Hindus believe that Lord Ram, one of the most important deities in Hinduism, was born in Ayodhya, about 540 km south east of New Delhi. Muslim conquerors of India destroyed the temple, and built a mosque over it during the year of 1527, known as the Babri Masjid. Why Babri Masjid? King Babur was the head of the Mughal empire that invaded India. So after his memory they named the temple Babri Masjid. In Arabic, Masjid means Mosque.
Muslims assert their supremacy of Islam through architecture. Wherever they go and conquer, they build on top of monuments of other faiths. For example the Kaaba in Mecca, the Hagia Sophia church in Constantinople.
Now let’s get back to the topic.
During the last 500 years Babri Masjid stood in Ayodhya without much communal problems. But in 1992 some followers of Hinduism, maybe You can call them hard-line religious fanatics, went to Ayodhya, and brought the mosque down. People were unhappy that the government wasn’t doing anything about it. So certain people took matter into their own hands.
Muslims and Hindus clashed killing many, and injuring many more. Roughly 3000 people died during that battle. Ayodhya became the hot spot of political battles between Indian parties. Some of them were supporting Muslims, and their right for the mosque to be rebuild. They supported Muslims, just because they wanted to win votes, and eventually elections.
Meanwhile millions of Indians wanted the temple to be brought back.
on 19th November 2019, the supreme court of India ruled that the disputed site belongs to Hindus, and should be returned back. Archaeological studies show that remnants of Ayodhya temple can be found on the disputed site. Therefore the site has to be given back to Hinduism followers. It was a big day for India. People waited for 500 years to get back a piece of land, which was theirs all through out. But fate had other plans.
Hinduism in short, reminds me of my grandmother who goes to the garden every evening to pluck fresh hibiscus flowers, and later lits oil lamps, and incense in her praying room. She then proceeds to pray to her favourite gods Krishna, Shiva and Saraswati. It was her 30 minutes of happiness. I would be standing close to her and watching her do it. That was my childhood. So it’s natural that Hinduism followers want their favourite god Rama’s temple back.
Is it wrong to get back something that You built many centuries ago?
I’am not a religious fanatic. But I am happy that justice finally prevailed. That temple is part of my country’ s history. Why should I be ashamed about it? If foreign people call that intolerance towards Muslims, they should understand that Muslims can build the mosque anywhere they want in India. This particular spot in Ayodhya is very sacred for Hindus.
Would it be OK, if some people demolish the Vatican temple, and build a mosque, or a temple there? I don’t think so. It is part of the western civilization, and their cultural ancestry. The issue is not religious supremacy, rather respecting people’s sentiments..
Why should Indians be ashamed about it?
What do You think?