of the Vedic religion but did not consider Ayodhya as one.

It is true that traditionally, Hindus believe that Ram was born in the city of Ayodhya, but the issue is whether he was born exactly under the central dome (approximately measuring 150 cm x 150 cm) of the Babri Mosque as is claimed now by Hindutva’s flag-bearers.

Moreover, the Indian Supreme Court, in its 1,045-page Ayodhya Judgment (November 9, 2019), has, nowhere in the Judgment agreed with the claim that the Babri Mosque was constructed after destroying any temple.

Indian Supreme Court, in the said judgment made two other observations demolishing the RSS claim on the Mosque. Firstly, the SC stated: “The exclusion of the Muslims from worship and possession took place on the intervening night between 22/23 December 1949 when the mosque was desecrated by the installation of Hindu idols. The ouster of the Muslims on that occasion was not through any lawful authority but through an act which was calculated to deprive them of their place of worship.” [Supreme Court Judgment dated November 9, 2019, pp. 921-22]

Secondly, at pages 913-14, the SC stated that “On 6 December 1992, the structure of the mosque was brought down and the mosque was destroyed. The destruction of the mosque took place in breach of the order of status quo and an assurance given to this Court. The destruction of the mosque and the obliteration of the Islamic structure was an egregious violation of the rule of law.”

However, Mother India ought to be aghast to find Indian Supreme Court, despite all the above findings in its own verdict handed over a historic building which was a protected monument under Article 49 of Indian Constitution to supremacists. Arguably, what a supremacist mob could not achieve on December 6, 1992, the Supreme Court of India handed them on November 9, 2019.

It is worth mentioning here that the RSS—which initiated the bloody, violent campaign to build the Ram Temple at the end of the decade of the 1980s, never advanced this demand during the period of its founding (1925) until India attained Independence. Even after Independence, it was only in 1989 that the political appendage of the RSS, the BJP, began to focus on this issue.

The views of two RSS luminaries who initiated the Ram Temple movement reveal the preposterousness of the claim that Ram himself was born under the dome.

Rama Vilas Vedanti, a prominent Hindu clergyman of the Ram Birthplace Trust (an RSS front), stated, “We will build a temple at Ramjanam Bhoomi even if Lord Rama says he was not born there” [Outlook, Delhi, 7 July 2003). Similarly, L. K. Advani, who rode a chariot (Rath Yatra) as part of an aggressive Ram Temple campaign in 1990 said, “It did not matter whether the historical Rama was actually born at the spot in Ayodhya. What mattered was that Hindus believed that he was born there. Faith took precedence over history” [The Hindustan Times, Delhi, 20 July 2003.]

Falsehood 2: Ram Temple at the site of the Babri Mosque was essential to seek ‘restorative justice’

According to RSS the Ram Mandir has great symbolic and emotional resonance for Hindus in contemporary times and that the trauma that this destruction brought has been passed down through generations and continues to impact the psyche of Hindus and contributed historically and continues to contribute to Hindu-Muslim tensions in India to this day.

Truth 2: According to this logic, the rule by rulers with Muslim names in India was the Islamic rule of idol-breakers. This narrative of Muslim history developed only at the beginning of the 19^th century is in absolute contradiction with historical facts and even common sense. To understand the lies behind this fabricated Medieval past, one needs to examine the nature of this ‘Muslim’ rule.

Despite ‘Muslim’ rule of almost one thousand years, approximately 75% of Indians did not convert to Islam, as was made clear by the first Census held by the British in 1871-72 when even ceremonial ‘Muslim’ rule was over. Hindus and Sikhs constituted 73.5 percent of the population, and Muslims numbered 21.5 percent only. [Memorandum on the Census Of British India of 1871-72: Presented to both Houses of Parliament by Command of Her Majesty London, George Edward Eyre and William Spottiswoode, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office 1875, 16.]

In fact, this period of ‘Muslim rule’ was also the rule of the Hindu High Castes. According to contemporary ‘Hindu’ narratives, Aurangzeb never faced Shivaji in the battlefield; these were his two Rajput commanders, Jay Singh I and Jai Singh II, who fought against Shivaji on Aurangzeb’s behalf. Akbar personally never fought any battle against Rana Pratap of Mewar; Man Singh, brother-in-law of Akbar fought all battles against Rana. The Deewan Ala (prime minister) of both Shahjahan and Aurangzeb was Raghunath Bahadur, a Kayasth Hindu.[2]

It is nobody’s argument that Aurangzeb or many other ‘Muslim’ rulers were not religious bigots or tolerant. Aurangzeb did not spare his father, brothers, and many smaller ‘Muslim’ kingdoms of his times. There are also contemporary records that prove that Aurangzeb donated lands, money, and resources to many temples throughout India. Anybody who has visited Delhi’s Red Fort must have seen two temples; Jain Lal Mandir [Red Temple] and Gauri Shanker Temple, just across the Red Fort towards Chandni Chowk side. These temples were built before the rule of Aurangzeb and continued to function during his time and later.

Falsehood 3: According to RSS building of the Ram Temple was an important event for Hindus of all traditions 

Truth 3: They did not explain to the Nation why 4 Shankaracharyas of the Peetams (out of 5) established by Adi Shankaracharya boycotted the inauguration of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya. The most revered living Hindu saints of the Sanatan Dharm declared Ayodhya’s inauguration to be in contravention of Vedic scriptures, calling it Hinduism done for petty electoral gains.

It was sad to see the RSS run roughshod over the diversity of Hinduism. In its attempt to prove the homogenous character of Hindus, it turned a debate on the nature of the Ayodhya inauguration into Hindus versus others. The founder of Arya Samaj, Swami Dayanand Saraswati (1824-83), is glorified by RSS as a pillar of the Hindu nation. But Swami was an ardent opponent of the Brahmanical rituals like Pran Pratishtha, putting life into a lifeless idol (in Ayodhya case by Prime Minister Modi) and did not mince words in decrying this very ritual. He stated (in Satyarth Prakash or Light of Truth, chapter 11), “The fact of the matter is that the All-pervading Spirit [God] can neither come into an idol, nor, leave it. If your mantras are efficacious that you can summon God, why can you not infuse life into your dead son by the force of the very same mantras? Again why can you not bide the soul depart from the body of your enemy? There is not a single verse in the Vedas to sanction the invocation of the Deity and vitalization of the idol, likewise, there is nothing to indicate that it is right to invoke idols, to bathe them, install them in temples, and apply sandal paste to them.” 

Falsehood 4: According to the Hindutva narrative Ayodhya represents a five hundred years long war between Hindus and Muslims of India

Those who defend the demolition of Babri mosque argue that though sometimes presented as being a recent conflict, the fact is that this site has a long history of Hindus and Sikhs attempting to reclaim it, dating back to the early 19th century. Furthermore, the conflict has been ongoing regardless of the political party in power following India’s independence.

Truth 4: Ayodhya is presented as a place of perennial war between Hindus and Muslims, and the central dome of the Babri Mosque claimed to be the exact place where Ram was born, are modern ‘constructs’ as we will see in the following.

There cannot be a shoddier lie than this that Ayodhya was a place of perpetual war between Hindus against Muslims. During India’s War of Independence 1857, Ayodhya was the place where Maulvis and Mahants and ordinary Hindus and Muslims stood united in rebelling against the British rule and kissed the hangman’s noose together. Maulana Ameer Ali was a famous Maulvi of Ayodhya, and when Ayodhya’s well-known Hanuman Garhi’s (Hanuman Temple) priest, Baba Ramcharan Das, took the lead in organising the armed resistance to the British rule. Both of them were captured and hanged together on the same tree. In another instance of the glorious unity of Hindus and Muslims against the colonial rule at Ayodhya, Acchhan Khan and Shambhu Prasad Shukla led the army of Raja Devibaksh Singh in the area. Due to the treachery of Hindu and Muslim lackeys of the British, they were captured and killed together. The British rulers hated this unity and created narratives of perennial Hindu-Muslim conflict not only in Ayodhya but the whole of India.

Iqbal a renowned poet much maligned by the Hindutva ideologues whose poetry has been removed from textbooks wrote a peerless poem in praise of Ram in 1908 titled “Imam-e-Hind”. For Iqbal, Ram was not merely a Hindu God but “Imam-e-Hind” (spiritual leader of India). The first two lines of the poem read: Hai Raam ke wajood pe Hindustaan ko naaz/
Ahl-e-Nazar samajhte hain us ko Imam-e-Hind
(India is proud of the existence of Ram
Spiritual people consider him prelate of India).

The flag-bearers of Hindutva working overtime to undo a composite and all-inclusive India are using the Sikh factor as a bluff to legitimize its illegal project. Sikhs who do not believe in idol worship of Ram or any other Hindu God/Goddesses; we are told that on 28 November 1858, a Nihang Sikh [member of a warrior order within Sikhism] organized Pooja [worship] and havan [a Brahmanical ritual offering of grains, pure ghee and other such items to fire] in the Babri Mosque. It is unbelievable for a Sikh to perform Brahmanical rituals and would invite immediate ex-communication. Why Hindus at that time did not enter the Mosque is a mystery!

Aggrieved Muslims chose legal recourse and not community mobilisation, were they betrayed by the Judiciary?

Supremacist forces within Hindutva must understand that Ram was never the cause of perpetual conflict between Hindus and Muslims until RSS invented it as a convenient tool for religious polarization. Muslims of Ayodhya stopped going to Babri Mosque once the idol of Ram Lalla (child Ram) was smuggled into the Babri Mosque on the night of December 22/23 1949 with the connivance of local senior officials. Local Muslims did not try to break into the usurped Mosque, and there was no bloodshed engineered by Muslims of Ayodhya who were in substantial numbers in Faizabad, now rechristened as Ayodhya Dham despite the Indian Supreme Court declaring that “the mosque was desecrated by the installation of Hindu idols.”

The RSS and its affiliates instead of being ashamed of the carnage celebrate the demolition on December 6 as Shauriya Divas, day of bravery. These criminals have succeeded since 1990, RSS and its appendages had organized an aggressive campaign for demolishing the Babri Mosque, targeting Indian Muslims as Baber-zade/Haram-zade (children of Babar/illegitimate children). For more than two years, Hindus in India and abroad were asked to come to Ayodhya to tear down the mosque as kar-sevaks.

Babri mosque demolition was not a Hindu-Muslim battle but a seminal conflict between the RSS and the Secular Indian State

Did Muslims call for counter-mobilisation to save the mosque or reach the site on December 6 to confront the Hindutva mobs? Never! In fact, they trusted the RSS to honor the commitment made to the then-Indian Prime Minister, P. V. Narasimha Rao and the Indian Supreme Court that its appendages and cadres would not harm the mosque. RSS reneged on all commitments shamelessly. Indian State and judiciary remained silent spectators. How critically and fundamentally Indian Muslims were let down and even betrayed would be evident by the fact that Rao promised to rebuild Babri Mosque at its original place twice (once in Parliament and second time while addressing the nation from Red Fort on August 15, 1993), which were both promises that stand reneged on!

A detailed Video Narration of the sordid Ram Temple saga may be viewed here and here.

[1] PM’s speech during the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Dhwajarohan Utsav, November 25, 2025, https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/pms-speech-during-the-shri-ram-janmabhoomi-mandir-dhwajarohan-utsav/

[2] ‘Fallacy of the Hindutva project’ May 4, 2022, Chennai, link: https://frontline.thehindu.com/cover-story/fallacy-of-the-hindutva-project-aurangzeb-mughals-islamophobia/article38484103.ece

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the author’s personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Sabrangindia.

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31 years after Babri Mosque demolition perpetrators in power

The post Babri Mosque Demolition: When the Indian State succumbed to majoritarian propaganda appeared first on SabrangIndia.

‘Jagmagate thhe jahan Ram key quadam ke nishan
Piyaar kee kahkashan leti thi angdayee jahan
Mod nafrat ke usee rah guzar mein ayee
Dharam kya unka hae, kya zaat hae, yeh janta kaun?
Ghar na jalta tau unhe raat mein pehchanta kaun ,
Ghar jalane ko mera, log jo ghar me ayee ,
Shakahari hae mere dost tumhara khanjar(From ‘Doosra Banvas ‘ by Kaifi Azmi)
Rough translation ‘ The Second Exile’
…..
Wherever he had stepped and his footprints shone
The river waters where thousands of stars of love meandered
Instead now took turns of violence and hatred
What is their Religion, what is their caste, who knows?
Had the house not burnt, who would have known the faces
Of those who came to burn my house
Your sword, my friend, is vegetarian.

(Remembering 06 December 1992 : ” Doosra Banvas” by Bhupinder Singh , https// bhupindersingh.ca/2006/12/05..)

This poem by Kaifi Azmi written in the aftermath of Babri Masjid demolition reveals the contradictions of the movement and is relevant even today. ‘I was born in a slave India,grew up in an Independent India and would like to die in a Socialist India’ was his dream. This dream remains unfulfilled as the present system of inequality is growing very rapidly.

Centenary year

Sayyid Akhtar Hussein Rizvi ( Kaifi Azmi) was born in January 1919 in Mizwaa(n) village of Azamgarh district in U. P. In a deeply religious landlord family. He was sent to a ‘ Madrassa’ in Lucknow for religious education. But he soon developed social consciousness, organized students and held demonstrations. He became ‘comrade’ and not a ‘ moulvi’. He was a man of conviction and never deviated from the ideology. (Kaifi Azmi – a maulvi’ who turned to music and Marx, by Ashutosh Sharma, published 10 May, 2018, nationalheraldindia.com). In his early 20s, he became a member of CPI and had the CPI card in his ‘ kurta’ even at the time of his death.

His works

Kaifi wrote fiery poems for the deprived, the disadvantaged, dispossessed, downtrodden and underprivileged. He recited them in poetry congregations. Eminent poet late Nida Fazli in his book ‘Chehre’ writes, ‘ Kaifi’s entire poetic work is the story of those tears in different words”. Being born in a shia family, he mourned for the 72 martyrs of Karbala. After becoming a communist, he mourned for the thousands of sufferers in the world. Nida Fazli mentions in his book that Kaifi’s style of poetry recitation was a part of tradition that he inherited during his childhood in Muharram gatherings.

A pioneer in Urdu and Hindi poetry, he could publish only a few collections of his poems: ‘ Jhankar(1943) ,’ Aakhir – e- shab’ (1947) ,’ Awara sijde(1973) and the collected poems Sarmaya(1992) which consist of not more than 125 poems. Many of his writings are uncollected. Despite suffering from cerebral stroke that left him partially paralysed for 25 years, he did not stop writing. He was a master of prose too. He wrote columns in urdu ‘Blitz’ simultaneously published in Hindi between 1964 and 1972 collected in two volumes titled ‘Nayi Gulistan’.

Activist.

Kaifi ( correctly spelt Quifi Azami) was a poet activist and led many strikes and participated in many protest demonstrations. He is a socially and politically committed shaiyirs and belonged to the legendary poets club of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Sahir Ludhianvi, Maqdoom Moinuddin, etc. His poetry and his politucal activities are inseparable. ( Obituary: An indefatigable poet- activist , by Vishnu Khare frontline.thehindu.com). His poems like Andhi or storm and Bekari ( without a job) depict anger, passion and commitment. In his ‘ Istiqlal or ‘resolve’ , he visualized the dangers of Fascism.

Sensitivity towards women

His epic poem ‘Aurat’ was so inspirational that Shaukat who was listening to his poem recital at a congregation proposed and made him her life partner. In ‘ Shanti van ke quarib ‘( near shanti van) , he visualizes democracy as a woman riddled with darts. In ‘ jel ke dar par’ ( at the Gate of a Jail) he moving depicts the emotions of two woman and a child visiting their incarcerated bread winner. In ‘Bewa ki khudkushi’ ( the Widow’s suicide) he graphically narrates the tale of a young widow killing herself.

Film lyricist

To support financially, he wrote lyrics for the films like ‘Buzdil (1951), Kagaz ke phool, Shama, Haqeeqat , Anupama, Pakeeza and Arth, etc. He wrote about 240 songs for 80 movies. For Heer Ranjha, he not only wrote Punjabi- flavoured songs but also entire screenplay in verse. He also did a cameo screen role in Naseem, wrote dialogues for M. S. Satyu classic Garam Hawaan and screen play for Shyam Benegal Manthan’.

A great person

He was honored with many awards including Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Shri and for his dialogues in Garam Hawaa, s received Afro – Asian Lotus Award. But his major role in political and social movements and poetry for the masses makes him one of the greats who influenced post independent socialist thinkers and writers.

Celebrating his centenary, one should strive to achieve his dreams – socialist India with communal harmony. In this year, when there is every likelihood of rising caste or religious bigotry, Kaifi’ s works should be source of inspiration in combating communal tensions and senseless violence

The writer from anywhere and everywhere is a supporter of communal harmony

Courtesy: Countercurrents.org
 

The post Kaifi Azmi’s relevance in times of communal hatred appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Indian Express dated April 20 , 2017  in its Editorial observed “Finally, the wheels of justice are turning in the Babri Masjid demolition case. The possibility of due process leading to justice and closure in one of the most seminal cases in India’s political history seems within reach now, 25 years after the 16^th century mosque at Ayodhya was demolished by Sangh Parivar activists in the wake of the Rath Yatra of the-then BJP Chief L.K.Advani, shaming a nation and setting powerful new political dynamics in motion. The Supreme Court’s order on Wednesday sets back on track the judicial process and lays down conditions to ensure that the trial is not delayed or compromised further.”
Following the 1984 Elections in which Rajiv Gandhi had a clean sweep, BJP could secure only 2 seats in Lok Sabha. The Sangh Parivar started a campaign for the construction of a magnificent Ram Janam Bhoomi Temple at the site and by 1985 built up a sizeable support in the Hindu Community.In January 1986, locks were removed from the mosque and Ram bhakts were permitted to offer prayers to Ram lala .It is said that the Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi ordered the Chief Minister Veer Bahadur Singh to do so who got the District Administration to ensure this .The two major political parties BJP and the Congress started a race on pandering to communal Hindu sentiments. In 1988 ,Hindutva Organizations led by the RSS organized a mass campaign for building a grand temple exactly where the Mosque stood. They claimed that the Mosque stood at the precise site where Ram was born.

 Union Home Minister Buta Singh signed an agreement with the VHP on August 17, 1989,that bricks for constructing the temple would be allowed to be brought from all over UP without hindrance and collected at the plot No. 586 near  the mosque .This agreement was in violation of an order of the Allahabad High Court given on August 14, 1989 that no construction activity could be taken at that spot.

Later ,the VHP announced that ‘kar sewa’ would be performed to lay the foundation stone .This was also a violation of the judgment given two days ago,prohibiting any such activity .This repeated defiance ,of the orders of the court did not weigh with the Prime Minister who inaugurated the campaign of Congress Party the next day from twin city of Faizabad, and announced that the objective of the party was to establish Ram Rajya. Soon thereafter the BJP   President Advani, at Palampur ,after the National Executive Meeting ,announced that the inclusion of the construction of the temple in its Election Manifesto "would fetch votes" for it. It would thus appear that the two major political parties were in a race to gain political mileage from this issue between 1984 and 1989.

Looking back at the developments around 1989, we are reminded how Mandalisation was made an effective issue  by the casteist forces in answer to BJP’s Kamandalisation. Very soon, casteist forces came to acquire political legitimacy by projecting themselves as political forces opposed to communalism, and in order to appear so, they masked themselves as “secularists”, though the truth was that they had discovered “caste politics” as a potent instrument to win success at elections without even doing anything while in power for solving the basic problems of the masses. There emerged a consensus among various political parties to maintain their vote banks by dividing the people on caste and communal lines.  Non-performance by a party in power became irrelevant because of its potential to work out a favourable caste arithmetic and win elections. Communalism on the one hand and casteism on the other thus acquired a firm sway over the Indian polity. If anything, it were the three C’s—centralisation, corruption and criminalisation—coupled with the caste  and communal divide, engineered by opportunistic political forces as the shortest route to quick success, which made all the relevant issues, concerning the public, irrelevant. While corruption and criminalisation sapped the soul out of the ideal of people-oriented democratic governance, centralization of political authority led to an unaccountable bureaucratization of governance.

In this backdrop the movement to construct a Ram temple at the sight of the Mosque  also gathered momentum in 1989 and has continued till 1992. The Supreme Court in M.Ismail Farooqui vs UOI,(AIR 1995 SC 605) noticed: “A new dimension was added to the campaign for the construction of the temple with the formation of the Government in Uttar Pradesh in June 1991 by the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) which declared its commitment  to the construction of the temple………….The focus of the temple construction movement from October 1991 was to start construction of the temple by way of ‘kar-sewa’ on the land acquired by the Government in Uttar Pradesh while leaving the disputed structure intact. ….There  was a call for resumption of kar sewa from December 6, 1992 and the announcement made by the organizers was for a symbolic kar-sewa without violation of the court orders   including those made in the proceedings pending in this court. Inspite of initial reports from Ayodhya on December 6, 1992 indicating an air of normalcy, around mid-day a crowd addressed by leaders of BJP, VHP, etc.,  climbed the Ram Janma Bhoomi – Babri Masjid (RJB-BM) structure and started damaging the domes. Within a short time, the entire structure was demolished and razed to the ground. Indeed it was an act of “National Shame” what was  demolished was not merely an ancient structure ; but the faith of minority in the sense of justice and fair play of majority. It shook their faith in the rule of law and constitutional processes. A five hundred year old structure which was defenceless and whose safety was a sacred trust in the hands of government was demolished.”

 In a speech from the Red Fort in Delhi on August 15, 1992 which was broadcast , the Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao had already said  that “The Babri Masjid structure will be protected and the Ram temple built”. This assurance would lead people to draw a conclusion that the Ram Temple was not to be built on the site of the Babri Masjid because that structure was to be protected. The destruction of the Babri masjid had deeply wounded the religious feelings of the Muslim community throughout india and the least that could be done to sooth those injured feelings was to assure the community that the Babri Masjid was to be rebuilt. The Prime Minister gave that assurance on Dec 7 ,1992, and he referred to it on February 7 , 1993 in the BBC ‘Phone-in programme’ . He said “ I thought it was necessary, it was my duty to rebuilt the Mosque.”
 “ The judgments delivered by the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court on September 30, 2010 on the Babri Masjid cases not only flagrantly violate the law and the evidence but a binding unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court on the Babri Masjid case itself (M. Ismail  Faruqui  and Others vs Union of India and Others  (1994)6 Scc 360. It sanctified the conversion of a historic mosque ,which stood for 500 years into a temple.” Said A.G.Noorani in his article “Muslims Wronged” in Oct 22 ,2010 issue of Frontline . Noorani further says in the same article , “On the Babri Masjid ,for 60 years from 1950 to 2010, Muslims have been woefully wronged by every single court ruling ,including that of the Supreme Court after the demolition of the mosque on December 6, 1992”.

 An eminent jurist and Senior Advocate of Supreme Court T.R.Andhyarujina  in his article (The Hindu ) Oct 5, 2010 said “The absence of any condemnation of the vandalism of the demolition of the Babri Masjid on Dec 6, 1992 is a conspicuous aspect of the Ayodhya verdict of the Allahabad High Court .”  T.R.Andhyarujina further says in the same article :  “The  Ayodhya judgments  of the  Allahabad High Court make no note of the vandalism of Dec 6, 1992 .On the other hand ,they take the demolition as a fait accompli, as if the disputed 2.77 acre site was vacant land .After holding that the area beneath the central dome of the erstwhile Masjid must be allotted to Hindus because of their faith that Lord Ram’s place of birth was there ,and the areas covered by the Ram Chabutara and Sita Rasoi should be allotted to the Nirmohi Akhara ,the court has said that the remaining area of the disputed site should be divided, two-thirds to the two Hindu plaintiffs and  one third to the Muslim plaintiff by metes and bounds .These judgments, therefore legalise and legitimise the 1992 demolition, as the decree of the court proceeds on the basis that there is no Masjid on the disputed site today.

It is an elementary rule of justice in courts that when  a party to a litigation takes the law into its own hands and alters the existing state of affairs to its advantage,(as the demolition in 1992  did in favour of the Hindu plaintiffs ), the court would  first order the restitution of the pre-existing  state  of affairs .”

H.M.Seervai ,one of the most distinguished constitutional lawyer in a two-part article “Babri masjid” published in Economic Times on April 9 and 10, 1993, said:
“The destruction of the Babri Masjid put an end to all previous controversies raised by Hindu organisations about their alleged rights to erect a temple on the place where Babri Masjid stood. This is because no Court will give any assistance to those who unilaterally by criminal acts destroyed the subject matter of this dispute and violated the constitution and the law .”

The Allahabad High Court verdict came on September 30, 2010 during UPA-II regime. After Allahabad High Court judgment a grave and serious danger to Indian democracy appeared on the horizon. This verdict gave a legal shape to the political agenda of the Sangh Parivar “Mandir wahin Banaenge”  and has legitimised the Masjid demolition on December 6, 1992 giving them a way to claim to construct a “Grand Temple” at the sight of the demolished Masjid  and gave a boost to the BJP to contest 2014 Elections based on this issue.

Although against the Allahabad High Court judgments many appeals were  filed in the Supreme Court (which are still pending), and the question as to whether they could  construct a temple at the site of the Mosque had yet to be finally decided by the Supreme Court, the  Sangh Parivar continued  with their campaign for 2014 elections that they would   construct a Grand Temple . This judgment gave strength to the BJP and the power behind it- the RSS and the Sangh Parivar consisting of such organization as the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the VHP and the Bajrang Dal. They gave to Indian politics a heady mixture of aggressive hindu communalism and an equally aggressive hindu nationalism. In that process they promoted enemity between the Hindus and the Muslims. The movement fostered by these forces  contains all the essential characteristics of fascism.

It was after about three and a half months from December 6, 1992 and the demolition of the Babri Masjid, that the 13^th J.P.Memorial Lecture was delivered by V.M.Tarkunde on March 23, 1993. The subject of the lecture was Communalism and Human Rights . V.M. Tarkunde said in that lecture: “ I am of the view that the communalist nationalism which is being propagated by the BJP and the Sangh Parivar represents a far greater danger to Indian Democracy than the personal authoritarian rule which Mrs. Indira Gandhi and the  Gandhi-Nehru family were likely to impose on the country.  A personal authoritarian rule is a lesser danger because it is largely external to the people. Most of the people do not approve it, although they are usually too afraid to stick out their necks and openly oppose it ….Communalism, however , particularly when it is the communalism of the majority and can therefore take the form of ardent nationalism as well , can find a positive response in the minds of the people who are still prone to religious blind faith and among whom the humanist values of democracy , i.e, values of liberty, equality and fraternity are yet to be fully developed. Communalism in such cases is an internal enemy in the human mind and it is far more difficult to eradicate it than an external enemy like an autocratic ruler .” V.M. Tarkunde cautioned about the possibility of the BJP coming into power in the next elections (after demolition of the Mosque in Dec 1992). In this context he said in his memorial speech “as the Congress –(I)  is now much weaker than before and the opposite parties are unable to unite –to form an anti-communal secular platform , the BJP expects to come to power in the next election. If this happens , the secular democracy in India is liable to be replace by a potentially fascist theocratic state.” However , it did not  so happen in the next election. But in 1999 BJP led coalition NDA formed the govt. with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister,with a strong opposition in Parliament. What VM Tarkunde apprehended in 1993 did happen in 2014: with the the victory of Modi with a huge margin to Parliament and faced with a weak and divided opposition.

Now after three years of the victory of Modi in the Centre , Yogi Adityanath, a Hindu icon has been elected as the leader of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Party and installed as Chief minister .The BJP has secured  a majority of 325 members in the Legislative Assembly having the strength of 403 . Yogi has the reputation of being a hardcore Hindu leader . His becoming the Chief Minister shows that Hindutva is sweeping the country. It also shows that secularism has not taken roots in our country. The Hindutva elements  are gradually sweeping the country. These developments are a serious threat to the state of human rights in the country and all concerned citizens need to seriously give a thought to how they have to meet this grave challenge.
 

The post Hindutva’s Sweep over India, A Grave Challenge appeared first on SabrangIndia.

कटियार ने अयोध्या के फैजाबाद में एक चुनावी रैली को संबोधित करते हुए कहा कि जैसे बाबरी मस्जिद को गिराया गया था, ठीक वैसे ही ये सरकार राम मंदिर भी बनवाएगी। इस दौरान कटियार ने जनता से अपील करते हुए कहा कि आप भाजपा को वोट देकर सत्ता में लाइए।

मीडिया रिपोर्ट के मुताबिक, कटियार ने कहा कि राम मंदिर बनाना है तो यूपी में बीजेपी की सरकार बनाना जरूरी है। तभी राज्यसभा में बीजेपी का बहुमत होगा और पूरी ताकत से राम मंदिर का निर्माण हो सकेगा। उन्होंने कहा कि राम मंदिर तीन तरीके से बन सकता है। पहला अदालत के माध्यम से, दूसरा बातचीत और तीसरा संसद में कानून बनाकर।

साथ ही बीजेपी नेता ने दावा किया कि मोदी के कार्यकाल में ही मंदिर बनेगा। आपको बता दें कि कटियार से पहले गोरखपुर से बीजेपी सांसद और फायरब्रांड नेता योगी आदित्यनाथ ने भी रायपुर में एक समारोह के दौरान कहा था कि अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण कार्य जल्द शुरू होगा।

Courtesy: Janta Ka Reporter
 

The post BJP ने फिर अलापा राम मंदिर राग, कटियार बोले- जैसे मस्जिद गिराई वैसे ही मंदिर बनाएगी ये सरकार appeared first on SabrangIndia.

जरूरत से ज्यादा उत्साही भारतीय इंटेलिजेंस और अब साइबर सेल से लैस पुलिस नेटवर्क के लिए ऐसे भड़काऊ भाषणों और इन्हें देने वालों पर नजर रखना कठिन नहीं है। साथ ही वे भी आसानी से इस बात का पता कर सकते हैं क्या भड़काऊ या उन्माद फैलाने वाले भाषण और बयान देने वाले नेता आने वाले चुनावों में हिस्सा ले रही पार्टियों से जुड़े हैं?

राजनीति में धर्म के दुरुपयोग पर काफी हंगामा मचता रहा है। एक धर्मनिरपेक्ष राज्य होने के नाते भारत का कानून राजनीति में धर्म के दुरुपयोग की इजाजत नहीं देता। इसका मतलब यह है कि भारतीय दंड संहिता की धारा 153ए, 153बी और भारतीय जनप्रतिनिधित्व कानून की धारा 123ए और 123बी तहत धर्म के नाम पर लोगों का गलत उद्देश्य के लिए आह्वान करने, दो धर्मों या संप्रदाय के लोगों को आपस में भिड़ाने और एक धर्म को दूसरे से श्रेष्ठ बताने या धर्म के नाम पर धमकी देना जुर्म है। 

अभी चंद दिनों पहले सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने चुनाव में धर्म और जाति के नाम पर मतदाताओं से अपील के मामले में फैसला दिया। कोर्ट ने कोई गाइडलाइन तो नहीं दी है लेकिन एक मोटा सा सिद्धांत पेश किया, जिसके तहत धर्म, संप्रदाय या जाति  के नाम पर अपील पर रोक है। लेकिन लगता है कि  भाजपा के लोगों पर इसका कोई फर्क नहीं पड़ता है। हाल में भाजपा के सांसद साक्षी महाराज ने एक खास समुदाय के खिलाफ भड़काऊ और आपत्तिजनक बयान दिए। और इस बारे में उनके खिलाफ चुनाव आयोग में शिकायत भी दर्ज की गई है।

इस बीच, व्हाट्सएप और इंटरनेट पर बजने वाले उन्मादी और भड़काऊ म्यूजिक, गाने और ऐसे विजुअल सामने आ रहे हैं जो न सिर्फ बखेड़ा करने में सक्षम हैं बल्कि वे सीधे तौर पर धमकी और चेतावनी देते लगते हैं। ऐसा ही एक एमपी थ्री ट्यून यहां बानगी के तौर पर पेश है। यह ट्यून बड़ी तेजी से इंटरनेट और मोबाइल पर फैल रही है।
गाने के बोल हैं –

“Suno papiyo tumhare Chatti pe ab Shiv tandav hoga…….ram mandir song (https://mp3tunes.ws/suno-papiyo-tumhari-chati-pe-d645232)

जो राम का नहीं मेरे काम का नहीं
बोलो राम मंदिर कब बनेगा?
पूछे राम भक्तों से अयोध्या
जा रही है आबरू महा-संग्राम चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए
कार सेवकों की बलिदान को कैसे हम भुलायेंगे
पहले गोली खाई है अब फिर लहू बहायेंगे
जागो जागो अब शहीदों का सम्मान चाहिए
राम भक्तों अब शहीदों का सम्मान चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए
सुनो पापियों तुम्हारी छाती पे अब शिव-ताण्डव होगा
गर मंदिर नहीं बना तो सरयू तट पे तुम्हारा शव होगा
राम के नाम पे हो कुर्बान वो हिन्दुस्तान चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
राम मेरे राम, सीता सीता राम
पतित पवन सीताराम, रघुपति राघव राजा राम, राम मेरे राम
महंत बृजमोहन बाबा का भक्तों यही नारा है
अनुपम देवेन्द्र करो या मरो डरो न वक़्त तुम्हारा है
मोदीजी संसद में सच्चा प्रमाण चाहिए
छप्पन इंच सीने वालों का संविधान चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए

कोरस में गाया एक गीत इस तरह है-

सुनो पापियों तुम्हारी छाती पे अब शिव-ताण्डव होगा
गर मंदिर नहीं बना तो तुम्हारा सरयू तट पे सर होगा
राम के नाम पे हो कुर्बान वो हिन्दुस्तान चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए

Edited by : Arya Raghavendra  राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए Bolo Ram Mandir Kab Banega Song by Devendra Pathak
 

यू ट्यूब पर ऐसे ही कई भड़काऊ और नफरत फैलाने वाले साउंड ट्रैक और वीडियो देखे जा सकते हैं। आरएसएस से कथित तौर पर जुड़े संगठनों खास तौर पर विश्व हिंदू परिषद कथित तौर पर इसका इस्तेमाल करती रही है। आने वाले चुनावों को ध्यान में रख कर तरह के गाने, भाषण औऱ भड़काऊ वीडियो अपलोड किए जाते रहे हैं। हालांकि अब इऩमें से कई फेसबुक पर ब्लॉक किए जा चुके हैं।

 
मौजूदा मोदी सरकार में शामिल लोगों के भड़काने वाले भाषणों का सिलसिला बदस्तूर जारी है। सरकार में शामिल मंत्री और सांसद जिस तरह से भड़काने वाले बयान और भाषण दे रहे हैं, वह हतप्रभ करने वाला है। जरूरत से ज्यादा उत्साही भारतीय इंटेलिजेंस और अब साइबर सेल से लैस पुलिस नेटवर्क के लिए ऐसे भड़काऊ भाषणों और इन्हें देने वालों पर नजर रखना कठिन नहीं है।

यूट्यूब पर योगी आदित्यनाथ के समर्थकों का यह वीडियो मौजूद है। इसे 3,00,000 लाइक मिले हैं।

 
सवाल यह कि क्या ऐसे भड़काऊ बयानों,वीडियो या भाषणों को रोकना सरकारी इंटेलिजेंस या पुलिस नेटवर्क की प्राथमिकता है। खास कर उस माहौल में जब मोदी सरकार में बहुसंख्यकों का दखल का बढ़ता जा रहा है।

The post इंटरनेट और सोशल मीडिया ने राजनीति में धर्म का दुरुपयोग आसान बनाया ? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

For the overzealous Indian intelligence and police networks, now with their cyber cells in place, it is not difficult to monitor these and even identify whether or not they are linked to outfits contesting forthcoming polls

Image: Youtube

There has been much hue and cry over the misuse of religion in politics. Being a secular state, Indian law prohibits the misuse of religion in politics. Understood carefully this means that under Sections 153a and 153 b of the Indian Penal Code and 123a and 123b of the Representation of People’s Act, the invocation of faith in a adversarial manner, pitted against ‘other faiths’, claiming superiority’ or being even threatening is clearly taboo.
 
Within days of the recent Supreme Court verdict on the issue, that reiterates broad principles without laying down any guidelines, Member of Parliament(MP) belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Sakshi Maharaj has made offensive and provocative speeches against one particular community. Complaints have been filed with the election commission.
 
Meanwhile, the increasingly omnipresent What’s APP and internet is replete with music, songs and visuals that are not just incendiary but threatening. The lyrics of this particular song, professionally recorded, “Suno papiyo tumhare Chatti pe ab Shiv tandav hoga…….ram mandir song (https://mp3tunes.ws/suno-papiyo-tumhari-chati-pe-d645232) is a case in point. This tune is being happily spread by these insidious means.

The words of the song are telling:

जो राम का नहीं मेरे काम का नहीं
बोलो राम मंदिर कब बनेगा?
पूछे राम भक्तों से अयोध्या
जा रही है आबरू महा-संग्राम चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए
कार सेवकों की बलिदान को कैसे हम भुलायेंगे
पहले गोली खाई है अब फिर लहू बहायेंगे
जागो जागो अब शहीदों का सम्मान चाहिए
राम भक्तों अब शहीदों का सम्मान चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए
सुनो पापियों तुम्हारी छाती पे अब शिव-ताण्डव होगा
गर मंदिर नहीं बना तो सरयू तट पे तुम्हारा शव होगा
राम के नाम पे हो कुर्बान वो हिन्दुस्तान चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
राम मेरे राम, सीता सीता राम
पतित पवन सीताराम, रघुपति राघव राजा राम, राम मेरे राम
महंत बृजमोहन बाबा का भक्तों यही नारा है
अनुपम देवेन्द्र करो या मरो डरो न वक़्त तुम्हारा है
मोदीजी संसद में सच्चा प्रमाण चाहिए
छप्पन इंच सीने वालों का संविधान चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए

The chorus even more so:

सुनो पापियों तुम्हारी छाती पे अब शिव-ताण्डव होगा
गर मंदिर नहीं बना तो तुम्हारा सरयू तट पे सर होगा
राम के नाम पे हो कुर्बान वो हिन्दुस्तान चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए
अब अयोध्या में राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए
आज कलयुग में राम-भक्तों को अपना राम चाहिए

edited by : Arya Raghavendra  राम मंदिर का निर्माण चाहिए Bolo Ram Mandir Kab Banega Song by Devendra Pathak

 
Other videos with the same sound track can also be seen on You-Tube. Organisations allegedly affiliated to the RSS, especially the Viswa Hindu Parishad have been reportedly actively using these, with the forthcoming elections in mind, and have been recently blocked from facebook.
 

The present Modi regime’s record of inciteful speech, made by ministers and MPs has been shocking.
For the overzealous Indian intelligence and police networks, now with their cyber cells in place, it is not difficult to monitor these and even identify whether or not they are linked to outfits contesting the polls.

Here is a Video on You-Tube by a Yogi Adityanath Supporter that has 3,00,000 likes
 

The question is, whether this is a priority at all for the agencies, given the majoritarian thrust of the Modi regime.
 
 

The post Internet and Social Media an Easy Way to Misuse Religion for Political Ends? appeared first on SabrangIndia.