Letters from Readers
Was it right to build the Hindu temple in Ayodhya?
This is regarding an article in the March issue of Khabar (“Ayodhya: Beyond the Battle”) that was written by Dr. Bhagirath Majmudar.
The first point I would like to address is this excerpt from the article: “Construction of the Ram Temple is a unicentric push of Hinduism on the non-Hindu population of India.” According to Dr. Majmudar, the Muslims are harboring suppressed anger towards the Hindus of the nation. However, in a study conducted by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch, 75 percent of Muslims feel satisfied with the completion of the Ram Mandir and welcome the development as a way for India to come together. The Chief Imam from Delhi came for the temple inauguration and was later joined by other Muslims from Lucknow for Lord Ram’s darshan. All this suggests that the main argument expressed by Dr. Majumdar is not an evidence-based contention.
Dr. Majumdar also claims that building the temple on top of a mosque was not the right thing to do and is against the Hindu principle of Ahimsa (nonviolence) because even if the mosque was built on a temple, it still doesn’t call for people to destroy the mosque—or, in simpler terms, two wrongs don’t make a right. To which I would like to counter with the following evidence: The mosque was decrepit and old and people didn’t pray there. While two wrongs don’t make a right, Babur’s destruction [of the temple] and construction of the mosque on the land was a definite wrong. And the demolition of an old and decrepit mosque to build a sacred temple for people to practice their faith is, in many people’s eyes, an act for the betterment of society for reasons of preserving lost history and the ability for people to practice their religion in peace. The act of building the Ram Temple should be viewed as an act of preserving communal unity and not violence.
Vrishabh Bhat
by email
Two wrongs can make it right if the first wrong was so egregious that another egregious act had to be undertaken to correct it. That’s what happened in Ayodhya that resulted in reclaiming the temple at the birthplace of Shri Ram.
During the 16th century, Babur’s military commander Mir Bakshi led the demolition of the temple at the birthplace of Shri Ram and built a mosque using most of the same materials. That was an egregious act but powerful invaders could do whatever they pleased. The mosque was known as Babri Masjid, although several Islamic writings described it as Masjid-i-Janmasthan, meaning Mosque at Birthplace. When the British defeated the Mughals, Hindus appealed to them to reclaim the Ram Mandir, but the government did not want to get involved in Hindu-Muslim conflicts. After independence, the ruling Congress party did not want to antagonize Muslims, their solid voting bloc. So, Hindus appealed to the courts, which continued to avoid tackling this volatile issue. Then out of frustration and anger Hindu protestors demolished the Babari Masjid in 1992. This was an egregious act. Did this second wrong produce the right outcome?
K. K. Muhammed, Regional Director of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), examined the rubble of the demolished Babri mosque. He listed several items that provided definite proof of the existence of a Hindu temple at the site of the mosque. Lots of materials in the rubble had Hindu symbols. The inscriptions provided strongest proof of the site being the birthplace of Shri Ram. These findings were possible only because the mosque was demolished; the second “wrong” enabled the archeologists to examine the rubble.
The justices of Allahabad High Court and the Indian Supreme Court unanimously agreed with the findings that Babri Masjid was built at the site where stood the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir, a Hindu temple at the birthplace of Shri Ram. While rulings of Allahabad High Court would have divided the site, the Supreme Court awarded the entire 2.77 acres for the construction of the temple at the site and directed that 5 acres of land be allotted at another site for building the mosque. The entire construction of the temple was supervised by Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust and funded through private donations.
Surendra Nath Pandey
by email
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