On Dec 6, 1992, a group of Hindu ‘karsevaks’ brought down the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya to grounds. It has been 25 years since Babri demolition but the same wrath can be seen fiery among the Hindu & Muslim organisations. Remembering the day, on 6 Dec 2017 Shaurya diwas was celebrated by Hindus. While the Hindu organisation celebrated Day of Valour, the day was treated as a Day of sorrow by Muslim organisations.  While the Hindus were wearing saffron to mark it as day of victory, the Muslims wore black bands celebrating it as back day, while the riots victims want to keep it as a ‘Harmony Day’.

While many Hindus proclaimed supporting the Shaurya Diwas, while there are many who assert the litigants as criminals and thugs who has nothing to do with religion, the spirit of religion or the spirit of Hinduism. Also some Muslims unsupported the Muslim organisations for litigating their demands in unfair ways stating that these are unethical elements are poisoning the society by name of Islam, Mhd. Prophet never called for blood dispersal , he always gave a grounding in  the message of peace and love.

 ‘Shaurya Diwas’ for Hindus:

Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal celebrated the silver jubilee of Babri demolition by organizing shobha yatra, mashaal juloos, sabhas & march in Faizabad, Ayodhya , Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli , Bijnor and other locations of western UP. People in Ayodhya – Faizabad were requested to light up their homes with lamps; the temples were also decorated with diyas taking a pledge for construction of Ram Temple at the disputed site. The VHP sevaks raised processions holding flags and banners claiming Ram Temple construction at the disputed site.

‘Yaum e Gham’ for Muslims:

The Indian Union Muslim League, Asaduddin Owaisi’s AIMIM declared it as Day of mourning for Muslims.  Muslims celebrated it as a black day by wearing bands tied around the arms. Iqbal Ansari recited Quranic verses remembering the litigants of Babri demolition. In the session, they also deliberate the legal status of the case and take pledge to stay strong on grounds to get their demands fulfilled.

In 2010, Allahabad High Court had already declared a three-way division of the land between Nirmohi Akhara, Lord Ram deity and the Sunni Waqf board but the protesters are still unhappy with the judgment. On December 5 2017, the final hearing of the case was to be done by Supreme Court but now it has been further suspended till February 8, 2018.

History is always written from the writer’s perspective. So we’ll always find different versions of the same event in history and we might never know what the truth really is. But what is important that we as a nation should adhere to the beautiful word in which India is described in our constitution – “Secular”.

Ayodhya is believed to be the birth place of sovereign Rama who is supposed to be an incarnation of lord Vishnu. Hindus treat Ayodhya as a sacred Hindu land.  Babri mosque located in Faizabad district, Uttar Pradesh is a matter of dispute among Hindus & Muslims for years. It is believed that a Hindu temple was demolished to create the mosque. The 2.77 acre disputed land has been captive for years. It is not just a religious heated discussion but also a scope of political and historical deliberation.

None of the Hindus & Muslims assemblies can arrange for strong evidences to upkeep their privilege for the disputed area. The Hindu organisations claiming that mosque located at the disputed land bore an inscription stating that it was built by Mir Baqi – general of the Muslim invader Babur in 1528 A.D.). It is alleged that Babar came to India in an early 20th century; he was dressed as a Qalandar (Sufi ascetic). On getting directives from Sufi saints Shah Jalal and Sayyid Musa Ashiqan, he took a pledge to triumph over India and construct Babri mosque after the Janmasthan temple demolition. The mosque was thus named as Babri Masjid (Babur’s mosque) or masjid-i-janmasthan after the name of Babar. The Hindu organisations build up their claim saying that the Archaeological Surveys also conclude that a Hindu temple used to exist at the disputed site. They also assert that there have been several historical evidences that support that the mosque was created after demolishing the Rama temple. In early Mughal period there are no solid facts that upkeep the temple demolition stories by Babar. There are some submissive manuscripts from Late Mughal period that relate to the incidence of temple demolition and creation of mosque at the same place, though we cannot claim the temple demolition saga as fact merely on basis of these stuffs.

The dispute:

The disputes related to Babri mosqe are going one from a long time between Sunni Wakf Board and the ABRM claiming the site possession. Akhil Bharatiya Ramayana Mahasabha (ABRM) agitated the privilege of disputed land in 1946. In 1949, the mosque was attacked by Hindu activists, they broke into the mosque to place idols of Rama and Sita. After that the gates were locked for public by police to circumvent further rebels.

Rest is history:

On 6 December 1992, Vishva Hindu Parishad and BJP kar sevaks organised a rally at the mosque site. The provoking political rally advanced to matter of wrath among the mob. The mosque was attacked with a number of improvised tools and brought to the ground in a few hours. Muslim organisations expressed outrage at the mosque destruction. More than 2000 people were killed at in the riot. The rage among mob spread like a fire in Mumbai, Bhopal, Delhi, Hyderabad and other major locations in India. After Babri demolition in 1992, three-judge bench of The Allahabad High Court divided the disputed land among Hindu Maha Sabha, Islamic Sunni Waqf Board and Nirmohi Akhara. Though they are not pleased with the judgment, the case still stays and spreading further like a nasty germ among the Hindus & Muslims.

“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.”
― Aldous Huxley, Collected Essays