Targeting mosques

AS the 32nd anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition draws near, the all-too-familiar mandir-masjid conflict is straining India’s secular fabric yet again. From Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh to Ajmer Sharif Dargah in Rajasthan, overzealous petitioners are claiming that there is much more to a mosque than meets the eye. And they are being readily heard and obliged. Our lower courts are not exactly known for their speed and efficiency — their pendency has crossed 4.5 crore cases — but they have been quick to issue notices and order surveys. One such survey at the Jama Masjid in Sambhal led to the death of four persons in a clash on November 24.

Mosques where Hindu temples may or may not have existed in the distant past find themselves under unwarranted scrutiny. They remain vulnerable even though the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991, prohibits the conversion of any place of worship and has a provision for the maintenance of the religious character of such a place as it existed on August 15, 1947. The Act exempted only Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid from its ambit. The apex court put an end to the protracted dispute in November 2019, but that has not stopped mischievous litigants from targeting other mosques.

These people have conveniently forgotten what RSS Sarsanghchalak Mohan Bhagwat said in 2022 — why look for a Shivling in every mosque? This exercise, which can only spread communal hatred and disharmony, should be strongly condemned. Political leaders who sing paeans to the Constitution on November 26 should lead the way — they must remind themselves and the nation that this all-important statute guarantees freedom of religion and equality of all religions.