Irresponsible politicians always create problems. Their narrow thinking and questionable motives become the source of trouble for common man. This mentality creates countless problems. This is against the policy of true patriots who raise themselves above petty politics and honestly work for welfare and progress of all citizens.
India is faced with a big problem of misuse of religion and narrow and communal thinking. Indian Parliament, way back in 1991, passed a very important law about religious places of worship. The objective of this law was to put an end to disputes regarding the status of religious places. The Act stipulated that there should not be any controversy or litigation about any house of worship. It further said that the religious status of every house of worship should continue to be as it was on 15th August 1947, the date on which India became an independent and sovereign country. This was an honest and sane step to put an end to all old disputes, controversies and claims about the status and ownership of lakhs of places of worship belonging to different religious communities.
But human nature has unfortunately a negative trend. Some people, including crafty religious leaders, continued to raise controversies.One such case was about Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi.
This case was started in Varanasi. It went to Allahabad High Court and finally to the Supreme Court of India. The litigants pleaded they did not want to change the status of the Gyanvapi Masjid but just want to conduct the enquiry to prove that the mosque was once a temple.
When the case reached the Supreme Court, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud was the CJI of India. In all fairness and keeping the spirit of the 1991 law, the CJI should have rejected the petition. But unfortunately he admitted it. This opened the Pandora’s Box. Its final judgement is still pending in the Supreme Court. Now legal experts are citing former CJI’s decision as a disservice to India and its future.
Selfish politicians who believe in divisive policies are hell bent upon polarising the citizens on contentious issues to serve their vested interests. They think that issues of development and progress will not give them votes. Mandir-vs-Masjid issues are easier and give them more votes.
The Shahi Jama Masjid Sambhal controversy should be seen in this background. It is very unfortunate that a court in Sambhal acted in a hurry and opened another Pandora’s Box by ordering a survey about the Masjid to decide the veracity of the false claim that this mosque was built on the debris of some temple during the reign of Mughal Emperor Babur.
In the meantime, a court in Ajmer has accepted a petition to order a survey in the world-famous Ajmer Sharif Dargah of renowned Sufi Saint Moinuddin Chishti.
It is a matter of satisfaction that the Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has intervened and imposed a stay on the Sambhal Jama Masjid’s case and asked the litigants to go to the Allahabad High Court.
Except some self-seeking politicians and religious bigots, the whole citizenry of India is aghast on this situation. There is more politics and less religion, more bigotry less sincerity, more hatred less love in all so-called religious disputes. The saner citizens are bewildered and communalists are having a field day. India is suffering from criminalisation of politics, communalisation of minds, deprivation of citizens, joblessness, back-breaking inflation and expanding lawlessness.
The P.M., the ruling party, the opposition parties and sincere citizens have a fundamental duty of diffusing the situation and bringing back the citizens to the path of sanity so that India may continue its journey towards peace, progress and morality. If we fail now, we may fall in an abyss of confusion and crisis. It will undo our democracy, development and destroy all our gains of last seven decades of Independence.