I n d i a n M u s l i m s’ L e a d i n g E n g l i s h N e w s p a p e r , p u b l i s h e d s i n c e J a n u a r y 2 0 0 0
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MG THE
Fortnightly 258 Vol. 11 No. 20
On the basis of faith
2/3 for
1st Class
Citizens
ith
fa
n
ro
Sa
ff
We will never accept second class citizenship
he Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court has
T
grossly overstepped its limits proving what we knew
all-along that some people were more equal than oth-
ers even in the eyes of law in this secular and demo-
cratic country. What was de facto until yesterday is de jure
today. The court was supposed to basically decide the title
suit of the disputed land. It did so but relying not on evi-
dence and history but on aastha, faith, and said so
unabashedly.
This verdict has smashed our trust in the Indian judici-
ary. It reveals it as a Hindu and politicised system, not one
strictly bound by law and constitution. The verdict has left
the Babri issue an open wound for all time to come and any
temple built on the site by this sleight of hand will always be
seen by us, Indian Muslims, as a monument of injustice and
unfairness.
I have been proud of our judiciary and have been saying
MILLI GAZETTE
www.milligazette.com
16-31 October 2010
This is
victory
of
aastha Babri Masjid Verdict
The Second Demolition
Pages: 2, 3, 5, 6-7, 8-9, 12, 13, 14, 18-19, 20, 21
Yusuf/MG
so openly to the whole world. We considered it a safety
valve for the country’s myriad problems and one reason why
the Indian Muslim was so law-abiding and peaceful. Now
that trust stands smashed and shattered.
Babri was never a land ownership issue. It is a ploy of
the majority community fanatics whose plan is to margin-
alise the minorities, especially Muslims, to force them to
accept the status of second class citizens in their own coun-
try. Until that aim is fulfilled, they will keep finding one issue
after another. These fanatics have a very long list of monu-
ments including Taj Mahal and Delhi's Jama Masjid, which
they claim either stand on the sites of "razed" Hindu temples
or are "Hindu" monuments whose names were changed by
Muslim rulers (Taj Mahal, they claim was Tejo Mahlaya). Pre-
British historical records, including the books written by
Hindus themselves have no such indication. The Hindutva
list is very elastic and includes anything from three to three
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On the basis of facts
1/3 for
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thousand monuments, mainly mosques. The idea is to per-
petually keep Muslims occupied in mandir-masjid issues,
polarise the Hindu voters in favour of the BJP and show the
Muslims their place as second class citizens in their own
country. The example of one of the first three mosques
demanded by Hindutva zealots shows that they will not be
content with any compromise short of complete surrender
to their dictates. Under a mutual settlement overseen by the
local court and district authorities, Muslims of Mathura had
handed over about half of the land of the Mathura Eidgah (a
masjid) in October 1968 to a trust headed by Hari Dalmia,
head of the VHP. The matter was closed and a magnificent
temple was built on the land given by the Muslims while
their dilapidated mosque does not even have a proper
approach. Yet, despite that solemn agreement, they are now
demanding the other half of the site on which the actual
Eidgah stands today. Let the fanatics know we are equals,
we will never accept to live as second class citizens.
ZAFARUL-ISLAM KHAN