Gyanvapi row: The politics of demolition and construction
The Supreme Court, while transferring the Gyanvapi mosque legal dispute to the district judge in Varanasi, ordered that the case be heard on a priority basis. The apex court will hear the case in the second week of July. The district administration must maintain the status quo until then.
This is merely the beginning of a judicial battle, and the matter will not end at Gyanvapi. From Mathura’s Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and Delhi’s Qutub Minar to Agra’s Taj Mahal and MP’s Bhojshala, many disputes are being taken off the backburner and brought to the forefront. Are we about to experience another period of turbulence, such as the one we witnessed from 1989 to 1992? Those who believe that just one religion is to blame for everything should remember that in our country, members of various faiths fought each other long before Jesus and Mohammed founded Christianity and Islam respectively. According to legend, Chanakya left his disciple, emperor Chandragupta, and his court for a brief period. The reason? The youthful ruler had been swayed by the Jain muni, Bhadrabahu.
Back to Gyanvapi. Aurangzeb, who destroyed Lord Mahadev’s temple, contributed financially to the construction of Kashi’s Aparnath Math and Tekra Math. The demolition of the Vishwanath temple and the construction of a mosque were opposed by Baba Aparnath. So, what made this powerful king do this? Did he intend to sow confusion by eliminating one centre of religion while supporting others in order to put an end to the rebellion? Or was he trying to create a situation where different sects of Hindus fight among themselves?
We must recall that Aurangzeb made a proclamation when he was a prince. “Abul Hasan (the warlord posted in Varanasi) should know this... it has been decided by our holy legislation that existing temples should not be demolished and new temples should not be established,” says the text, which can be found in the Bharat Kala Bhawan of Banaras Hindu University. “Some people are tormenting some Brahmins in Banaras and its neighbouring areas due to malice and enmity, according to news that has recently reached our very ideal and holy court. In addition, the temple’s caretakers seek to remove the Brahmins from their positions, which could cause discontent among the sect. That’s why it’s my royal order that as soon as the Farman appears, you will be warned that in the future, Brahmins and other Hindus will not be subjected to any form of injustice. In this way, people can all go about their work in peace and worship in the kingdom given to us by the grace of Allah (which will last forever). This should be considered as soon as possible.”
This then is the politics of demolition and construction, but the story doesn’t end there.
The argument is that many temples, including those in three holiest holy sites of Hinduism, were razed, and mosques built in their place. As a result, a majority of the people have good reasons to express their sorrow and indignation. How can their feelings be assuaged? During the Ram Mandir movement, Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani and the late Ashok Singhal of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad said that if the Hindus got Ayodhya, Mathura, and Kashi, no further demands would be made. This assurance is something that Muslim politicians and religious leaders have no faith in. Even if they accept this promise, they feel that there is no guarantee that 3,000 Muslim shrines, which are believed to be contentious, will remain unaffected in the coming years. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board has demanded that the law passed by Parliament on September 18, 1991, be followed. The Places of Worship Act prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and ensures that the religious character of the building remains as it was on August 15, 1947 (with the exception of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site).
There can be a middle ground if we look at benchmarks from our shared culture and history. One of these was the manner in which a feud was ended in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhojshala, where Hindus worship on Tuesdays and Muslims offer namaz on Fridays. However, a lawsuit has been filed to prevent the erection of a Saraswati statue and the practice of namaz there.
Clearly, the problem is not limited to places of worship. We need to bridge a wide divide. For centuries, emperors and politicians used various methods to create divisions in society. Why shouldn’t the country’s responsible citizens and leaders act to end this? The relationship between Japan and the United States (US) should serve as an example to us. The US responded with atomic bombs to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor; 200,000 Japanese were killed, but both countries moved on, putting their mutual animosity behind them. Thanks to US cooperation and aid, Japan was the world’s second largest economy until recently.
Here I remember the scholar, Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan, who said, “Those who do not comprehend history become history itself”. It is now up to us to decide whether 21st century India wishes to make history or be held back by it.