The 700 years old masjid has been declared by Madhya Pradesh High Court to be a temple. It has opened a new controversy, which is bound to further damage the ideal of promotion of fraternity among all religious communities in India. This judgement may be exploited by Hindutva forces and the present BJP government to further its agenda of polarisation of its voters. It may also help the BJP government to divert the attention of India from multiple failures of the present dispensation.
The masjid has been continuously in use for five daily prayers for hundreds of years. In 1991, the Parliament of India passed a law – Place of Worship(Special Provisions) Act, 1991 – which stipulates that nobody can change the religious status of any house of worship. It would retain perpetually its religious character. The law has been thrown to the winds. Is it not against the law of the land and the Constitution of India?It is natural that the Madhya Pradesh High Court judgement would be challenged in the Supreme Court of India. Let us assume that the Supreme Court will do justice, and only justice, and nothing other than justice.
The recent position of the masjid was that under an agreement between Hindu and Muslim communities, Muslims were allowed to offer only Juma prayer on Fridays and Hindus were permitted to perform puja on Tuesdays.
The judgement has given rise to a number of questions. The Kamal Maula Masjid has been a Waqf property, according to all available records. Besides, it was under the protection of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The most important thing that India requires today is maintaining communal harmony and cordial relations between communities. Indians should not fall prey to the diabolic machinations of politicians and selfish pedlars of hate and divisive narratives.
Muslims, who are being marginalised and demonised and are under increasing pressure from communal and fascist forces, should resist the efforts to push them to the position of second class citizens.Besides, they must look inward and always give importance to the spirit of Islam, which is true and genuine Godliness, purity of soul and right thought and action. Politicians may indulge in all sorts of sentimental appeals and false propaganda. But Muslims should always adopt moral and ethical principles and never react negatively. The future of this great land of 145 crore people lies in right thinking and right action.
Let us end the discussion with a heart-warming line of the Poet of the East, Allama Iqbal: dhartikebasiyon ki muktipreet men hai (the salvation of mankind lies in love and love alone.