Intolerance unbridled
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One of the major news stories of Tuesday was that the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on a petition seeking contempt of court proceedings for the demolition of the Kushinagar Madani Masjid using a bulldozer in defiance of the Supreme Court order. The court has also restrained the authorities from demolishing the mosque until further orders. The apex court also ordered the Yogi Adityanath government to explain within two weeks why contempt of proceedings should not be initiated against it. One has to wait and see what the response of the ultra-Hindu state government will be. However, Huzaifa Ahmadi, appearing for the Madani Masjid, submitted before the court that there was clear contempt of court in the incident. The petitioners, pointed out that the mosque, which was built with permission on private land, was demolished without serving notice, and brought it to the court's attention that the authorities came with the police and demolished the mosque. And this was done after transferring the Sub-Divisional Magistrate who had given the report that permission had been granted.
According to the Protection of Places of Worship Act, passed by Parliament in 1991 in the wake of the communalists' attempt to encroach on the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, no one is allowed to touch any place of worship that was in any one’s possession as on August 15, 1947, except the disputed Babri Masjid. Later, the Supreme Court bench, which ruled in favor of Hindu organizations in the Babri Masjid-Ram Janmabhoomi dispute, also reiterated that this concession was given only to respect the sentiments of the Hindu community and that it would not be a justification to lay claim on any other mosque. However, when the case of Hindutva activists’ claim on the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi came up before the Supreme Court, the then Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, gave an order that the Archaeological Survey of India had the right to conduct research on places of historical importance. Using this loophole, the Hindutva groups claimed many mosques, starting with the Mathura Eidgah Masjid, and asked the Hindutva governments to instruct ASI to dig up their foundations and investigate. In fact, even RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's advice that the Ayodhya masjid was a special case and that there was no need to dig up the foundations of every Muslim place of worship under its guise was ignored by Yogi Adityanath's minions. When survey officials entered a mosque in Sambhal, UP alleging that it was built illegally on government land, the scene became uncontrollable as Hindus started chanting Jai Shri Ram and accompanied the official team. The aftermath of the ensuing tragic incident in which five innocent people lost their lives in the police firing that followed, has not yet subsided.
If even government agencies like the ASI and courts of justice are subject to Hindutva manipulations, then we must assume that our secular democratic constitution and the country are rapidly falling entirely into the grip of the extreme right wing. We must also fear that the time is not far when values that humanity has ever considered sacred, such as religious tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and human friendship, will be confined to dictionaries. The process that goes on unhindered is that of demolishing mosques, dargahs, and mausoleums built by Muslim kings or their subjects during the reign of the Muslim kings who ruled India for more than seven centuries, on the pretext of baseless claims. While even the lower courts are issuing judgments endorsing this, the victims have no choice but to approach the Supreme Court. But there should be a limit for that too. The Supreme Court's order of February 18 should be viewed in this context. The apex court has now barred anyone from impleading in the petition filed by BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, seeking to declare the 1991 Places of Worship Act as unconstitutional. Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna has adjourned all the petitions to April to be considered together, citing the need for a limit on applications to be party to the case. In the meantime, it remains to be seen what tricks Yogi Adityanath, who is also of the same mind, has up his sleeve.
Meanwhile, in a different context the media also brought out stories of the service of true philanthropists that provided shelter and protection to Hindu brothers and sisters who fled during the stampede at the Maha Kumbh Mela, at the Jama Masjid in Prayagraj, Yadgar-e-Hussaini Inter College, and at many madrasas. The Times of India and other media outlets reported on February 2 that around a thousand Hindu families were rescued as a result. But what use is all this if the mosquito is still after blood even under the udder. Kerala has witnessed firsthand how mosques built for the remembrance of God and love of humanity have even been used to clean up lifeless bodies in critical situations as in the Wayanad landslide disaster. But if it is demonic intolerance more than human feelings that inspires minds, then those with humanitarianism need to ponder urgently on how to combat it effectively.