ViewPoint
Travesty of Justice
By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer
Saturday’s shocking verdict by the Supreme Court of India on the long pending case of the criminally demolished Babari Mosque was without the least doubt the travesty of justice.
It was so shocking that even the sanctified soul of the long-deceased prehistoric monotheistic figure Ram, whom Muslims regard as a devout servant of the One and Only God and Hindus consider this human being born of mortal parents as a ‘deity’ of their pantheon, is indeed in a perpetual state of shock at the injustice done to a place of worship for the Lord Most High by a panel of supposedly impartial doctors of law, who sacrificed the independence of the Judiciary on the altar of orders from the Executive and pressures from ignorant masses skillfully exploited by atheist and Godless leaders posing as religious-cultural-nationalists.
Nationalism is not based on mythology, but on the factual interests of the whole nation and how to uplift them in line with modern scientific developments, without the least discrimination amongst the citizens, their ethnicity or religious beliefs.
Religion is not based on superstition, but rests firmly on the pillars of rationality willing to engage in lively discourse about its tenets for establishing the ultimate truth for worship of the Almighty Creator on the basis of the intellect and spiritual values that shun violence and promote peace and harmony in society in keeping with the laws enshrined in the scriptures.
Culture is not based on rigid rules, but is constantly changing in line with the aspirations of the people and the new discoveries that affect all aspects of life, including the awareness to preserve the architectural masterpieces of the bygone eras, such as mosques, churches, temples, and other places of worship, rather than indulging in vandalism and bloodshed to tear down these sacred edifices and replace them with structures of hatred, on the whim and without any concrete evidence that such and such a building may have earlier existed on its site.
Unfortunately, these facts were not taken into consideration by the Supreme Court judges of India, whose verdict was solely intended to appease a frenzied strata of the society that currently wields political power, even if it means hurting the sentiments of a sizeable population of citizens, and unmindful of the permanent damage being done to the country’s culture, religious beliefs, and nationalism.
Iran is a well-wisher of India and only desires peace and prosperity in the Sub-continent, with which it has age-old ties dating back to prehistory and the migration of Aryan tribes that later evolved into Zoroastrians and Hindus.
The pre-Aryan dwellers of the Iranian Plateau have similarities with the ancient Dravidians including the present day Dalits who make up some 20 percent of the national population.
Iran also shares religious and cultural values with Muslims whose percentage in India is almost 25, and whose seven centuries of rule saw peaceful coexistence amongst the followers of different religions and a cultural blending that witnessed birth of the national language Hindustani (whether one calls it Hindi or Urdu depending on the script in which it is written), in addition to the flowering of Indo-Persian art and architecture that created a solid image of Indian nationalism.
This homogeneity when many Hindus became celebrated masters of Persian prose and poetry, while Islamic scholars translated into Persian from Sanskrit the sacred Vedic texts of "Ramayana” and "Mahabharata” was destroyed by the British occupiers whose policy of divide-and-rule sowed seeds of dissension including the baseless claim that the magnificent Babari Mosque (built on a vacant plot of land by Mir Baqi Tashqandi, the Tajik or Persian speaking minister of the Moghal Emperor Zaheer od-Din Babar) was the birthplace of Ram – an allegation not found in any Hindu text.
Neither any ancient Sanskrit text nor any medieval work including ‘Ram Charit Manas’ composed by the famous Hindu poet, Tulsidas, in 1575, within 50 years of the construction of Babari Mosque, have mentioned the demolition of a temple to make way for a mosque.
Moreover, former Indian president, Pranab Mukherjee, in volume 2 of his memoirs "The Turbulent Years: 1980-96”, has written that the destruction of the Babari Mosque on December 6, 1992 "deeply wounded the sentiments of the Muslim community in India and abroad”. He also says: "The demolition of the Babari Mosque was an act of absolute perfidy, which should make all Indians hang their heads in shame. It was the senseless, wanton destruction of a religious structure, purely to serve political ends. It destroyed India’s image as a tolerant, pluralistic nation where all religions coexist in peace and harmony.”
In view of these undeniable facts, the verdict of the Apex Court of India which overturned the earlier decision of a lower court to divide the nearly 3-acre plot between Hindus and Muslims, may not resolve the 70-year old dispute as some are claiming, but seems to have turned it into a chronic question on a par with Kashmir, the abrogation of whose constitutional status on puffed up political power and military might, has created a simmering volcano.
Hopefully, saner minds would prevail and justice done to India’s 250 million-plus Muslims who are increasingly becoming victims of anarchic elements doing irreparable damage to the country on the basis of chauvinistic tendencies.
It was so shocking that even the sanctified soul of the long-deceased prehistoric monotheistic figure Ram, whom Muslims regard as a devout servant of the One and Only God and Hindus consider this human being born of mortal parents as a ‘deity’ of their pantheon, is indeed in a perpetual state of shock at the injustice done to a place of worship for the Lord Most High by a panel of supposedly impartial doctors of law, who sacrificed the independence of the Judiciary on the altar of orders from the Executive and pressures from ignorant masses skillfully exploited by atheist and Godless leaders posing as religious-cultural-nationalists.
Nationalism is not based on mythology, but on the factual interests of the whole nation and how to uplift them in line with modern scientific developments, without the least discrimination amongst the citizens, their ethnicity or religious beliefs.
Religion is not based on superstition, but rests firmly on the pillars of rationality willing to engage in lively discourse about its tenets for establishing the ultimate truth for worship of the Almighty Creator on the basis of the intellect and spiritual values that shun violence and promote peace and harmony in society in keeping with the laws enshrined in the scriptures.
Culture is not based on rigid rules, but is constantly changing in line with the aspirations of the people and the new discoveries that affect all aspects of life, including the awareness to preserve the architectural masterpieces of the bygone eras, such as mosques, churches, temples, and other places of worship, rather than indulging in vandalism and bloodshed to tear down these sacred edifices and replace them with structures of hatred, on the whim and without any concrete evidence that such and such a building may have earlier existed on its site.
Unfortunately, these facts were not taken into consideration by the Supreme Court judges of India, whose verdict was solely intended to appease a frenzied strata of the society that currently wields political power, even if it means hurting the sentiments of a sizeable population of citizens, and unmindful of the permanent damage being done to the country’s culture, religious beliefs, and nationalism.
Iran is a well-wisher of India and only desires peace and prosperity in the Sub-continent, with which it has age-old ties dating back to prehistory and the migration of Aryan tribes that later evolved into Zoroastrians and Hindus.
The pre-Aryan dwellers of the Iranian Plateau have similarities with the ancient Dravidians including the present day Dalits who make up some 20 percent of the national population.
Iran also shares religious and cultural values with Muslims whose percentage in India is almost 25, and whose seven centuries of rule saw peaceful coexistence amongst the followers of different religions and a cultural blending that witnessed birth of the national language Hindustani (whether one calls it Hindi or Urdu depending on the script in which it is written), in addition to the flowering of Indo-Persian art and architecture that created a solid image of Indian nationalism.
This homogeneity when many Hindus became celebrated masters of Persian prose and poetry, while Islamic scholars translated into Persian from Sanskrit the sacred Vedic texts of "Ramayana” and "Mahabharata” was destroyed by the British occupiers whose policy of divide-and-rule sowed seeds of dissension including the baseless claim that the magnificent Babari Mosque (built on a vacant plot of land by Mir Baqi Tashqandi, the Tajik or Persian speaking minister of the Moghal Emperor Zaheer od-Din Babar) was the birthplace of Ram – an allegation not found in any Hindu text.
Neither any ancient Sanskrit text nor any medieval work including ‘Ram Charit Manas’ composed by the famous Hindu poet, Tulsidas, in 1575, within 50 years of the construction of Babari Mosque, have mentioned the demolition of a temple to make way for a mosque.
Moreover, former Indian president, Pranab Mukherjee, in volume 2 of his memoirs "The Turbulent Years: 1980-96”, has written that the destruction of the Babari Mosque on December 6, 1992 "deeply wounded the sentiments of the Muslim community in India and abroad”. He also says: "The demolition of the Babari Mosque was an act of absolute perfidy, which should make all Indians hang their heads in shame. It was the senseless, wanton destruction of a religious structure, purely to serve political ends. It destroyed India’s image as a tolerant, pluralistic nation where all religions coexist in peace and harmony.”
In view of these undeniable facts, the verdict of the Apex Court of India which overturned the earlier decision of a lower court to divide the nearly 3-acre plot between Hindus and Muslims, may not resolve the 70-year old dispute as some are claiming, but seems to have turned it into a chronic question on a par with Kashmir, the abrogation of whose constitutional status on puffed up political power and military might, has created a simmering volcano.
Hopefully, saner minds would prevail and justice done to India’s 250 million-plus Muslims who are increasingly becoming victims of anarchic elements doing irreparable damage to the country on the basis of chauvinistic tendencies.