The Battle for the Babri Masjid Mosque in Ayodhya
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The Babri Masjid mosque was in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh state of India, in South Asia. It got demolished illegally by Hindu activists in 1992. The incident of the disputed Babri Masjid, also known as the Mosque of Babur, started with the rise of Mughal dynasty in middle age India. It was erected by Mir Baqi, who was a general serving under Mughal emperor Babur around 1528. It was one of three mosques constructed by Babur during the 16th century. The conflict over this mosque is one of the most long-lasting feuds in the history of India. The battle represents how Muslims and Hindus have fought to defend their faiths in the course of seeking spirituality and exaltation of sacredness.
The land on which the mosque is built has caused a great feud between Hindus and Muslims. Hindus claiming this land argue that the Babri Mosque is built on top of Ram Janmabhoomi, which is the birthplace of the Hindu deity Rama (believed to be the seventh avatar of Hindu god Vishnu) and therefore belongs to Hindus. The first conflict arose during the British rule over India in the mid-19th century. Upon India gaining independence in 1949, Hindu activists brought images of Rama into the mosque, stirring strife with the Sunni Muslim community who had custody of the mosque and this led to the closure of the mosque which was then made out of bounds to both communities. The Hindu activists launched a campaign in 1984 prodding the government to remove the mosque so that a Hindu temple could be built in its stead. The movement continued to push for their demand in the following years, and it led to riots in 1990, and two years later, the Hindu activists forcefully destroyed the mosque. This freshly restarted wrangles in court that have continued to the present day (Babri Masjid, 2019).
In the aftermath of the demolition, the tension between Hindu and Islam grew, and there were several months of intercommunal rioting between the duo which caused the death of at least 2000 people. There was retaliatory violence against Hindus also in neighboring Pakistan, which was inevitable owing to Islam being the state religion in Pakistan and the shared history and ties with India. In a bid to resolve the dispute between the two parties in 2010, the court assigned both communities a share of the land. However, none of the parties was contented with the ruling, and they both appealed to the High court, which due to new evidence presented by archeological data, entrusted the cite wholly to the Hindu claimants. The Sunni Muslims were also compensated land elsewhere.
In India, Hinduism is more indigenous and ancient to the inhabitants of India than Islam. It has a vast majority of followers among Indian citizens, but the two have always been the most dominant religions in the country. Historically, Islamic forces have coercively imposed their belief system to the native Indians. Following Islamic conquest of India and South Asia at large, Muslim rule was established under various Muslim empires such as the Mughal dynasty. Since the indigenous people of India often were forced into Islam under duress, there was always bound to be resentment against Muslims. The Adhoyan dispute seems only to be the culmination of a lifelong irreconciliation between Islam and Hinduism.
In every feud, there is an offending party that disrupts the peace, to shift the tranquil state to a confrontational one. Islam has often come across as a self -righteous and morally supreme belief system. As seen from the Ayodhya Babur mosque construction, the Mughalan Muslims had little to no tolerance of Hindu religion, so much as to demolish their temple of worship and set up a mosque for their place of worship. It is not farfetched, therefore to conclude that Islam was the first offending party in the Ayodhya dispute. Islam has a reputation for hostility due to cases of extremism and terrorism. Militant groups such as Islamic State, al Qaeda, Taliban and the like give Islam a bad name.
In the attempt to criticize either parties’ actions in the dispute over Babri Masjid, it is easy to overlook why the dispute exists. The Ayodhya Babri Masjid site dispute is the best example that highlights the most pivotal aspect in the practice of the two Indian religions, which is a place to worship. This site is contended for by both Hindu and Islam and for the same reason. It proves the point that in the establishment of any religious doctrine, one must need a shrine-site that is viewed as sacred. It is beyond any reasonable doubt that the land in question originally belonged to the Indian natives. However, Islamic forces of the Mughal empire conquered and subdued the inhabitants, earning them the ownership of the location. The supreme court of India is the body that was tasked with resolving the conflict that ensued. It may not be able to determine whether indeed the Mughal Emperor Babur, actually demolished the Indian temple dedicated to worship the god Rama due to the huge time-lapse and absence of proof. It has however ruled in favor of the Hindu litigants since archaeological research findings can guarantee the existence of a non- Muslim structure predating the Babri Masjid mosque. A mosque is essential in Islam religion as it provides a physical place where congregations can come to worship and fellowship. It becomes sensible then for two faiths that preach peace to engage in a tug of war if the course is a land to build their holy shrine.
Though the Battle for Babir Mosque land site may reveal the natural discord between two dominant and opposing religions in India, Hinduism and Islam are often in perfect harmony and appreciation of each other’s unique path to spirituality. In India, some Hindus have even converted to Islam or adopted some aspects of it in syncretism. This is partly due to the non-egalitarian caste system which has pushed some of those in the lower castes dubbed ‘untouchables’ to opt for the Islamic religion, where they can enjoy greater worth as people (Biswas, 2016). Also, both religions have the shared practice of exalting pious characters in their society considered holy and exemplary in their devotion to their creator. In the reading, (Festival of the Pirs) there are Indians who have integrated the Islamic practice into their own, of marking the month of Muharram in commemoration of Pirs. Muharram is in the Islamic culture to commemorate the martyrs of Karbala, yet Hindus in Gugudu mark it too. “These days, the new generation has gotten into many strange ideas. For several centuries, Muharram has been our tradition and our practice. Now, this new generation has gotten this sudden idea that Muharram is a ‘Muslim’ festival and they question why we Hindus should do this. Let us see how long these sudden ideas last!” said Fakkeerappa, a seventy-five-year-old low-caste Hindu from Gugudu. (Mohammad, 2014)
The tension between Islam and Hindu in India should, however, not be underestimated as it has the potential to destroy the entire nation and cause unimaginable genocide and massacres in the absence of mediation. In the 1992 demolition event of the Babri mosque, tension grew and led to mass murders in India that claimed thousands of lives (Mujahid, 2018). During the conquest of India by Islam crusaders and establishment of the sultanates and dynasties to rule South Asia, Islam, rule-governed India till its fall in the 18th century with the coming of the British colonialists. During this period, Hindus were persecuted, and revolts against the regime arose frequently resulting in casualties on both sides. When the British rule ended, there was a rise in Hindu nationalism and tension ensued between the two religions, which led to the creation of Pakistan as an Islamic state independent from India. Many people were killed in the process.
It is possible, however, for religious groups in India or any other religion of the world to live with each other with respect and abounding in peace. Religions should not clash over doctrine differences or for control of the people. All religions in the world serve one purpose; to lead the people on a path to morality idealness and spiritual fulfilment. The responsibility rests in the shoulders of religious leaders to re-educate their masses on acceptance of other different religions and preach tolerance on differences in a belief system. In a broader sense, all religions strive to unite humankind with their creator and are different versions of describing one Lord and universal reality. Quoting from the Indian Sufi Romance reading, “in every state name the Lord is one, a single form in many guises. In heaven earth and hell, wherever space extends, the Lord rejoices in a multiplicity of the form (Manjhana, 200). The Ayodhya incident of Babri mosque is one event that could have been resolved more amicably than what went down in the records of the Indian history, had both groups possessed tolerance and upheld pluralistic ideals. The same is true as well, for many other religious conflicts and atrocities to humanity committed in the name of the Lord.
In conclusion, we can learn from the Ayodhya incident that when the insanity of religions breaks loose, the more sober court of law has to restore order and resolve the conflict. Rationality is the medicine for the faith since faith can quickly turn to be a fuel for disagreement among communities. At the end of it all, Hindu and Islam need to recognize that their broader identity that surpasses the labels of religious affiliation is their Indian citizenship. They are therefore governed under one constitution and law. It is, therefore, the duty of the law to keep both communities in check. The Ayodhya case reflects humanity’s endeavor to pursue spiritual growth and reverence for sacred symbols of faith. This is brought out by the striving to win sacred places of worship by both Hindu and Muslim communities. It also touches on the hostility between non-congruent belief systems in religious practice in the society and how a solution can be achieved for the interest of peace and tranquility in a nation.
References
Babri Masjid. (2019). Britannica.
Biswas, S. (2016, May 10). Why are many Indian Muslims seen as untouchable? Retrieved from BBC NEWS: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-36220329
Manjhana, A. B. (200). Madhumalati: an Indian Sufi Romance. Oxford: Oxford University Press .
Mohammad, A. (2014). The Festival of Pirs. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mujahid, A. M. (2018). What is the Babri Mosque Issue? Sound Vision.