#babri masjid case

[indizombie]

The birth of the 21st century unleashed the onslaught of neo-liberal economic policies and the religious fundamentalist insurgence changed our concept of nation, nationalism, and politics. The Hindutva politics of cultural nationalism and its violent disposition toward indigenous and minority sections in this country provoked us to ask “Who sings the nation?” (Spivak) and “Whose imagined community?” (Partha Chatterjee). The issues such as the Babri Masjid case, Muthalaq case, Uniform Civil Code, the CAA, anti-conversion laws, and attacks on Dalit/Tribal Christians so and so forth have unveiled the wretched status of minorities in this country. Realizing that Muslims are hard to nationalize/ Hinduise, Christians are now targeted to be  integrated into the pan-Indian Hindu cultural identity. Recently, some of the church leaders are satiated through frequent visits and political offers by the communal forces, and of course, few of them have already preyed on it due to the issues connected with foreign funds or any other personal issues of corruption. However, Christians should not forget the ideological position of Hindutva as it renders Christians, Muslims, and Communists internal threats to the Indian Nation.

Fr. Dr. Y.T Vinayaraj, director, Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS)

[nationalistbharat]

अयोध्या बाबरी विवाद में मुस्लिम पक्ष के वकील रहे जफरयाब जिलानी का निधन, लंबे समय से थे बीमार

नई दिल्ली: बड़ी खबर उत्तर प्रदेश के लखनऊ से निकल कर आ रही है जहां ऑल इंडिया मुस्लिम पर्सनल ला बोर्ड के पूर्व मेंबर और बाबरी विवाद मामले में मुस्लिम पक्ष के वकील रहे जफरयाब जिलानी का बुधवार को लखनऊ में निधन हो गया। जफरयाब जिलानी मुस्लिम पर्सनल लॉ बोर्ड के मेंबर रह चुके हैं। इसके अतिरिक्त वह बाबरी मस्जिद एक्शन कमेटी के अध्यक्ष और यूपी के अपर महाधिवक्ता के पद पर भी रह चुके हैं। जफरयाब जिलानी लंबे…

[krsnaradhika]

Quick note : Hindus did not demolish the Babri masjid. We deconstructed it. There's a difference in there. The report of KK Mohammad Sir and he himself in multiple interviews say that he stands with the OGness of Rama Lalaa on his birthplace. The mosque very much did have temple remains and the appearance of Rama Lalaa in there wasn't a right-wing move. The supreme court of India has anyway given land for the mosque at some distance from the janmabhoomi so it's a win-win for both the communities now ig. All the butthurt people crying over the deconstruction should also note that Rama Lalaa isn't some non-violence icon of our religion so kindly shut up. Saying that - "He wouldn't have wanted the temple because a mosque stood there once and y'all broke it" is plain stupidity because he himself said - "Janani janmabhoomishcha swargaadapi gariyasi." Both his mother and his motherland are more dear to him than any heaven. Shri Rama did hold up weapons in the favour of what is right when fighting numerous demons and proceeded to threaten the ocean into drying it lest it doesn't heed to him, after a three day penance. The prev governments here were very minority appeasing. One of them even got as far as to saying Shri Rama was fictional when we have plenty evidences of him being a venerated ancestor of ours. All of them fell on their fours when Rama Lalaa won his case in the supreme court. They don't give a shit about the majority sentiments here being oppressed (Hindus have a history of being oppressed even when we're in majority, in our homeland. Are we debating on that now? Oml). Babar should not have done what he did, so yeah like Hindus were just taking back what is rightfully ours. (For the sake of secularism and brotherhood, shouldn't they be understanding our sentiments as well? It has to go both ways, no?) We have been waiting for around 500 years for our god to come back to a palace from a tent and the pseudo-liberal meltdowns are personally very enjoyable to me. You should prolly save those tears for Mathura and Kashi case too. Ram mandir kisi ke baap ke paison se bana nahi hai. Hindus contributed to it. Temple towns were a thing in ancient India, still many of them exist in the south because the north has suffered voraciously due to invasions, never forget. No tax money has been used in the construction of the Rama temple. Hope that helps.

[queersatanic]

Hindutva's Foreign Tie-up in the 1930s

Archival Evidence

To understand militant Hinduism, one must examine its domestic roots as well as foreign influence. In the 1930s Hindu nationalism borrowed from European fascism to transform 'different' people into 'enemies'. Leaders of militant Hinduism repeatedly expressed their admiration for authoritarian leaders such as Mussolini and Hitler and for the fascist model of society. This influence continues to the present day. This paper presents archival evidence on the would-be collaborators.

By Marzia Casolari

Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Jan. 22-28, 2000, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Jan. 22-28, 2000), pp. 218-228

'Fascist' was in Sumit Sarkar's words, "till the other day a mere epithet" ('The Fascism of the Sangh Parivar', Economic and Political Weekly, January 30, 1993, p 163). It has come to define the ideology and practice of the Hindu militant organisations. It is a common place, accepted by their opponents, as well as by those who have a critical, but not necessarily negative, view of Hindu fundamentalism. Defining the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) and, in general, the organisations of militant Hinduism I as undemocratic, with authoritarian, paramilitary, radical, violent tendencies and a sympathy for fascist ideology and practice, has been a major concern for many politically oriented scholars and writers. This has been the case with the literature which started with Gandhi's assassination and continues up to the present day with works such as Amartya Sen's India at Risk (The New York Review of Books, April 1993) and Christophe Jaffrelot's The Hindu Nationalist Movement in India (Viking, New Delhi, 1996), the latest book published on the subject, or the well known Khaki Shorts and Saffron Flags (Orient Longman, New Delhi, 1993), which came out soon after the destruction of the Babri masjid. As a result, the fascist ideological background of Hindu fundamentalism is taken for granted, never proved by systematic analysis. This is an outcome that is, to a certain extent, explained by the fact that most of the above-mentioned authors are political scientists and not historians.

It is a fact that many of those who witnessed the growth of Hindu radical forces in the years around the second world war were already convinced of the Sangh's fascist outlook. Particularly acute was the perception that the Congress had of these organisations and their character. There is no need to mention the already well known opinion of Nehru, who, right from the beginning, had pointed at these organisations as communalist and fascist.

Less well known is the fact that, as shown by a confidential report circulated within the Congress most probably at the time of the first ban of the RSS, after Gandhi's assassination, the similarity between the character of the RSS and that of fascist organisations was already taken for granted. In fact, the report itself states that the RSS

...Started in Nagpur some sort of Hindu Boys Scout movement. Gradually it developed into a communal militarist organisation with violent tendencies.

The RSS has been purely Maharashtrian brahmin organisation. The non-brahmin Maharashtrians who constitute the bulk of C P and Maharashtra have no sympathy with it.

Even in the other provinces the chief organisers and whole-time workers will be found to be inevitably Maharashtrian brahmins.

Through the RSS the Maharashtrian brahmins have been dreaming of establishing in India 'a Peshwa Raj' after the withdrawal of Britishers. The RSS flag is the Bhagwa Flag of the Peshwas - Maharashtrian rulers [who] were the last to be conquered by the British - and after the termination of British rule in India, the Maharashtrians should be vested with political powers.

The RSS practises secret and violent methods which promote 'fascism'. No regard is paid to truthful means and constitutional methods.

There is no constitution of the organisation; its aims and objects have never been clearly defined. The general public is usually told that its aim is only physical training, but the real aims are not conveyed even to the rank and file of the RSS members. Only its 'inner circle' is taken into a confidence.

There are no records or proceedings of the RSS organisation, no membership registers are maintained. There are also no records of its income and the expenditure. The RSS is thus strictly secret as regards its organisation. It has consequently... (National Archives of India (NAI), Sardar Patel Correspondence, microfilm, reel no 3, 'A Note on the RSS', undated). Unfortunately the document stops abruptly here, but it contains enough evidence of the reputation the RSS already had by the late 1940s.

This document, however, is by no means exceptional. An accurate search of the primary sources produced by the organisations of Hindu nationalism, as well as by their opponents and by the police, is bound to show the extent and the importance of the connections between such organisations and Italian fascism. In fact the most important organisations of Hindu nationalism not only adopted fascist ideas in a conscious and deliberate way, but this happened also because of the existence of direct contacts between the representatives of the main Hindu organisations and fascist Italy.

To demonstrate this, I will reconstruct the context from which arose the interest of Hindu radicalism in Italian fascism right from the early 1920s. This interest was commonly shared in Maharashtra, and must have inspired B S Moonje's trip to Italy in 1931. The next step will be to examine the effects of that trip, namely how B S Moonje tried to transfer fascist models to Hindu society and to organise it militarily, according to fascist patterns. An additional aim of this paper is to show how, about the end of the 1930s, the admiration for the Italian regime was commonly shared by the different streams of Hindu nationalism and the main Hindu leaders.

Particular attention will be devoted to the attitude adopted by the main Hindu organisations during the second world war. During those crucial years, Hindu nationalism seemed to uneasily oscillate between a conciliatory attitude towards the British, and a sympathy for the dictators. This is in fact far from surprising because - as will be shown - in those years, militant Hindu organisations were preparing and arming themselves to fight the so-called internal enemies, rather than the British.

More generally, the aim of this paper is to disprove Christophe Jaffrelot's thesis that there is a sharp distinction between nazi and fascist ideology on one side and RSS on the other as far as the concept of race and the centrality of the leader are concerned.^2

I Hindu Nationalists and Italian Fascism

None of the works mentioned above, Jaffrelot's included, deals with what I consider a most important problem, namely, the existence of direct contacts between the representatives of the fascist regime, including Mussolini and Hindu nationalists. These contacts demonstrate that Hindu nationalism had much more than an abstract interest in the ideology and practice of fascism.

The interest of Indian Hindu nationalists in fascism and Mussolini must not be considered as dictated by an occasional curiosity, confined to a few individuals, rather, it should be considered as the culminating result of the attention that Hindu nationalists, especially in Maharashtra, focused on Italian dictatorship and its leader. To them, fascism appeared to be an example of conservative revolution. This concept was discussed at length by the Marathi press, right from the early phase of the Italian regime.

From 1924 to 1935 Kesari regularly published editorials and articles about Italy, fascism and Mussolini. What impressed the Marathi journalists was the socialist origin of fascism and the fact that the new regime seemed to have transformed Italy from a backward country to a first class power. Indians could not know, then, that, behind the demagogic rhetoric of the regime, there was very little substance.

Moreover, the Indian observers were convinced that fascism had restored order in a country previously upset by political tensions. In a series of editorials, Kesari described the passage from liberal government to dictatorship as a shift from anarchy to an orderly situation, where social struggles had no more reason to exist.^3 The Marathi newspaper gave considerable space to the political reforms carried out by Mussolini, in particular the substitution of the election of the members of parliament with their nomination (ibid, January 17, 1928) and the replacement of parliament itself with the Great Council of Fascism. Mussolini's idea was the opposite of that of democracy and it was expressed by the dictator's principle, according to which 'one man's government is more useful and more binding' for the nation than the democratic institutions (ibid, July 17, 1928).%4 Is all this not reminiscent of the principle of 'obedience to one leader' ('ek chalak anuvartitva') followed by the RSS?

Finally, a long article of August 13, 1929, 'Italy and the Young Generations', stated that the Italian young generation had succeeded the old one to lead the country. That had resulted in the 'fast ascent of Italy in every field'. The article went on to describe at length the organisation of the Italian society according to fascist models. The principal reasons of the discipline of the Italian youths were strong religious feelings, widespread among the population, attachment to the family, and the respect of traditional values: no divorce, no singles, no right to vote for women, whose only duty was to sit at home, by the fireplace. The article focused then on the fascist youth organisations, the Balilla and the Avanguardisti.

One may wonder how the Indian journalists could be so well informed about what was going on in Italy. Very possibly, among their sources there was a pamphlet in English, published by an Italian editor in 1928, entitled The Recent Laws for the Defence of the State (copy in NAI, Foreign and Political Department, 647G, 1927). Emphasised, right from the beginning, was the importance of the National Militia, defined as "the bodyguard of the revolution". The booklet continued with the description of the restrictive measures adopted by the regime: a ban on the "subversive parties", limitations to the press, expulsion of "disaffected persons" from public posts, and, finally, the death sentence.

Significantly, the shift from the liberal phase to fascism is described by the pamphlet in strikingly similar terms to those employed by the above-mentioned articles:

This step [the shift to fascism] has struck a death blow to the thread-bare theories of Italian liberalism, according to which the sovereign state must observe strict neutrality towards all political associations and parties. This theory explains why in Italy the ship of state was drifting before the wind, ready to sink in the vortex of social dissolution or to be wrecked on the rocks of financial disaster.

Another inspiring source of the literature published in Kesari must have been the work by D V Tahmankar, the correspondent of the Marathi newspaper from London and admirer of the Italian dictator. In 1927 Tahmankar published a book entitled Muslini ani Fashismo, (Mussolini and Fascism), a biography of the dictator, with several references to the organisation of the fascist state, to the fascist social system, to the fascist ideology, and to Italy's recent past. An entire chapter, the last, was devoted to description of fascist society and its institutions, especially the youth organisations.

One can easily come to the conclusion that, by the late 1920s, the fascist regime and Mussolini had considerable popularity in Maharashtra. The aspects of fascism which appealed most to Hindu nationalists were, of course, both the militarisation of society and what was seen as the real transformation of society, exemplified by the shift from chaos to order. The anti-democratic system was considered as a positive alternative to democracy which was seen as a typically British value.

Such literature made an implicit comparison between fascism and the Italian Risorgimento. The latter's influence on Indian nationalism, both moderate and radical, is well known.^5 However, whereas the Risorgimento appealed to both moderates and extremists, fascism appealed only to the radicals, who considered it as the continuation of the Risorgimento and a phase of the rational organisation of the state.

The first Hindu nationalist who came in contact with the fascist regime and its dictator was B S Moonje, a politician strictly related to the RSS. In fact, Moonje had been Hedgewar's mentor, the two men were related by an intimate friendship. Moonje's declared intention to strengthen the RSS and to extend it as a nationwide organisation is well known. Between February and March 1931, on his return from the round table conference, Moonje made a tour of Europe, which included a long stop-over in Italy. There he visited some important military schools and educational institutions. The highlight of the visit was the meeting with Mussolini. An interesting account of the trip and the meeting is given in Moonje's diary, and takes 13 pages (Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML), Moonje papers, microfilm, m 1).^6

The Indian leader was in Rome during March 15 to 24, 1931. On March 19, in Rome, he visited, among others, the Military College, the Central Military School of Physical Education, the Fascist Academy of Physical Education, and, most important, the Balilla and Avanguardisti organisations. These two organisations, which he describes in more than two pages of his diary, were the keystone of the fascist system of indoctrination - rather than education - of the youths. Their structure is strikingly similar to that of the RSS. They recruited boys from the age of six, up to 18: the youths had to attend weekly meetings, where they practised physical exercises, received paramilitary training and performed drills and parades.

According to the literature promoted by the RSS and other Hindu fundamentalist organisations and parties, the structure of the RSS was the result of Hedgewar's vision and work. However Moonje played a crucial role in moulding the RSS along Italian (fascist) lines. The deep impression left on Moonje by the vision of the fascist organisation is confirmed by his diary:

The Balilla institutions and the conception of the whole organisation have appealed to me most, though there is still not discipline and organisation of high order. The whole idea is conceived by Mussolini for the military regeneration of Italy. Italians, by nature, appear ease-loving and non-martial like the Indians generally. They have cultivated, like Indians, the work of peace and neglected the cultivation of the art of war. Mussolini saw the essential weakness of his country and conceived the idea of the Balilla organisation...Nothing better could have been conceived for the military organisation of Italy...The idea of fascism vividly brings out the conception of unity amongst people...India and particularly Hindu India need some such institution for the military regeneration of the Hindus: so that the artificial distinction so much emphasised by the British of martial and non-martial classes amongst the Hindus may disappear. Our institution of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh of Nagpur under Dr Hedgewar is of this kind, though quite independently conceived. I will spend the rest of my life in developing and extending this Institution of Dr Hedgewar all throughout the Maharashtra and other provinces.

He continues describing drills and uniforms:

I was charmed to see boys and girls well dressed in their naval and military uniforms undergoing simple exercises of physical training and forms of drill.

Definitely more meaningful is the report of the meeting with Mussolini. On the same day, March 19, 1931 at 3 pm, in Palazzo Venezia, the headquarters of the fascist government, he met the Italian dictator. The meeting is recorded in the diary on March 20, and it is worth reproducing the complete report.

...As soon as I was announced at the door, he got up and walked up to receive me. I shook hands with him saying that I am Dr Moonje. He knew everything about me and appeared to be closely following the events of the Indian struggle for freedom. He seemed to have great respect for Gandhi. He sat down in front of me on another chair in front of his table and was conversing with me for quite half an hour. He asked me about Gandhi and his movement and pointedly asked me a question "If the Round Table Conference will bring about peace between India and England". I said that if the British would honestly desire to give us equal status with other dominions of the Empire, we shall have no objection to remain peacefully and loyally within the Empire; otherwise the struggle will be renewed and continued. Britain will gain and be able to maintain her premier position amongst the European Nation (sic) if India is friendly and peaceful towards her and India cannot be so unless she is given Dominion Status on equal terms with other Dominions. Signor Mussolini appeared impressed by this remark of mine. Then he asked me if I have visited the University. I said I am interested in the military training of boys and have been visiting the Military Schools of England, France and Germany. I have now come to Italy for the same purpose and I am very grateful to say that the Foreign Office and the War Office have made good arrangements for my visiting these schools. I just saw this morning and afternoon the Balilla and the Fascist Organisations and I was much impressed. Italy needs them for her development and prosperity. I do not see anything objectionable though I have been frequently reading in the newspapers not very friendly criticisms about them and about your Excellency also. Signor Mussolini: What is your opinion about them? Dr Moonje: Your Excellency, I am much impressed. Every aspiring and growing Nation needs such organisations. India needs them most for her military regeneration. During the British Domination of the last 150 years Indians have been waved away from the military profession but India now desires to prepare herself for undertaking the responsibility for her own defence and I am working for it. I have already started an organisation of my own, conceived independently with similar objectives. I shall have no hesitation to raise my voice from the public platform both in India and England when occasion may arise in praise of your Balilla and Fascist organisations. I wish them good luck and every success. Signor Mussolini - who appeared very pleased - said - Thanks but yours is an uphill task. However I wish you every success in return. Saying this he got up and I also got up to take his leave.

The description of the Italian journey includes information regarding fascism, its history, the fascist 'revolution', etc, and continues for two more pages. One can wonder at the association between B S Moonje and the RSS, but if we think that Moonje had been Hedgewar' s mentor, the association will be much clearer.^7 The intimate friendship between Moonje and Hedgewar and the former's declared intention to strengthen the RSS and to extend it as a nationwide organisation prove a strict connection between Moonje and the RSS. Moreover, it makes sense to think that the entire circle of militant Hinduism must have been influenced by Moonje's Italian experience.

II Moonje’s Plans for Militarising Hindus

III Eve of Second World War

IV Savarkar and Nazism

V Waiting for the Right Enemy

VI Conclusions

Notes

[hum-suffer]

Damn i m shocked that you people still have enough shame and audacity to call out Pakistan for the way they treated minorities with very few incidents which usually were bashed and trashed by Pakistani muslims as well. You guys literally demolished Babri mosque and celebrated when they made temple there. Your PM and the next potential PM targets muslims in every single speech. Open the comments section if you have guts so that i can take u to the cleaners.

Lmfao my replies are always open, maybe you don't have the courage to turn off anon.

The Babri masjid issue was solved in court. I don't seem to recall any Pakistani cases about the demolition of any Hindu temples.

Honestly, you're the same people who claim two wrongs don't make a right. If deconstruction of Babri masjid is wrong then demolishing and humiliating Hindu temples is wrong as well. You seem to forget many Hindus in India also condemned the deconstruction of Babri masjid.

And oh, stay shocked <3

[shehzadi]

more accounts of hindutva terrorism in india in the last 2 days:

beat a muslim youth and paraded him naked in telangana

razed another 40 muslim-owned shops in mumbai after previously razing 15 other muslim-owned shops on a different street in mumbai the day before

vandalised the store of an elderly muslim man in mumbai

brutally attacked the imam of a mosque in chattisgarh while chanting ‘jai shree ram’ and ‘hindustan mein rahna hoga jai shree ram kahna hoga’ (translates to ‘if you want to live in india, you will have to say glory to lord ram’)

attacked a 17-year-old dalit student because of his whatsapp status and forced him to chant ‘jai shree ram’ (translates to ‘glory/victory to lord ram’) in karnataka

beat up a christian couple for allegedly forcing people to convert in karnataka

police have also made a case against 62-year-old muhammad salim for ‘inciting riot’ because he protested alone during the live broadcast of ram mandir in kerala

and on top of all that (and these are only the recorded/reported crimes i could find), expect indian news channels and hindu nationalists to begin pedalling the ‘there was a temple there centuries ago before!!!!’ narrative again so they can repeat the babri masjid demolition with gyanvapi masjid, also in uttar pradesh because today (25.01.24) the archaeological survey of india (ASI) found ‘evidence’ of a pre-existing hindu temple. how interesting and not at all coincidental with the fact that elections are looming ahead and ram mandir was just inaugurated!!!

[ultfreakme]

Freeing Palestine is India's fight

I've seen lots of posts about how Western countries and their populations should be concerned for stopping the genocide in Palestine but Indians are involved in this as well.

India has a HUGE Islamophobia problem, from the day India became what it is, this country exists the way it does through conflict regarding religious majorities and it is a problem we must acknowledge.

Collective punishment has often been carried out indiscriminately against Muslims in India- Muslim people's houses in Madhya Pradesh have been demolished without warning. This has also happened in Uttar Pradesh and in 2023, Haryana(300 businesses and homes). These were all normal innocent civilians who had proper legal paperwork showing their purchase and ownership of their home and land, but the police did not care. In many of these instances the police stood by and were involved in demolition and all of these were under BJP-majority and ruled areas. The recent Ram Mandir was built on the demolished land of Babri Masjid(it was built in the 14th century before India as it was even a THING, its destruction & demolition on the claim that it was Ram's birth place is unfair). Hate crimes against Muslims run amok and there are multiple cases of violence against Muslims in India.

PM Modi of the BJP party has been consistent in maintaining positive relations with Benjamin Netanyahu and the occupying force of Israel. A majority of the military equipment for India comes from Israel, and India has constantly been neutral in UN council meetings when decisions regarding Israel are brought up. A spyware called Pegasus, developed by the occupying force of Israel was used to surveil politicians, journalists, activists etc severely breaching right to privacy and threatening freedom of speech.

Worse; India has been using the Israeli strategy of colonizing Palestine with Kashmir. Jammu & Kashmir is a union territory which basically means they are allowed to function independently on most fronts but India has been seeking to integrate J&K into itself and has been extremely hostile to its Muslim citizens and are currently intensifying their occupation efforts. There have been consistent internet and communication blackouts since 2018 and it is STILL ongoing.

India invited Israeli officials to Kashmir to open 'Centers of Excellence' which are supposedly for agricultural innovation but everyone in J&K are concerned and see it as India taking an opportunity to intensify its occupation with Israeli help.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, several Kashmiris told Middle East Eye the Israeli agriculture hubs would deepen India's occupation in the region and accelerate its settler-colonial project. "Earlier, we would draw the parallels between Kashmir and Palestine or India's intimate alliance with Israel. But now they are bringing Israel to the Valley in the form of these institutions - which will be "agro-oriented" in name - but we all know that Israel will physically help India in Kashmir to turn it into a proper Palestine," a Kashmiri academic based in Istanbul told Middle East Eye.

In 2016 Coalition of Civil Society said there are more than 8000 'disappearances' of people in J&K. There are mass graves with over 2000 bodies being found with these unlawful activities being attributed to the Indian Security Forces. That's just scratching the surface of decades of violence and human rights violations enacted by India.

BJP is not shy about its ties to the RSS and promotes Hindutva(I've seen people citing the literal meaning of the word as evidence that it is harmless but the word is a label given to an embraced by extreme right-wing groups who are open about their Islamaphobia. Meaning of the word becomes pointless when actions speak otherwise).

India is an occupying force on J&K, it's suppressing Muslims, demonizing them and further marginalizing them in the name of 'Hinduism'. It buys from Israel and endorses them. As Indians, it is key that we do whatever we can to stop the genocide because we are unwittingly being used to fuel this and are being radicalized to hate on our neighbors, the people we share our land and history with.

Even outside of the ways in which the current government is shamelessly supporting Israel, India's history is rife with colonization. The British had occupied us, forced us into fighting each other, into prioritizing meaningless differences to suppress each other. We were once starved by occupying forces, violated, killed. Our land is also covered in blood shed by colonization.

What are we doing if we don't speak up? If we don't stop this? Do not follow the propaganda conflating extreme right-wing ideologies with the identity of being Indian. Don't buy into the idea that India is "for Hindus", we are so ridiculously diverse, there are 100s of languages and religions in this country.

Free Jammu & Kashmir, free Palestine, stop Islamophobia.

[janaknandini-singh999]

I'm asking this in good faith

Im not able to understand the entire Krishna Janmabhoomi issue.

I read that there was a petition that said that the current birthplace that's put is not the "original one". Do you have any sources we can read about what is the actual birthplace? Idk this entire case seems more like a political motive for me? And with what I've read, the Eidgah was constructed on the sabha dwaar and not the site which is the birthplace??

Hey I'm sorry but I'm afraid idk much about it either 😭 though from what I can gather it's pretty much the same thing as the issue with what Ram Mandir and Babri masjid was. Do pry into the relevant articles, historical excerpts etc and let me know as well what you find out 🙏

[j4r-of-flies]

abt Ram Mandir:

So many people are saying Hindus are getting happy the mandir was built over a mosque and that’s really not the case.

I’m happy for a mandir literally anywhere but in the end of the day no one talks about how the Mughal invasion caused temples to be ripped down only to have mosques placed. This has happened in multiple places, not just in India but all over the subcontinent

People complain about the demolition of Babri masjid but what about all the demolition to Hindu places of worship?? Weird huh

Of course riots occurred after and innocent lives were lost which is horrible but the point still stands. No one ever talks about how Dharmic culture was wiped out in the invasions, we are just reclaiming it, don’t see how it’s so controversial

[globalnews1]

Getty ImagesThe Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi city is at the centre of a dispute in courtIndia's top court is hearing a number of petitions challenging a decades-old law that preserves the character and identity of religious places as they existed at the time of the country's independence in 1947.The law, introduced in 1991, prohibits converting or altering the character of any place of worship and prevents courts from entertaining disputes over its status, with the exception of the Babri Masjid case, which was explicitly exempted.The Babri Masjid, a 16th-Century mosque, was at the heart of a long-standing dispute, culminating in its demolition by a Hindu mob in 1992. A court verdict in 2019 awarded the site to Hindus for the construction of a temple, reigniting debates over India's religious and secular fault lines.The current petitions, including one from a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), argue that the 1991 law infringes on religious freedom and constitutional secularism. The hearing comes against the backdrop of Hindu groups filing cases to challenge the status of many mosques, claiming they were built over demolished Hindu temples. Many, including opposition leaders and Muslim groups, have defended the law, saying it is crucial to safeguard the places of worship of religious minorities in a Hindu-majority India. They also question the nature of historical evidence presented by the petitioners in support of their claims.They say that if the law is struck down or diluted, it could open the floodgates for a slew of similar challenges and inflame religious tensions, especially between Hindus and Muslims.On Thursday, the Supreme Court barred courts from registering fresh cases challenging the ownership of places of worship or ordering surveys to establish their character and identity until further notice. It is next set to hear the issue in February.Getty ImagesA court in Rajasthan recently admitted a petition that claimed there was a temple where the revered Ajmer Sharif shrine standsWhy was the law introduced?The law says that the religious character of any place of worship - temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras - must be maintained as it was on 15 August 1947, when Indian became independent. The Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 was brought in by the then-Congress party government while a movement - led by members of the Hindu nationalist BJP - to build a temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in the northern town of Ayodhya was getting stronger. The aggressive campaign triggered riots in several parts of the country and, according to some estimates, left hundreds dead.The violence was a painful reminder of the religious strife India had witnessed during partition in 1947.While introducing the bill in parliament, then home minister SB Chavan expressed anxiety about "an alarming rise of intolerance propagated by certain sections for their narrow vested interests". These groups, he said, were resorting to "forcible conversion" of places of worship in an attempt to create new disputes.The BJP, then in the opposition, strongly opposed the bill, with some lawmakers walking out of parliament. An MP from the party said he believed the bill was brought in to appease the minorities and would only increase the rift between Hindus and Muslims.Apart from archaeological sites - whether religious or not - the only exception to the law was the Babri Masjid, as a legal challenge against the structure existed even before independence.Hindu mobs, however, demolished the mosque within months of the enactment of the law. In 2019, while awarding the disputed land to Hindu groups, India's Supreme Court said that the demolition of the mosque was an illegal act.Getty ImagesViolence broke out in Sambhal town last month after a court ordered a survey of a 16th Century mosqueWhy does it keep making news?The Supreme Court's ruling on the law will be crucial to the fate of dozens of religious structures, especially those of Muslims, that are contested by Hindu groups. These include Gyanvapi and Shahi Eidgah, two disputed mosques in the holy cities of Varanasi and Mathura.Critics also point out that the historical nature of the sites will make it hard to conclusively establish divergent claims, leaving scope for bitter inter-religious battles and violence.While the hearing is being closely watched, the law also makes news whenever there is a fresh development in cases challenging mosques. Two weeks ago, a court in Rajasthan issued notices to the government after admitting a petition claiming that the revered Ajmer Sharif dargah - a 13th-Century Sufi shrine that attracts thousands of visitors every day - stood over a Hindu temple.And last month, four people were killed in Sambhal town in Uttar Pradesh state when violence broke out during a court-ordered survey of a 16th-Century mosque. Muslim groups have contested the survey in the Supreme Court.There have been tensions over other court-ordered surveys earlier, including in the case of the Gyanvapi mosque. Hindu groups said the 17th-Century mosque was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on the partial ruins of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Muslim groups opposed the survey ordered by a local court, saying it violated the 1991 law. But in 2022, a Supreme Court bench headed by then chief justice DY Chandrachud did not stop the survey from going ahead. He also observed that the 1991 law did not prevent investigations into the status of a place of worship as of 15 August 1947, as long as it did not seek to alter it.Many have criticised this since then, with former civil servant Harsh Mander saying that it "opened the floodgates for this series of orders by courts that run contrary to the 1991 law"."If you allow the survey of a mosque to determine if a temple lay below it, but then prohibit actions to restore a temple at that site, this is a surefire recipe for fostering resentment, hate and fear that could detonate for years in bitter feuds between people of diverse faiths," Mr Mander wrote.Thursday's Supreme Court order means that these surveys and ongoing court cases remain on hold for now.Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook

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Getty ImagesThe Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi city is at the centre of a dispute in courtIndia's top court is hearing a number of petitions challenging a decades-old law that preserves the character and identity of religious places as they existed at the time of the country's independence in 1947.The law, introduced in 1991, prohibits converting or altering the character of any place of worship and prevents courts from entertaining disputes over its status, with the exception of the Babri Masjid case, which was explicitly exempted.The Babri Masjid, a 16th-Century mosque, was at the heart of a long-standing dispute, culminating in its demolition by a Hindu mob in 1992. A court verdict in 2019 awarded the site to Hindus for the construction of a temple, reigniting debates over India's religious and secular fault lines.The current petitions, including one from a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), argue that the 1991 law infringes on religious freedom and constitutional secularism. The hearing comes against the backdrop of Hindu groups filing cases to challenge the status of many mosques, claiming they were built over demolished Hindu temples. Many, including opposition leaders and Muslim groups, have defended the law, saying it is crucial to safeguard the places of worship of religious minorities in a Hindu-majority India. They also question the nature of historical evidence presented by the petitioners in support of their claims.They say that if the law is struck down or diluted, it could open the floodgates for a slew of similar challenges and inflame religious tensions, especially between Hindus and Muslims.On Thursday, the Supreme Court barred courts from registering fresh cases challenging the ownership of places of worship or ordering surveys to establish their character and identity until further notice. It is next set to hear the issue in February.Getty ImagesA court in Rajasthan recently admitted a petition that claimed there was a temple where the revered Ajmer Sharif shrine standsWhy was the law introduced?The law says that the religious character of any place of worship - temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras - must be maintained as it was on 15 August 1947, when Indian became independent. The Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 was brought in by the then-Congress party government while a movement - led by members of the Hindu nationalist BJP - to build a temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in the northern town of Ayodhya was getting stronger. The aggressive campaign triggered riots in several parts of the country and, according to some estimates, left hundreds dead.The violence was a painful reminder of the religious strife India had witnessed during partition in 1947.While introducing the bill in parliament, then home minister SB Chavan expressed anxiety about "an alarming rise of intolerance propagated by certain sections for their narrow vested interests". These groups, he said, were resorting to "forcible conversion" of places of worship in an attempt to create new disputes.The BJP, then in the opposition, strongly opposed the bill, with some lawmakers walking out of parliament. An MP from the party said he believed the bill was brought in to appease the minorities and would only increase the rift between Hindus and Muslims.Apart from archaeological sites - whether religious or not - the only exception to the law was the Babri Masjid, as a legal challenge against the structure existed even before independence.Hindu mobs, however, demolished the mosque within months of the enactment of the law. In 2019, while awarding the disputed land to Hindu groups, India's Supreme Court said that the demolition of the mosque was an illegal act.Getty ImagesViolence broke out in Sambhal town last month after a court ordered a survey of a 16th Century mosqueWhy does it keep making news?The Supreme Court's ruling on the law will be crucial to the fate of dozens of religious structures, especially those of Muslims, that are contested by Hindu groups. These include Gyanvapi and Shahi Eidgah, two disputed mosques in the holy cities of Varanasi and Mathura.Critics also point out that the historical nature of the sites will make it hard to conclusively establish divergent claims, leaving scope for bitter inter-religious battles and violence.While the hearing is being closely watched, the law also makes news whenever there is a fresh development in cases challenging mosques. Two weeks ago, a court in Rajasthan issued notices to the government after admitting a petition claiming that the revered Ajmer Sharif dargah - a 13th-Century Sufi shrine that attracts thousands of visitors every day - stood over a Hindu temple.And last month, four people were killed in Sambhal town in Uttar Pradesh state when violence broke out during a court-ordered survey of a 16th-Century mosque. Muslim groups have contested the survey in the Supreme Court.There have been tensions over other court-ordered surveys earlier, including in the case of the Gyanvapi mosque. Hindu groups said the 17th-Century mosque was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on the partial ruins of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Muslim groups opposed the survey ordered by a local court, saying it violated the 1991 law. But in 2022, a Supreme Court bench headed by then chief justice DY Chandrachud did not stop the survey from going ahead. He also observed that the 1991 law did not prevent investigations into the status of a place of worship as of 15 August 1947, as long as it did not seek to alter it.Many have criticised this since then, with former civil servant Harsh Mander saying that it "opened the floodgates for this series of orders by courts that run contrary to the 1991 law"."If you allow the survey of a mosque to determine if a temple lay below it, but then prohibit actions to restore a temple at that site, this is a surefire recipe for fostering resentment, hate and fear that could detonate for years in bitter feuds between people of diverse faiths," Mr Mander wrote.Thursday's Supreme Court order means that these surveys and ongoing court cases remain on hold for now.Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook

[boome11]

Getty ImagesThe Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi city is at the centre of a dispute in courtIndia's top court is hearing a number of petitions challenging a decades-old law that preserves the character and identity of religious places as they existed at the time of the country's independence in 1947.The law, introduced in 1991, prohibits converting or altering the character of any place of worship and prevents courts from entertaining disputes over its status, with the exception of the Babri Masjid case, which was explicitly exempted.The Babri Masjid, a 16th-Century mosque, was at the heart of a long-standing dispute, culminating in its demolition by a Hindu mob in 1992. A court verdict in 2019 awarded the site to Hindus for the construction of a temple, reigniting debates over India's religious and secular fault lines.The current petitions, including one from a member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), argue that the 1991 law infringes on religious freedom and constitutional secularism. The hearing comes against the backdrop of Hindu groups filing cases to challenge the status of many mosques, claiming they were built over demolished Hindu temples. Many, including opposition leaders and Muslim groups, have defended the law, saying it is crucial to safeguard the places of worship of religious minorities in a Hindu-majority India. They also question the nature of historical evidence presented by the petitioners in support of their claims.They say that if the law is struck down or diluted, it could open the floodgates for a slew of similar challenges and inflame religious tensions, especially between Hindus and Muslims.On Thursday, the Supreme Court barred courts from registering fresh cases challenging the ownership of places of worship or ordering surveys to establish their character and identity until further notice. It is next set to hear the issue in February.Getty ImagesA court in Rajasthan recently admitted a petition that claimed there was a temple where the revered Ajmer Sharif shrine standsWhy was the law introduced?The law says that the religious character of any place of worship - temples, mosques, churches and gurdwaras - must be maintained as it was on 15 August 1947, when Indian became independent. The Place of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 was brought in by the then-Congress party government while a movement - led by members of the Hindu nationalist BJP - to build a temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in the northern town of Ayodhya was getting stronger. The aggressive campaign triggered riots in several parts of the country and, according to some estimates, left hundreds dead.The violence was a painful reminder of the religious strife India had witnessed during partition in 1947.While introducing the bill in parliament, then home minister SB Chavan expressed anxiety about "an alarming rise of intolerance propagated by certain sections for their narrow vested interests". These groups, he said, were resorting to "forcible conversion" of places of worship in an attempt to create new disputes.The BJP, then in the opposition, strongly opposed the bill, with some lawmakers walking out of parliament. An MP from the party said he believed the bill was brought in to appease the minorities and would only increase the rift between Hindus and Muslims.Apart from archaeological sites - whether religious or not - the only exception to the law was the Babri Masjid, as a legal challenge against the structure existed even before independence.Hindu mobs, however, demolished the mosque within months of the enactment of the law. In 2019, while awarding the disputed land to Hindu groups, India's Supreme Court said that the demolition of the mosque was an illegal act.Getty ImagesViolence broke out in Sambhal town last month after a court ordered a survey of a 16th Century mosqueWhy does it keep making news?The Supreme Court's ruling on the law will be crucial to the fate of dozens of religious structures, especially those of Muslims, that are contested by Hindu groups. These include Gyanvapi and Shahi Eidgah, two disputed mosques in the holy cities of Varanasi and Mathura.Critics also point out that the historical nature of the sites will make it hard to conclusively establish divergent claims, leaving scope for bitter inter-religious battles and violence.While the hearing is being closely watched, the law also makes news whenever there is a fresh development in cases challenging mosques. Two weeks ago, a court in Rajasthan issued notices to the government after admitting a petition claiming that the revered Ajmer Sharif dargah - a 13th-Century Sufi shrine that attracts thousands of visitors every day - stood over a Hindu temple.And last month, four people were killed in Sambhal town in Uttar Pradesh state when violence broke out during a court-ordered survey of a 16th-Century mosque. Muslim groups have contested the survey in the Supreme Court.There have been tensions over other court-ordered surveys earlier, including in the case of the Gyanvapi mosque. Hindu groups said the 17th-Century mosque was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on the partial ruins of the Kashi Vishwanath temple. Muslim groups opposed the survey ordered by a local court, saying it violated the 1991 law. But in 2022, a Supreme Court bench headed by then chief justice DY Chandrachud did not stop the survey from going ahead. He also observed that the 1991 law did not prevent investigations into the status of a place of worship as of 15 August 1947, as long as it did not seek to alter it.Many have criticised this since then, with former civil servant Harsh Mander saying that it "opened the floodgates for this series of orders by courts that run contrary to the 1991 law"."If you allow the survey of a mosque to determine if a temple lay below it, but then prohibit actions to restore a temple at that site, this is a surefire recipe for fostering resentment, hate and fear that could detonate for years in bitter feuds between people of diverse faiths," Mr Mander wrote.Thursday's Supreme Court order means that these surveys and ongoing court cases remain on hold for now.Follow BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/58b7/live/61a00450-b6d9-11ef-8b34-156b65e86dfb.jpg 2024-12-13 06:07:31

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Swara Bhaskar Criticizes CJI Chandrachud Over Ayodhya Remarks, Questions Decision

Bollywood actress Swara Bhaskar, known for her outspoken nature, has once again grabbed headlines, this time for her criticism of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud. The actress, who often shares her opinions on social and political issues, took a dig at the CJI for his recent remarks regarding the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. CJI Chandrachud’s Comments on Ayodhya Case CJI DY…

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CJI Chandrachud Expresses Hope for Ayodhya Dispute Resolution Through Faith

Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud shared his personal reflections on the long-standing Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute, stating that he prayed to God for a resolution. Speaking at a ceremony in his native Kanhersar village, he emphasized the importance of faith, saying, “If you have faith, God will always find a way.”

Chandrachud recalled the challenges faced during the adjudication of the Ayodhya case, which he handled for three months. He mentioned that he prayed at the temple for divine guidance to resolve the matter. The CJI was part of the Supreme Court bench that delivered the landmark verdict on November 9, 2019, which allowed the construction of the Ram temple at the disputed site while also designating a five-acre alternative plot for a mosque in Ayodhya.

Chandrachud's comments come after his visit to the Ram Temple in July, where he offered prayers. The temple’s idol consecration ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22 of this year, marking a significant moment in the temple's construction.

[ebelal56-blog]

BJP Rule: The Unthinkable Consequences for India's Future

You know, when we talk about India, we often hear the word "secular" thrown around. It's a term that’s supposed to embody the essence of our nation, a promise that every citizen, regardless of their religious beliefs, can live freely and equally. Our Constitution enshrines this idea, ensuring that no one is discriminated against based on their faith. But here’s the thing: the reality of secularism in India today feels like a tightrope walk, especially under the current political climate. Let’s dive into it. Since the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, came into power, the narrative around secularism has shifted. Critics argue that the party’s Hindu nationalist orientation is steering the nation away from its secular roots. It’s like we’re watching a tug-of-war between the ideals of equality and the push for a majoritarian identity. Take the Citizenship Amendment Act, for instance. This law offers a pathway to citizenship for non-Muslim refugees from neighboring countries. Sounds nice on the surface, right? But when you dig deeper, it raises eyebrows. Many see it as a blatant exclusion of Muslims, which contradicts the very essence of secularism. It’s like saying, “You’re not welcome here,” based solely on your faith. And then there’s the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case. This wasn’t just a legal dispute; it was a flashpoint that ignited communal tensions. The construction of a Hindu temple in Ayodhya was celebrated by many as a victory for Hindu nationalism, while others felt it was an erasure of history and a disregard for the rights of Muslim communities. It’s hard to see how this aligns with the idea of treating all religions equally, isn’t it?