Need to correct historical wrong: Hindu party to SC

New Delhi, Oct. 15: A “historical wrong” was committed by Mughal emperor Babur after his conquest of India over 433 years ago by constructing a mosque at the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya and it needs to be rectified, a Hindu party told the Supreme Court on Tuesday in the Ram Janmbhoomi-Babri masjid land dispute case.

A 5-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, was told by former Attorney General and senior advocate K. Parasaran, appearing for the Hindu party, that there were several mosques in Ayodhya where Muslims can pray but Hindus cannot change the birth place of Lord Ram.

“Please do the reparation of a historical wrong committed by foreign ruler Babur who came here and said that I am the Emperor and my fiat is the law,” the senior lawyer, appearing for Mahant Suresh Das, who is a defendant in a law suit filed by Sunni Waqf Board and others in 1961, told the apex court on the 39th day of hearing in the case.

“Muslims can pray in any other mosque in Ayodhya. There are 55-60 mosques in Ayodhya alone. But, for Hindus this is the birth place of Lord Ram, which we cannot change,” he told the bench, which also comprised justices S.A. Bobde, D.Y. Chandrachud, Ashok Bhushan and S.A. Nazeer.

Hindus have been fighting for centuries for the birthplace of Ram which cannot be changed and for Muslims all mosques are equal, Parasaran said, adding that foreigners like Mughals, Portuguese, French and Britishers came to rich India and plundered it which led this country to poverty.

He was responding to the lawsuit filed by Muslim parties including Sunni Wakf Board and said their case of 1961 was time-barred under the Limitation Act and alleged that they had sought a declaration about the nature of the building in dispute and did not seek injunction for enforcement of right of worship.