July 17, 2024
Babri mosque 2 – Modi supporters demolish mosque in Maharashtra
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
In a replay of the demolition of historic Babbri Mosque in 1992, a mosque in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district was demolished on Sunday by the Hindu right-wing supporters.
A few videos of the incident have gone viral showing a group of people climbing the mosque walls, planting a saffron flag and hammering a minaret with an axe.
Another video shows the mob destroying everything inside the mosque while chanting ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
Some parts of the mosque were damaged while books, including the Holy Quran and other articles kept inside the mosque were torn and scattered.
Outside the mosque, a vandalised vehicle lay upside down. The attackers were armed with sticks and other sharp weapons with which they were destroying everything, according to Clarion India.
The mob attacking the mosque was part of a rally called by former Rajya Sabha MP Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati in protest against alleged illegal encroachment at the Vishalgad Fort. Chhatrapati’s supporters attacked the mosque and members of the Muslim community in Gajapur village, a few kilometers away from Vishalgad, Clarion India added.
Speaking to Clarion India, Imran Sanadi, a local All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader who visited the affected area, said that around 40 Muslims got injured in the attacks and even children were not spared by the mob.
“The situation was very bad there. Now, it has become better. Houses were demolished and they were harmed greatly. No one died but there are many injured. They were attacked with swords and sticks. Even, some policemen were attacked with swords,” he said.
“A mosque was vandalised and torched. Houses were set on fire with some gas,” he said.
According to him, all those who were attacked and got injured are Muslims. “Muslims were targeted. They were brutally beaten up. Even a six-year-old child were assaulted,” said Imran.
AIMIM chief and Member of Parliament, Asaduddin Owaisi, said that the incident is similar to the Babri Masjid demolition which occurred on December 6, 1992.
He pointed out that in the past eight months, such attacks on mosques were carried out in Maharashtra with impunity.
“This is a kind of a terrorist attack on mosques… There is the Shinde-Fadnavis BJP government and because of that government such attacks are being carried out on mosques,” Owaisi said, accusing the police of being a mute spectator when such attacks take place.
Babri Mosque demolition
It may be recalled that the Babri Mosque built in 1528 by Mir Baqi, a commander of the Mogul Emperor Babur.
Hindu nationalists, including supporters of Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claimed that Lord Ram, the warrior god, was born at the site where the Babri mosque existed.
Hindu nationalists claimed that Baqi had destroyed the pre-existing temple of Rama at the site to built the mosque.
On December 6, 1992, a large group of Hindu activists belonging to the Vishva Hindu Parishad and allied organisations demolished the mosque, triggering riots all over the Indian subcontinent, resulting in the death of around 2,000–3,000 people.
Vishva Hindu Parishad's parent organization is the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh — the largest and most powerful Hindu nationalist group in India. RSS members were among those wielding hammers back in 1992 at the Babri mosque.
In November 2019, the Supreme Court rules that the demolished Babri mosque land must be handed over to a trust to oversee the construction of a Hindu temple.
A few months before the election, Modi inaugurated a controversial new Hindu temple in Ayodhya at the site of a mosque demolished more than 30 years ago. The political motives were clear. Modi turned the consecration of the temple into a massive national event, aiming to galvanise his conservative Hindu support base.
Throughout the election campaign, Modi spoke at length about the importance of the temple in Ayodhya. He hailed the opening of the temple as fulfilment of “the dream that many have cherished for years”.
Ironically, in June 2024 elections the people of Ayodha defeated the BJP candidate and elected Awadhesh Prasad, a Dalit from Smajwadi Party, as Prime Minister Modi’s power and mandate was unexpectedly diminished in the elections.
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The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
Special Correspondent
Maryam Turab
