Islamophobia in India raised since the founding of Pakistan, where the demolition of the Babri Masjid is the biggest example of prejudice and extremism perpetrated on the basis of religion.
On this day, 28 years ago, Hindu zealots of the RSS-inspired BJP, backed by the state apparatus, demolished the centuries-old Mosque in Ayodhya in an abominable act of anti-Muslim frenzy and blatant violation of religious and international norms.
The painful scenes of the demolition of the Babri Mosque in 1992 still remain fresh in the minds of not only Muslims but all conscionable persons in the world. Let’s take an in-depth review of the demolition of Babri Masjid.
History of the historical place
The 16th-century Babri Mosque in the city of Ayodhya, in Uttar Pradesh, had been the subject of a lengthy socio-political dispute and was targeted after a political rally organised by Hindu nationalist organisations turned violent.
In the 16th century a Mughal general, Mir Baqi, had built a mosque, known as the Babri Masjid at a site identified by some Hindus as Ram Janmabhoomi, or the birthplace of Rama. The Archaeological Survey of India stated that the mosque was built on land where a non-Islamic structure had previously existed.
In 1980s, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) began a campaign for the construction of a temple dedicated to Rama at the site, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as its political voice. Several rallies and marches were held as a part of this movement, including the Ram Rath Yatra led by L. K. Advani.
The demolition
On 6 December 1992, the VHP and the BJP organised a rally at the site involving 150,000 volunteers, known as ‘kar sevaks’. The rally turned violent, and the crowd overwhelmed security forces and tore down the mosque.
The demolition resulted in several months of inter-communal rioting between India’s Hindu and Muslim communities, causing the death of at least 2,000 people. Retaliatory violence against Hindus also occurred in Pakistan and Bangladesh.
India acquits accused
In September 2020, a special CBI court acquitted all 32 accused in the Babri Masjid demolition case, including former deputy prime minister L.K. Advani, former Union ministers Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh.
The judge said that the demolition was not pre-planned and the accused persons were trying to stop the mob and not incite them. He added that there was not enough evidence against the accused and that the court cannot probe the authenticity of the audio and video evidence provided by the CBI.
A scar on India’s face
The recent shameful acquittal of the criminals responsible for demolishing the historic Babri Mosque in 1992 represented another egregious travesty of justice. India’s track record of prosecuting communal riots was abysmal and those riot leaders were rarely brought to justice.
The new illegitimate structure is a scar on the face of the so-called “largest democracy” in the world. Babri Masjid’s demolition was a moment of shame for constitutional democracy.
