“In the true sense, we are all Hindus although we may practise different religions. I am a Hindu because I trace my ancestry to my Aryan forefathers and I cherish the philosophy and the culture which they handed down to successive generations. If only we accept this proposition and call ourselves Hindus by race, it would be greatest triumph for secularism.It is the distinction between Hindus and non-Hindus that has created all the trouble in this country and has even led to the partition of our Motherland” -Justice Mohammadali Carim Chagla, “We are all Hindus by race”, BHAVAN’S JOURNAL, Volume 30, No. 1, August 1-15, 1983, p. 96 November 18, 1990
The release of the 850-page report of the Scientific Survey by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has diminished all the possible arguments of the Islamists and Secularists. They tried their best to block the Survey under the cover of the Places of Worship Act, but all the avenues are exhausted now. From Aurangzeb’s Farman to demolish the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir in 1669 to the Murty of Nandi staring towards Gyanvapi, everything was evident enough to accept the truth. The ASI report has provided a golden opportunity for the Muslims of Bharat to stand by the truth and reject tyranny.
Like Ayodhya, the battle for the reclamation of Kashi Vishwanath is not new. The long and painful history of repeated attacks and desecration by Islamist rulers and the continuous efforts by Hindus to reclaim one of the most sacred places in the most ancient city is nothing but a monument of our civilisational resilience. Unfortunately, secularism propagated by Communist historians and Islamist leadership never allowed Muslims to accept the truth. From Ghazani and Ghori to Aurangzeb, every invader and tyrant knew the significance of the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir. As a part of the ideology of iconoclasm and religious supremacy, they constantly attacked and desecrated the Visveswara Mandir and many other religious places. After Independence, as a part of decolonisation, these places should have been freed from colonial imprints and restored with civilisational glory. The fake conceptualisation of secularism started with the denial of historical facts and ended with opposing the determination of the character of Gyanvapi. The Islamist-secularist conglomerate, guided by the Communists, always played around intellectual treachery and legal tricks. Thanks to this misrepresentation, Muslims of Bharat, whose ancestors were Hindus and victims of the violent and tyrant policies of the invaders, started associating themselves with the supremacist ideology of the invaders. Few of their loudmouth leaders even started defending the acts of desecration, which is against the ethos of Bharat.
The persistent civilisational battle received a new impetus in 2020 when a few brave women stood up and demanded the right to worship Maa Shringar Gauri, which was allowed till 1993. Now, instead of historicity, legality has become critical. Ironically, they never argued for the mosque as the original structure of Gyanvapi. They knew that all the historical evidence goes against that possibility. So, the only option was to deny the right to worship in the name of secularism and the Places of Worship Act. The Survey was the precondition to deciding the character of the place of worship, but the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) even tried to block that process. They employed all the available legal tools to avoid this essential exercise, which has failed miserably. The ASI report, which constitutes a survey of just a few parts of the Gyanvapi premises, will now be critical scientific evidence about the temple structure. All the artefacts and inscriptions indicate the same.
The legal battle is open and will continue. But the International President of Vishva Hindu Parishad Alok Kumar Ji is right in giving a call to the Muslims to hand over the structure to Hindus. Religiously, if there are Hindu icons, it cannot be a mosque. Legally, there is no argument to defend it as a mosque. Civilisationally, accepting the Hindu claim over the site would be just. As advised by Justice Chagla, if Muslims do not get trapped in minority politics perpetuated by Congress for vote-bank and accept that they also ‘inherit the same tradition and legacy’, it would pave the way for permanently resolving the Hindu-Muslim discord. Bharat will present the true spirit of acceptance and respect of all ways of worship to the world. Whether Muslims stand by the truth and reject the acts of tyranny once and for all is a litmus test for the community. Otherwise, like Ayodhya, Hindus are prepared for another legal battle resulting in a momentous occasion.
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