Sambhal, Ajmer: Are Mohan Bhagwat’s words forgotten? | Mumbai News – Times of India
In June 2022, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had said: “One should not raise a new issue every day. Why escalate fights? …why look for a Shivling in every mosque?” Bhagwat was addressing the concluding session of an RSS functionaries’ training camp in Nagpur, and these were his first comments on the Gyanvapi dispute.
As messages go, it couldn’t have been more direct. But two and a half years later, sections of the Hindu right wing seem to have completely ignored it. Earlier this week, Sambhal in west UP erupted after a trial court allowed a survey to find out if the Shahi Idgah Masjid was built on the ruins of a temple dedicated to Lord Kalki. Four people died in the violence.
And now, a new claim has emerged, asserting that the world-renowned Ajmer Dargah is the Sankat Mochan Mahadev Temple. On Nov 27, a local court in Ajmer issued notices to the dargah committee, Union ministry of minority af fairs and the Archaeological Survey of India on the plea seeking to declare the shrine a temple. “Hindus have the right to approach courts and seek survey of mosques because it is a truth that many of them were built on ruins of temples demolished by Mughal invaders,” Union minister Giriraj Singh said on Thursday.
But is that what the law says?
Places Of Worship Act, 1991
In 1991, when the Babri masjid dispute was at its peak, the Congress govt under P V Narasimha Rao introduced the Places of Worship Act to prevent future clashes over disputes related to religious sites. The Act states that the religious character of any place, as it existed on Aug 15, 1947, must be preserved.
This has since been challenged and the matter is in Supreme Court. The Centre has yet to inform SC about its position on the issue.
Ayodhya Verdict
The 2019 SC judgment on Ayodhya backed the Places of Worship Act. It stated that the Act is designed to protect the secular nature of Indian polity. It also referred to a 1994 SC judgment, which had noted that the intention behind the Act was to ensure that “history and its wrongs shall not be used as instruments to oppress the present and the future”.
The 2019 judgment also stated that courts cannot entertain claims stemming from the actions of Mughal rulers against Hindu places of worship. The law is not the correct instrument, it noted, for seeking recourse against the actions of past rulers.
SC Gyanvapi Ruling
But in 2023, SC allowed a scientific survey at the Gyanvapi mosque complex, and this has encouraged groups to stake claim over other disputed places of worship.
While hearing the Gyanvapi case, Justice DY Chandrachud, in May 2022, observed that the Places of Worship Act does not prevent one from ascertaining the religious character of a structure as on Aug 15, 1947. With these observations, the SC bench refused to halt the suit and sent the mosque committee back to the trial court. Based on these observations, the trial court allowed the ASI survey, as did the Allahabad HC subsequently.
History and its wrongs shall not be used as instruments to oppress the present and the future
Supreme Court
And, finally, on Aug 4, 2023, the SC upheld the Allahabad high court’s approval of the ASI survey to determine if the 17th-century mosque was built over a temple. ASI was instructed to use non-invasive methods. Hindu litigants claimed the mosque replaced a temple destroyed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, while the Muslim side argued that the survey violated the Places of Worship Act.
Debate Rages
Opinion is now sharply divided on whether courts should allow such surveys. While the Hindu right wing is cagey about voicing their opinion on record (not everybody is as outspoken as Giriraj Singh) for fear of being seen as defying the RSS chief, Muslim intellectuals TOI spoke to were categorical that this will only foment religious tension without solving any problem.
“The genie is out of the bottle and it is not easy to put it back in,” said former Delhi LG Najeeb Jung. “I think Justice Chandrachud should have nipped the issue in the bud when it was first brought to him. My worry is not just what happened in Sambhal. I am more worried about what India may witness in the next few months if it is not stopped immediately. Anyone can ap proach a lower court claiming to have proof of a temple underneath a mosque and the court may allow survey of the mosque and different parts of the country may face a Sambhal-like situation,” he added.
“When RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said we should not look for a Shivling beneath every mosque many of us saw it as a new beginning. But the incident in Sambhal shows some people are bent upon opening old wounds. How long will we be stuck in the past?… The country cannot afford social disharmony being created by looking for ruins of temples underneath mosques and mausoleums. Let us move on and build a new nation, a naya Bharat that PM Modi has spoken of so often,” said Zafar Sareshwala, the former chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad.
While most people — in RSS and BJP — were unavailable for comments or preferred to remain silent on the issue, a senior Sangh source acknowledged that “the Sangh stand made clear by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat at a public function in June 2022 remains the same and in two years’ time it has not changed in any manner”. Implying that the RSS does not support an unending Hindu-Muslim dispute over places of worship, the source also said, “We do not interfere with any political party or religious group’s activities.”
Some temple-mosque disputes in court
Sambhal Shahi Jama Masjid – Harihar Temple, UP
SC on Friday asked the mosque management to approach the Allahabad HC to challenge the trial court’s order.
Kashi Vishwanath Temple – Gyanvapi Mosque, UP
The legal tussle dates back to a 1991 petition ?led in Varanasi, seeking the restoration of Gyanvapi land to the Kashi Vishwanath temple.
The Hindu side contends that a temple once existed at the contested Gyanvapi mosque site, which they claim was demolished in the 17th century by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb — a claim denied by the Muslim side.
Bhojshala – Kamal-Maula Mosque, MP
A dispute over a medieval-era structure in MP’s Dhar district has also reached the top court, which, on April 1, refused to stay a “scientific survey” of Bhojshala.
However, SC clarified no action should be taken without its permission on the outcome of the scienti?c survey.
Hindus consider Bhojshala, an ASI-protected 11th-century monument, to be a temple dedicated to Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati), while the Muslim community calls it Kamal-Maula Mosque.
Krishna Janmabhoomi, Mathura, UP
The Hindu side claims a temple was demolished to build the mosque, while the defendants argue that the mosque does not fall within the disputed land. A compromise was reached in 1968, but recent developments have led to multiple pleas challenging the compromise. SC in Dec 2023 made it clear that the dispute proceedings would continue before high court.
On Dec 14, 2023, the Allahabad HC allowed a courtmonitored survey of the Shahi Idgah Mosque complex adjoining the Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple in Mathura. However, an apex court bench headed by Justice (now CJI) Sanjiv Khanna on Jan 16 stayed the survey, saying there were certain legal issues that had arisen in the dispute. It questioned the “vague” application made before the high court for appointment of a court commissioner for the survey in Mathura.
(With inputs from Mohammed Wajihuddin & Mohua Chatterjee. Research: Rajesh Sharma)
