Both the Muslims and Hindus need to understand !

Ever since the Ramjanma Bhoomi Movement started, an atmosphere against Muslims has been created in the country. Muslims began to be distrusted. It is not that this situation was not so earlier. But this feeling has started coming out in public discussion now and is appearing to get transformed into a chasm today. Our two TV series Mahabharat and Ramayan also have had a role in this. I myself saw that people used to watch these serials after removing their footwears.

Those who intended to draw a political mileage from this movement did so a lot. From this movement, the illusion of the ruling party of that time has broken that if the minority community is ignored, then the country will immerse in violence, and the like, and it will not be possible to come in power. The current ruling party has not given a single ticket to Muslim candidates and has still won 303 seats out of 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, which is a proof of this trend.

But today, an atmosphere is being created through the loudspeaker controversy, Gyanvapi Mosque, recitation of Hanuman Chalisa, disturbances during azan, bulldozer activities, etc., especially in those states where ruling party of the centre is not there. We are first an Indian, and our religion, sect or ideology comes next. This feeling is getting lost, but this environment is taking our country towards a possibility of serious religious violence, which we have not seen till date. The incidents in Kashmir and the Mumbai serial bomb blasts were acts of foreign conspiracy rather than being a result of some religious conspiracy. We need to appreciate this fact.

The scar of the 1947 Partition was painful, but that wound has healed with the generation of those times. India was partitioned at the instance of Jinnah. There was a time before 1975 when a riot in a city resulted in a series of riots in 30-35 cities within few hours. But due to cohabitation in a single jail during the emergency period, the leaders of both the communities understood each other, and its result is, today, no chain of riots is formed.

There is no doubt about it that Muslims were invaders and were trying to plunder our subcontinent since the 11th century AD through invasions. But this is also true that kings of Egypt, Central Asia, Iran, and Afghanistan ruled complete Indian subcontinent for 739 years during which 50 kings of five dynasties came to power.

Certainly, they have must committed wrongdoings to propagate their culture and religion. If a king wants to rule a place, then, at first, he destroys its religious and cultural heritage. What did the Taliban do in Afghanistan? The same happened in our country. When Adi Shankaracharya tried to reestablish the Sanātana Dharma, at that time, an attempt was made to erase Buddhist and Jain symbols. Many of us must have visited the Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia. It is a Sanātani temple, but the Buddhism army converted it into a Buddhist temple. However, even today, clear evidence of Sanātana Dharma and paintings can be seen in that temple. Those of us who have gone to Karnataka must have heard stories about who looted Sringeri Math. For this reason, name of Shivaji is not held with reverence in Karnataka. The ruler does not have any religion; he only wants to fill his coffers. Today, if any Hindu is able to get some money, then the first thing he does is to buy silver idol of his cherished deity to install in the house. The same sentiment holds true for our temples. For this reason, our temples have been source of magnificence of treasure and will remain so in future, and so, they were ransacked again and again. If you see a mosque, then it does not have anything to be worth plundering. I have seen mosques of the Middle East. Today, they are spread with rugs. There is nothing else to plunder. The mosques of our country have only sackcloth. Then, if our kings did not go outside India, then whom would we have plundered? Those who talk about culture, they should under state religion, national interest, and culture. Today, we are supporting Russia. Can our prime minister say conscientiously that he is following the policy evolved from the Indian/Hindu culture? No, because our national interest is compelling us that we side with Russia.

A new controversy has begun on Taj Mahal. The basic contention is whether Qutub Minar, Taj Mahal, and Red Fort of Delhi were Hindu temples or forts of Hindu kings. This dispute has arisen from book written by P.N. Oak, who was a member of Hindu Mahasabha 40 years ago. This description does not come anywhere that Shah Jahan broke temples. But this is possible that the forts of those Hindu kings which must might have been occupied were built again through reconstruction. The details of construction of Red Fort and Taj Mahal along with the expenditure are available in the books of Muslim rulers. The land on which Taj Mahal was made might have been fiefdom of Raja Man Singh. But an emperor like Shah Jahan who could spend Rs. 250 crores (32 million) in 1653 for the construction of the monument would have forcibly usurped the land, this argument does not appear to be convincing. Secondly, they are historical and cultural pride of our country. By creating controversy over them, what sort of civility we want to display? If the names of roads are being changed, then should be also change the method of measurement of land merely because it invented by Akbar administration? There is a feeling of respect towards Maharana Pratap, but it should not be forgotten that his children and brothers held what positions in the court and army of Akbar. In fact, Maharana Pratap can be compared with the Ukranian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy who is fighting for his prestige. But our government is supporting Russia against him. Why this duplicitous policy?

I had gone to Jerash City of Jordan. There is a fort near it which is called as Ajloun Castle. The work of tomb of that castle and that of Taj Mahal is almost same and moreover, on these subjects, our courts and Archaeological Survey of India have already given their judgments. These days the issue of Gyanvapi Mosque has come to limelight with much commotion. I had gone to Banaras around 40-45 years ago and there, I had on my own saw clear signs of Hindu civilization at the rear of the wall of the mosque. I wanted to go inside the mosque, but I was stopped from doing so. Today, any Muslim who visits Mathura should ask himself about the relevance of Shri Krishna Janmasthan Temple for them. The ancient Nalanda University which was established by Emperor Kumara Gupt in 5th century AD and where people came
over from the whole of Asia to study was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khilji in 12th century AD. We should see history from the prism of history and not from that of religion. Today, an economic power like Japan keeps seeking apology from the whole of world for the excesses committed by its forces in the 18-19th century AD, and this stand has not lowered its stature in any way. On the contrary, the prestige of Japanese has only increased in the world.
(Writer is a thinker, senior journalist & psephologist)