Do Muslims need that mosque?

I wanted to post this as a status message on facebook but the small word limit and the fear of being unable to be clear ensured I am now posting a blog entry.

First of all the disclaimer. This is totally my personal opinion. I do not mean to offend. Also I find it funny that on the internet on an issue concerning only Indian Muslims there are so many Muslims from other countries shouting at forums and indulging in a who can abuse more match with others.

So the Ayodhya verdict is out. The verdict is surprising and that is good. If any community had won we would have had victory processions by the extreme wing of one and protest marches by the same wing of the other community. Both would be equally provocative. There judgment had and still has a great potential of engulfing India in violence.

As of now all is peaceful. Most probably all the troublemakers and hired goons are still scratching their heads wondering if they have won or lost. Thats the beauty of the judgement. Its a win some ,loose a little formula.

The judgment runs into thousands of pages with all 3 judges giving seperate opinions.

The court ruled that Hindus and Muslims have shared joint custody of the land for the last 200 years at least and so it shall remain. There is no clear looser. Please read the judgment available online at this link before forming opinions. The judiciary has not favored one community or being pro-temple as being said by some parties. Indeed I have seen the BJP and the RSS blowing trumpets of victory but that is maliciously misleading on their part.

By a majority judgement the land is to be divided into three parts. I thought a 50-50 division would have been more equal but the judgement is still acceptable.

On nearly every important issue the judges were divided and hence we have a majority opinion as the assenting opinion. The court did not as a majority agree that the Area was the the birthplace of Lord Ram. What the court said was that its the place where for the last 200 years many Hindus have believed that Lord Ram was born and the court will accept it.

The verdict is acceptable but it is likely to go to the Supreme Court. No one has won completely and a judgment of this magnitude has to be contentious. Maybe the SC could expedite it.

Now that the Sunni Board has 1/3rd of the land , it should ask whether Muslims really need that mosque. The verdict is a setback to right wing Hindu groups claiming the entire land. The verdict says Muslim Wakf board has equal rights to the land as the other parties. Indeed if we look at the reasoning of the majority opinion in the judgment, the fact is the rights for the Hindu community come from the special case that this mosque was a common worship place since the British. The Hindus had the use of the outer area. This of course is a precedent that may not be applicable elsewhere but may lead to unrest at other places of conflict as who can guarantee there will not be another Babri Masjid incident elsewhere(the political gains for the BJP were enormous ). This is disquieting. Indeed I hope the Supreme Court while reaffirming this decision should lay out very clearly that never again can a similar thing happen.

After this judgement however ,now that the legal rights of the Muslim have been reaffirmed, the Sunni Muslim Wakf board should take a step back and think.

The mosque at Ayodhya is not special, its just a mosque. This is not Mecca ,Medina or even the Ajmer dargah.There will be no Muslims going on a pilgrimage to Ayodhya to pray at the mosque. To me it seems sacrilegious that a mosque will be built there. Just for that area so many Muslims and Hindus have died. A mosque with a foundation of human skulls and the moans of people mercilessly murdered during riots cannnot be a place of where I can offer namaz.

Instead let there be a memorial there dedicated to innocent victims of violence which aims to further understanding and peaceful existence in India. Let there be photogrpahs that may remind people of the terrible cost of religious strife. And let it be dedicated to the nation.

The Babri Masjid demolition represents the very worst of humanity. But that Masjid is gone. Broken down stone by stone and the pre and the post riots ensured hundreds died. It did not happen suddenly but was the result of a steady raising of tensions. Why should people forget the actual cost of strife and even more importantly the terrible cost of hate? Indeed each citizen of India should realize that only hate has the power to tear this nation apart.

Indian Muslims also should have other priorities as a community correct. We are the most economically and educationally backward of all communities. We need a vibrant leadership. Indeed our leaders have let us down the most. Let us fight for education , justice(the criminal case over the demolition somebody?),equality and that Sachar committee report recommendations be implemented.

So Sunni Wakf board people if you ever read this, take the initiative and be magnanimous. Dedicate the memorial to the nation and to fighting hate and discrimination.

Whatever be the verdict, India is the victim

So we have the Babri masjid title suit verdict coming this friday.

Let us not confuse things. This is not related to the demolition of the mosque. The demolition is a criminal case and has been around for just 20 years. Of course now there are hardly any accused left. No conspiracy, just 11 or 12 accused and it seems that a 400 year old mosque simply collapsed all by itself despite all efforts to protect it.

What we have on friday is the verdict of the nearly 60 year old suit asking who holds the title of the land. The Muslim community by virtue of a mosque being there or the Hindu community as a temple existed there earlier. The title suit is also linked to the Babri Masjid demolition by virtue of events of the last 20 years. Just to give some background info, Babri masjid was a bone of contention since pretty long but this suit is linked to 1949 when miscreants broke into the mosque and installed idols in the center(the alternative version is that the idols magically appeared). The mosque was sealed and the case went to court. In 1988, Rajiv Gandhi ordered the mosque opened and worship allowed in the temple now formed in what many say as a measure to please the majority committee after the government had bent against pressure from orthodox Muslim clerics and invalidated the Shah Bano ruling with a new law.

The pandoras box had been opened. A party called the BJP, a successor of the Hindu Mahasabha took up the issue. Over a period of the next 3-4 years the mass public mobilizations culminated in the destruction of the mosque. Prior to this event and especially after the demolition, riots would break out in many parts of India. The Bombay riots among them were especially destructive. Hundred and maybe thousands died. But the greater damage was to the fabric of India.

So who owns the land. That is the vexing question? Because there are a lot of principles of law at stake here. Assuming a temple existed there, can an act however reprehensible be undone 350 years old. I am really not sure. By the same standard, the American Indians could claim back large tracts of America and so could indigenous people in many parts of the world.

However since I really have no memories of 1992 , I will involve other people who knew.

One incident I know is a person who said the issue has been used for political mileage. He went to Ayodhya with a group in early 1980's. They went to nealry 12 temples and out of them half claimed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram. The BJP needed an event to propel it to the national stage and Ayodhya was it. There were nearly 20000 temples in Ayodhya and only 5 mosques. Now there are only 3.

Another relative, a very learned scholar mused recently that Muslim community lost a great oppurtunity. The mosque had not been used since 1949. Many muslims also beleive also that it ceased to be a mosque once idols were installed. So if the Muslim community as a whole had gone to the negotiating table and offered to shift the mosque to another plot they could have probably benefited greatly. Among the conditions he mused should have been proportional representation in the goverenment especially the police and constabulary. Another thing would be a new amendment in the constitution declaring 1990 as the status quo date and a law that no further mosque can be demolished for any reason whatsoever. However it did not happen and now we can only wonder how it would have sounded.

Now we have the verdict on the title suit. I don't know what the court will say. There is communal tension in the air because of the verdict. This is especially true for UP because of the political potential. If Muslims win , some fools will take out celebratory processions and if we loose idiots will take out a protest march. I am very much sure the same will stand true for some Hindus in either case. While there have been enough calls for peace and requests for no response of any kind to the verdict, there will always be fools and cynical manipulative leaders somewhere. A riot guarantees a vote bank.

If I could wish I would wish for a neutral verdict. Let that land be declared neutral area. I don't want a mosque which stands on so much of bloodshed of both communities.

I have always said the idea of a nation is weakened when we are so divided that we cant live together. Or stand each other. A nation held together only by force is one step away from imploding. India is a nation of many hues and shades. Unity in diversity. That we must never forget

Whoever wins, the final looser will be India..... Only India.

So I have been procrastinating

I haven't blogged in a long long time and there are some rather lame reasons for it

a) There was no stable net connection at home. Now I have it. In the absence of net I procrastinated. Not very nice but that is the truth.

b) I have been thinking of moving to a custom domain. That added to the delay.

c) In between I moved locations. Its tough shifting.

d) My poor scores in the mock cats became excuses why not to blog(lazy ones as usual.)

Anyway a lot to muse about. The world changes every day and I have missed months.

But moving to CAT. I have choosen 22nd Nov as my CAT date. Right now frankly I am imploding in all the mock cats. Getting scores that I never got earlier. And the time is running out . Lets see if I can pull my boots up or loose the game and become laughing stock which is very likely right now.

As usual I can remember a sher, one of my favourites.

"Muzamahil ho gaye quvaa Ghaalib,

Woh anasir mein aitadal kahaan"

Your powers have become weak O ghalib,

There is no moderation in the elements