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Anti-Mosque Politics of India BY Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
(Under revision)
Not many people doubt the tacit understanding between the so-called secular and democratic parties like the Congress party and the overtly anti-Muslim communal parties like the BJP. Anti-Muslim agenda seems to be common n both these streams, but Congress party quite effectively hide it from public view, especially from the Muslims. Historically, BJP emerged form Congress foundations in Delhi state. In fact right from the 1947, when then premier Nehru brought Hindus from Pakistan and got them settled down in Delhi and else where, the Congress and the earlier versions of BJP have operated on a secret understanding on issues concerning Muslims and Mosques. The Congress government led by Nehru laid foundations for Hindu state by stated to be secular one by encouraging the Hindu communal forces brought from Pakistan and collected from different parts of India to settle down and control the Capital city New Delhi. The communal forces began fuelling anti-Islamic and anti-Mosque propaganda with hidden encouragement form government of India.
Both Congress and BJP depended on the vote bank of the RSS and its braches. Initially Congress overwhelmingly managed the vote-banks controlled by RSS and its allies, but later with the BJP emerging a strong force at national level following the emergency, RSS switched its major votes to it and also help it come to power, ably aided by an alliance called NDA consisting of several so-called secular parties.
Nexus of Congress-anti-Muslim forces
It is a known fact that several Congress members are close not only BJP and its ideology, but also to its parental communal organization, RSS. Recent revelations by BJP"˜s tallest leader LK Advani has clearly exposed the hidden relationships of these two parties having a similar national agenda. Late Congress prime-minister P.V. Narasimha Rao held many views that were 'congruent to those of the BJP', its leader L.K. Advani has said in his autobiography. When he was prime minister from 1991 to 1996, Narasimha Rao received trenchant criticism from a section of the Congress and also the Left parties for not doing enough to prevent the demolition of the Babri mosque.
In fact, the ruling Congress party encouraged the destruction of the Babri Mosque. In the autobiography, Advani has heaped praise on Rao, during whose regime the Grand Babri Masjid was demolished in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh triggering the worst communal rioting in five decades. "˜Firstly I admired Rao's erudition. He combined a scholarly understanding of national and international affairs with rich political and administrative experience,' says Advani in the book. 'Secondly, in my initial meetings with him, I found that his views on several critical policy issues to be congruent to those of the BJP.'
Although the Congress-BJP rivalry and tacit understanding saw the demolition of the Grand Mosque denying them pray there, no other politician demanded the government to hand over the Mosque to Muslims of India. It is known, as soon as India became free, it began its anti-Islamic operation in a systematic and sustained manner by getting the Mosque locked after throwing the persist who stayed there at time; it was followed later by unlocking the Mosque and allowing Hindus to place idols inside the mosque and still later, the entire Mosque complex was brought under the custody of Hindus by the government. Gradually the Indian media began a smear campaign against Babri Mosque and Muslims. The idea is to divert attention of people from Mosque and shift the focus to some other issues.
A nasty process of digging and placing idols and other "proofs" began secretly, while the entire area was kept out of bound for Muslims. The State government and central one colluded to obtain what looked like non-issue about non-existing Mosque. Then media and Hindu leaders began talking about "structure" to refer to Grand Babri Mosque. They wanted to make it appear that a mosque was constructed by Muslims by demolishing an existing mosque on the site where Lord Ram was born. (Sri Lanka, where Ravan supposedly lived and took Sita captive, is far away from Ayodhya)
When their efforts to prove the existence of Ram or his temple in Ayodhya, the Neo-Indian leaders decided to destroy the Mosque to appease the Hindus, who had become hysterical by the hollow emotional flare-ups generated in a sustained manner by Hindutva and anti-Islamic forces in forms of aggressive campaign, media rhetoric and TV serials, that too with full government support. The Babri Mosque was destroyed by these terrorists encouraged as per its conspiracy. However, the then premier Narasinha Rao immediately pledged to the n of rebuilding the Grand Babri Mosque at the very site where it existed. It was a political gimmick of the Congress party to keep the Muslim vote-bank intact. But neither has he nor his successors taken any sincere initiative to keep the government's word given to the nation and the world at large. And no one is bothered about the fate the Mosque, not even the Muslim League, a coalition partner at the central government now.
Rao had obtained signatures of as many chief-ministers, as he managed, to persuade to down the Babri Mosque that the media began naming a mere "structure".
CONGRESS DOUBLE-SPEAK
Congress party fools the nation with its double standards. It gives a clear signal to Hindus that the Mosque would not be rebuilt. Congress party uses the Hindu communal parties and wings to keep the anti-Muslim rhetoric alive so that Muslims don't demand the reconstruction of the Mosque. To Muslims it pretends about backlash in polls if Mosque is rebuilt. The Congress party knows it is stupid to argue like that, because by constructing the Grand Mosque, Congress party can claim I credibility in the nation's eye for keeping its pledge. On the contrary, the party would regain the Muslim vote-bank that has been split among various so-called pro-Muslim or sympathetic parties (but they also need the votes of Muslims). So, the harsh truth is the destruction of Babri Mosque was the Hindu idea engineered by Congress party by cunningly using the anti-Islamic terrorist gangs operating in the country. Hence the Congress party does not want to take any initiative that would tarnish the image of Hindus. But they don't bother if their deadly actions hurt and harm the genuine Muslims and their interests.
The Rightist parties led by the communal national BJP began even threatening the Muslims with the destruction of several other important historical mosques in the country and have occupied some of them nation wide, the Centrist forces led by Cong and Janata Dal , etc, have so maintained a composite silence over the reconstruction of the Mosque. The leftists just avoid the Babri demolition all together, as if that does not concern them in the states they now rule. But with the latest arrest of Altaf Kashmiri in communist ruled Kerala on false charges and his torture in prison for over a month before he was released vindicate the perception about their Muslim policy as well.
Indian Muslims
Muslims in the country believe that Indian claim of democracy and secularism are real. Indian nation has been patiently expecting the Congress and the successive governments to make efforts to address the rebuilding issue and begin the construction work. Neither the Congress or Janata Dal-led pro-Muslim regimes, nor the BJP-led "pseudo-secular" regime, followed again by the present Congress-led "secular" regime has shown any interest in speedy resolution of the matter and start the construction work. Because they all have a common agenda: anti-Islamism. However, the Muslims in these parties refuse to support, at least overtly, the cause of Babri Mosque's retrieval.
Muslims in India, reduced as mere vote-bank stuff by the national and regional parties, have developed inferiority complex of being Muslims and also anti-Islamic and pro-Hindu syndromes. This is the result of the long term strategy of Indian leaders to mould the Muslims to hate Islam and live Hindu masters. Political socialization has badly affected their thinking capacity and created psycho fears among the bulk of them. They fight for the political outfits they support, worry too much for Indian cricket, but have been coerced into raising their united voice for Babri Mosque's reconstruction. That is the Indian Muslim. By denying their legitimate rights in many respects, India has kept Muslims under their full control. Hindus do say that if they want no Muslim would be in India and they have a point. UNSC veto power they seek to do that forcefully.
It is pathetic that Muslims in India do not have a genuine leadership to defend the legitimate interests of Indian Muslims. The parties like Muslim League and Majlis (MIM) of Hyderabad Having pretensions of being pro-Islamic have used the Muslims as vote bank to make compromises with the rulers to secure "special favours and offers" have consistently betrayed the Muslims. One does not know if these parties had compromised on Babri Mosque in return for favours that include cash, jobs for their members, special quotas, special licences, free Hajj trips, other free foreign trips in commissions and committees, etc. If so, those who offered the favours and those who got them should be tried in special courts.
Not very Hindu is anti-Muslim in the country, though most of them hate Islam, but the Congress, BJP and ever the pro-Islamic parties like Muslim League and Hyderabad based MIM that are appendages of Congress party, want to keep the wedge in tack for political and Mosque reasons.
Advani's disclosure points to the secret understanding among the political leaders cutting across the political spectrum, to suppress the Muslims in the country and embarrass and insult them by denying them their right to be pound of the Islamic cultural heritages. Indian government even encourages bogus researchers to prove that world famous Taj Mahal was built by Hindus as a temple. Yet, this is the insanity that the majority political Muslims support.
One feels ashamed of the fact the Muslims who "serve the political parties in India, both national and regional, try to justify the action of congress party in letting the Grand Babri Mosque be destroyed by anti"”Islamic forces in 1992 December 06 as well the refusal by the Congress-led government now to announce the rebuilding of the Mosque. One doubts the sincerity of these Muslims in praying in Mosques, let alone their integrity as believers and humans. One fact is revealed: these Muslims are brainwashed in India and are under coercion and psychological restrictions not to support the cause of Muslim uplift. This explains why the governments are insincere about proving genuinely equal justice and social security.
Granddad Babri Mosque was destroyed by the anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim extremist militant forces ably aided by the police and military establishment.
AN OBSERVATION
Indian militant Hindus encouraged by the State machinery have demolished the Grand Babri Mosque in broad day light because they thought in India they have every right to misbehave with Muslims and destroy their belongings, most importantly the Mosques, but Mosques belong to Islam which is a world religion. They are still hopeful, taking proper cues form governments, that Mosque would not be rebuilt there because Islam is a divided house every where and Muslins are badly fighting each other in India ably fuelled by Indian politicians and others.
And because the minorities themselves are disunited amongst themselves and , unfortunately, not even Christians support the Muslim causes, though they do take the help Muslims when they a have issues with government. Many Christian journalists, unfortunately, add fuel to problems of Muslim agony by painting them as undesirable elements only in order to appease the Hindus and make quick money for liquors and imported smokes. Governments both at the centre and provinces keep some of these minority people under their control to destroy any move to unite the Muslims on Mosque and bread issues. And because India could persude the Arabs also not to support the Mosque cause in India.
India is cunningly playing with Mosque because the UN has become redundant , ICJ in The Hague irrelevant and US is busying killing Muslims globally and seeking Indian help also for that; And globally Muslim countries have no common agenda defending Islam and Muslims and Indian Muslims have been made deadly pro-Hindu.
Aftr conductng an illegal and immoral operation in Ayodhya by dismantling the Grand Babri Mosque, Inda state expects the judicialry to just apporove of Indian ghastly action and support the Hindu cause, after all the judges are also Hindus and should, therfore, be equally anti-muslim in their "secular' outlook, as the majority of polical and bueaucrtic classes in India do.
Now, India should try to an emergency exit by making announcement of returning the Mosque to Muslims after removing the idols and other "stuff" from the mosque site to enble the Muslims to reclaim the site in a dmocratic and secular manner.
India should immediately begin construction of the Grand Babri Mosque and fulfil the pledge given to the nation; If Indian government feels shy or ashamed of doing it by itself on account of the fact that that amounts to admitting the illegal, ghastly demolition, it should hand over the mosque premises to Muslim of India. Let Muslims build it themselves by contribution from every single Muslim Re one per person.
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Analyst, Researcher & Commentator
Delhi
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