muslims to be blamed

MUSLIMS SHOULD BLAME THEMSELVES

The Muslim Ummah today mourns the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The unity exhibited by the Muslim Ummah throughout the world in condemning the barbaric act committed by the Hindu terrorists in collusion with the rulers in Delhi deserves commendation. If only such an unity had been fostered prior to December 6, the 16th century mosque could have been saved. (Allah knows best). But if the integrity and intuition displayed now becomes extinct in the future, the Ummah will have to forego the Eidgah Masjid at Mathura, Gyanvapi Masjid at Kashi and also more than 30,000 mosques spread throughout the country. Not only we will lose the mosques, but also, we will have to stand guilty before the Almighty Lord on the Day of Judgement.

The demagogues who demolished the masjid, as well as their representatives in Parliament have made their intention clear by raising the slogan "ye to pehli jhanki hai, Mathura, Kashi baki hai" (This is only a precursor; Mathura, Kashi are in balance). Hence the Muslim Ummah should prepare itself for a long-term struggle. The difference within the Ummah should be sunk. The entire Ummah should function as a single unit forgetting and foregoing all the rancour and animosity among itself. If we do not answer to this need of the hour and if we continue to exhibit narrow mindedness then we will be reduced to noughts.

Three factors were mainly responsible for the demolition of Babri Masjid

(a) the unblemished belief as well as political and legal system that the so called secular, leaders would wage a battle on our behalf to restore Babri Mosque

(b) the compromising Muslim leadership

Right from the time the idols were surreptiously placed in the pulpit of the masjid, in the dark hours of December 22-23, 1949, the Muslim Ummah had total faith that the political and legal system of this country would redress the grave injustice perpetrated on it. Alas, the reward for such an erroneous faith was the destruction of the masjid on 6-12-92. The then 'secular' prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru could have ordered the removal of idols from the masjid. It is said that he had send the messages ordering the removal of idols but the then District Magistrate K.K. Nayyer refused to do so. The court took charge of the premises and appointed a receiver only on 29th December 1949. Yet Jawarharlal Nehru, the secular Prime Minister did not have the courage in the intervening six days to sack the District Magistrate, who defied his orders. Yet the Muslim Ummah did nothing to revolt against this treachery. And today the Muslim Ummah got the prize for the confidence it had on Nehru.

Similarly, the first judge who took up the Babri Masjid case also committed a grave injustice against the Muslims. After the idols were placed inside the mosque the case came up for hearing before the Additional first class Magistrate of Ayodhya Mr.Markandey Singh on December 29, 1949. Mr. Singh ordered theclosure of the mosque with the idol placed inside and also appointed a receiver, Mr. Prujadutt Ram (the chairman of Ayodhya-Faizabad Municipal Corporation). He also appointed four priests to perform puja for the idols placed inside the mosque surrepetiously. While Hindu devotees were permitted by the Judge to have 'darshan' through a opening of the masjid, he prohibited the Muslims from coming near the vicinity of the mosque. The order passed by Mr. Singh under section 145 Cr.P.C. was totally prejudicious and was not in confirmity with that section. Whenever an unlawful trespass in committed, this section envisages that the trespasser should be removed and the property should be restored to the original inhabitant. Later the dispute should be settled in a civil suit. When Congress (I) people occupied by force the then Headquarters of Congress(O) on November 13, 1971, after the party was split into two the sub-divisional Magistrate, Mr. A.G. Cutting ordered under section 145 Cr.P.C. for the removal of Congress (I) volunteers and restoration of the building to Congress(O). The Ayodhya Magistrate Markandey Singh too should have made his order in this manner. But he ordered otherwise. Even then the Muslim Ummah had full faith in the judiciary. The benefit of this patience is the destruction of the Masjid and the construction of the Ram Temple.

The Muslim Ummah looked upon all the Prime Ministers from Nehru to Narasimha Rao for restoring the masjid back to Muslims. But everyone ditched them. The diminutive Shastri was evading the issue. On the heels of the Meenakshipuram mass conversion, Vishva Hindu Parishad came into limelight in early 80s mainly due to patronage to it by Mrs. Indira Gandhi. It was during her regime that the cult of Rath Yatra began. With close co-operation the venomous V.H.P. organised a 'Ram Janma Bhoomi Restoration Yatra' in 1984, from Janakpur to Ayodhya at the end of which the Hindu terrorists took a vow to unlock the gates of Babri Masjid. Mrs. Gandhi turned a blind eye to this blatant misdeed of VHP. Yet the Muslim Ummah adorned Mrs. Gandhi as its faithful guardian. The result is the tragic demolition of Babri Masjid. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi surpassed his grandfather and mother in betraying the trust reposed on him by the Muslim community. Ashok Mitra described Rajiv's fatuation for Hindutva thus: -- "He roamed from temple to temple in search of the vote with his devoted Italian wife in attendance. Doordarshan exploded with 'Ramayana' which was soon followed by a wider extravaganza, 'Mahabharat'. It was thus officially confirmed that India was a republic, but a Hindu Republic.--- The frenzy was promoted to improve a political party's election prospects, Rajiv Gandhi as the incarnation of Lord Rama and so on ---" (Sunday Observer 28 Oct. - 3 Nov. '90). Yet the Muslim Ummah and political parties considered him as its saviour and they paid a heavy prize for this belief. Rajiv ordered the reopening of the locks of Babri Masjid after 36 years on 1-2-86, to enable the Ram Bhakts (worshippers) to have unrestricted darshan of the idols; permitted the Ram Shila processions which left a trail of Muslim blood throughout the country. He also permitted the laying of the foundation stone for proposed temple at the disputed plot no. 586, though the court had prohibited such an act. Even after displaying such a venomous attitude towards Muslims he continued to enjoy the support of certain Muslim parties and people. The Muslim Ummah has paid today a heavy prize for such an unstinted belief.

~~ Mr. V.P. Singh broke the Nehru dynasty's rule to become the Prime Minister. Today he is considered as the untarnished symbol of secularism and a great saviour of Muslims. But nobody can forget the fact that Mr. V.P. Singh forged an electoral alliance with fascist B.J.P., even after it had passed a resolution to built a temple at the site of Babri Masjid at its national executive at Palanpur in 1989. It was merely due to V.P. Singh's charisma and anti-corruption tirade that the B.J.P. which secured only 2 members in Lok Sabha in the previous election could fetch 88 seats in the 1989 elections. Mr. Advani commenced his Rath Yatra from Somnath on 25th September 1990 to mobilise Kar sevaks for the purpose of demolishing the Babri Masjid on 30-10-90. Most parts of the country witnessed blood-bath of Muslims in the wake of Advani's Yatra. Yet the Raja of Manda who claims that he sacrificed his ‘gaddi’ to save the Babri Mosque had no courage to arrest the terrorist Advani under TADA at Somnath itself. This would have prevented the inflow of kar sevaks to Ayodhya and also could have prevented the desecration of the Mosque on 30-10-90. However the Muslim Ummah was willing to be cheated by power hungry politicians and the result today is the loss of the masjid.

The less said of the chameleon Chandra Shekar, the better. Then came Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao the last nail in the coffin of Muslims’ right to live in this country. He betrayed the cause of the country umpteen times. On October 21, 1991, the V.H.P. performed Bhoomi Pooja at the disputed 2-77 acres in gross violation of the orders of the court to maintain status quo. On October 31, the same year, Babri Masjid was once again desecrated. Flags in the colour of hell-fire were hoisted on its domes and its other walls were considerably damaged. But Mr. Rao continued to be the patron of this anti-national elements. The National Integration Council which met soon after this incident passed a resolution, placing the responsibility of protecting the mosque in the hands of Kalyan Singh, the master of the demolition ceremony. Even before the ink of the resolution had dried, Mr. Kalyan Singh and the modern Goebelles, Advani, announced that they would remove all impediments to construct the temple of the site. But Mr. Rao was not moved. On June 9, 1992 the Sangh Parivar once again violated the Supreme Court's order and constructed a concrete platform in the disputed 2.77 acres. Once again Rao intervened only to place the responsibility of the Babri Mosque on the shoulders of Kalyan Singh.

6-12-92 was once again karseva-time at Ayodhya. The Supreme Court intervened. It took into confidence the assurance of the U.P. government that kar seva would be only Bhajans and Kirtans inspite of the fact that the same state government had violated the court order on two previous occasions. The chief patron of the Sangh Parivar, Mr. Rao, also had full ‘confidence’ that the Masjid would be left unharmed. Kar Sevaks swelled into Ayodhya. Special training was imparted to them on the techniques of demolition. But Mr.Rao who was also armed with a resolution of the NIC to take whatever harsh steps necessary to prevent the damage to the mosque, turned a blind eye to sacrileges at Ayodhya. How could the chief patron of Hindutva betray the aspiration of his beneficiaries. He saw to it that the 16th century Masjid was demolished and the dreams of Hindu chauvinists, which a journalist describes below, were fulfilled. Mr. Udayan Sharma, the journalist puts it thus : "The Babri Mosque dispute is neither a dispute relating to a piece of land nor a dispute as to whether it is a temple or a mosque. But by establishing their right over the disputed land, the Hindu chauvinists want to tell the world that this country is their's and the Muslims should dance to their tunes". (Sunday 13-19, August, 1989).

Even after Mr. Rao's representative at Lucknow was sent home packing, the Rapid Action Force was a timid action force. Mr. Rao let loose the RAF with considerable restraint, only after his dream – ‘Mandir waheen Banaygey" (We will construct the Mandir at the very spot) was fulfilled. Yet we see day in and day out, Muslims Ministers and MPs decrying that the PM's hand should be strengthened. What for ? To complete the construction ? A Muslim political party still shares power with Mr. Rao's party in a southern state. Thus the Muslim community has to blame itself for the events of December 6, 1992.

The Muslim Ummah did not take any positive steps for regaining the possession of the mosque. The Babri Masjid Movement Co-ordination Committee (BMMCC) was formed to establish outright over the mosque. It announced a very simple protest programme of boycotting the official celebration of the Republic Day on 26-1-1987. This boycott was merely a symbol of expressing the Ummah's anguish about the injustice perpetrated on it. The Muslim Ummah, throughout the country was prepared for this boycott. However the leaders of the BMMCC unilaterally withdrew the programme. And the reward for their sanctified act is the demolition of the masjid.

The BMMCC also called the Muslims all over the country to assemble at Ayodhya for performing Jum’ah prayers at the Babri Masjid. This call was given in September 1988. Muslims throughout the country vowed to assemble at the Babri Masjid. But once again the BMMCC fumbled. It withdrew the call, on the assurance of the modern avatar of Ram, Rajiv Gandhi. The prize for obeying Rajiv's command is the destruction of the Babri Masjid. It should be pointed out here that the BMCC's idea of assembling Muslims at Ayodhya was copied by VHP in 1989 which called Hindus to Ayodhya for performing Kar seva. Thus blaming P.V. Narasimha Rao and his Sangh Parviar for the destruction of Babri Masjid is wrong. We should only blame ourselves.

The Personal Law Movement in the wake of the Shah Bano case in 1985 had a lesson for the Muslim Ummah. All sections of the Ummah launched an unified struggle which resulted in nulling the foolish judgement given by Justice Chandrachud. But alas, the Mulsim Ummah could not sustain this tempo in the case of Babri Masjid. Even the BMMCC got divided into many groups. Only after the demolition of Babri Masjid, the leaders of the Babri Movement were able to sit together. Allah says very explicitly in the Holy Quran that "He will not change the conditions of a society until it changes itself". Therefore at this critical juncture all sections of the Muslim Ummah should do sincere Ihtisaab (Self-introspection). The entire Ummah should work as a single unit. The Ulema-e-Karam should come forward to lead the Ummah. Petty differences should be shed. The belief that non-believers would safeguard our rights should be totally wiped out of our minds. The Ummah itself should develop a mechanism for safeguarding its rights and honour. Unstinted efforts in this directions will not only restore the Babri Masjid at its original site but also pave the way for us to lead our lives in this country as the Khair-e-Ummah (Best community from among mankind).

CAN HINDUTVA UNITE HINDUS ?